Using probiotics vaginally – you may need to switch capsules

A cute little bacteria shaped like a probiotic capsule

Probiotic capsules come in three capsule forms: gelatin, pure vegetable or enteric-coated vegetable.

Enteric-coated capsules are not vagina-friendly, and gelatin sometimes doesn’t dissolve as well in the vagina. At My Vagina, we prefer our carefully chosen, tested and trusted 100% vagina-safe dissolvable vegetable capsules.

My Vagina vulvovaginal specialist practitioners use V-Spot vaginal probiotics (designed for vaginal use), and also Life-Space Women’s Microflora Probiotic for vaginal use, due to the vagina-specific strains of bacteria and the pure vegetable capsule.

If you’re using other brands of vaginal probiotic, you may need to switch the capsules over to pure vagina-safe vegetable capsules before using the probiotic powder vaginally.

Some brands do not clearly state that the capsules are enteric-coated, so if you’re not sure, assume you have to transfer the capsules to be on the safe side and call the manufacturer’s helpline and ask.

Order vagina-safe fully dissolvable vegetable capsules

Brands and their capsules

Jarrow, AZO and Culturelle may be enteric-coated even if they say vegetable capsules. Always switch or empty the powder out and make a paste with some water and use a finger to smoosh into your vagina.

Look at the sign above the yellow squares – “Coated with EnteroGuard”

Jarro-Dophilus Women back of pack
Here it says VEGGIE CAPS but above explains they are enteric-coated. This makes them vegan-friendly, but not vagina-safe!

Using gelatin capsules vaginally

Gelatin melts with your body heat, so using gelatin capsules vaginally is safe, but you may have issues with the capsules melting. This is particularly true when you are using gelatin capsules every day, sometimes more than once, with powdery dry ingredients.

If the treatments inside the capsules don’t get delivered to your vaginal tissues, it starts becoming a waste of time and money.

To get the probiotic powder into the new capsule:

  1. Do it by hand
  2. Use a capsule filling device
  3. Build your own capsule stand out of wood!

1. Filling capsules by hand

To switch capsules, you don’t need anything special. Get a small piece of paper with some sticky tape to use as a funnel and a flat, clean, dry working space.

Pull the top off the probiotic capsule, and using your funnel into the larger half of the empty vegetable capsule, empty the powder into your new capsule. Or, just free pour. You’ll work it out once you’ve made a few messes!

Remember it’s good practice to keep probiotics refrigerated in an airtight container.

2. Capsule filling machine

A capsule filling device means you get a plastic tray that holds your empty capsules steady. For this purpose, it’s a glorified capsule stand.

If you have unsteady hands, or would like to make up other types of capsules with your own supplements, you may get a lot of use out of a capsule filling device, easily available from online retailers.

3. Making your own capsule platform with a drill and wood – that’s what we did!

If you’re handy, you can make your own capsule platform using a drill bit and a piece of wood. You want a shallow hole that will keep a specific size of vegetable capsule steady while you fill them.

Because we do so many experiments with capsules testing amounts and ingredients here at My Vagina headquarters, we’ve ended up making a whole bunch of wooden capsule holders. They’re pretty neat! And they work well.

Your measurements will matter here, so make sure you know what size capsules you’ll be using and make your hole(s) a little bigger, and around half the depth of the capsule (otherwise they’ll fall down and be irretrievable!). You need space to push the lid on and pull them out.



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