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Hi Aunt Vadge,
I’ve been fighting recurring BV almost every month for about five months. I’ve had metronidazole three times and don’t think it’s working, so I’ve been researching. What I’ve noticed: it comes around the end of my period, and the first time, I was very unwell with flu.
I’ve had colds three of the five months too, so it seems massively linked to my immune system. I take oral probiotics already, and I’m wondering how safe it is to take oral probiotics vaginally.
Sincerely,
Nanx
Age 22, UK
Hi Nanx,
You’ve done the most important bit of the work already — you’ve spotted your own pattern, and it’s a really good one. Both clues are spot-on, and together they explain why three rounds of metronidazole haven’t held.
Clue one is your period: menstrual blood is alkaline, so it pushes your vaginal pH up and knocks your protective lactobacilli back for a few days, which is why BV pounces at the end of your period — a predictable weak spot you can plan around.
Clue two is your immune system: you’re right that being run down lets BV in, because your immune function and your vaginal defences rise and fall together, so a cold and a BV flare in the same week isn’t a coincidence.
So the shift you need isn’t a fourth antibiotic — it’s to stop just killing bacteria and start defending the weak spots: support your microbiome around your period, and prop up your immune system.
On putting probiotics in your vagina: good question, and the inside knowledge is that oral probiotics taken by mouth rarely make the journey through your gut to your vagina in useful numbers — more hope than science.
Using one vaginally can work, but never put an enteric-coated capsule in your vagina, because that coating is built to survive stomach acid and your vagina is acidic too, so it won’t dissolve properly and can irritate; if your probiotic is enteric-coated you’d want to re-cap it into a plain vegetable capsule, or use one made specifically for vaginal use, choosing a vagina-specific Lactobacillus strain, ideally without fillers.
For the immune side, the basics really matter — sleep, a veg-rich diet, vitamin C and zinc, herbs like echinacea or reishi, managing stress (I know), and avoiding the scented soaps and douching that strip your flora.
Our free Killing BV guide walks through the whole rebuild-and-defend approach, and if five months of this is wearing you down, you can book an appointment with one of our practitioners for a plan built around your period-and-immune pattern. You’re closer than you think — you’ve already found the ‘why’, so now it’s just about defending those two weak spots.
Lots of love,
Aunt Vadge
This is general information based on our clinical experience, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
