What is Bacterial Vaginosis (BV)?

Bacterial Vaginosis or BV is a medical condition wherein there is an overgrowth of bacteria in the vagina. This then results in an imbalance in the vagina’s flora. In other words, when you have BV the natural balance of bacteria in the vagina is disrupted.

Normally, the vagina is populated by different types of bacteria. This may surprise you since we normally think that bacteria causes diseases and other health problems.

But that is not the case. The bacteria in our body help keeps us healthy. It is only when there is overgrowth of certain bacteria that we suffer from health problems.

The same with Bacterial Vaginosis. Only when there is an overgrowth of certain bacteria will one suffer from the condition.

This is in fact a perfect example of a healthy ecosystem. In the ocean for example, sharks are known to attack men. Killing them all however would create an imbalance in the ocean’s ecosystem.  

And once the ocean’s ecosystem is disrupted, other parts of the earth will be affected. In other words, other ecosystem will also change. This includes our own ecosystem. We would all be negatively affected by eliminating all the sharks in the ocean.

Similarly, your vagina has different bacteria. Some of them are ‘good’ while some are ‘bad’. Of course they are really not good and bad because they are all needed by the vagina to remain healthy and to protect it from any harmful things that it might come in contact with, such as dirty water.

In fact, it is not just the vagina that has both good and bad bacteria. Other parts of the body also have different types of bacteria. The bacteria in our intestines help us digest and absorb food. All in all the body needs the bacteria to remain healthy. The body also needs the bacteria to be in perfect balance with each other.

The ‘good’ bacteria in the vagina belong to the group of bacteria known as lactobacillus. Some bacteria are called ‘bad’ only because in excess, they can do harm to the body, as in the case of BV. There are many different bad bacteria in the vagina but in the case of BV, usually the main bacteria that cause it are the Gardnerella.

Under normal condition, the lactobacillus keeps in check the growth of Gardnerella as well as the other harmful bacteria in the vagina. To do this, the lactobacillus does two things: engages in natural competition and release hydrogen peroxide.

In the first, the lactobacillus simply grows more than the bad bacteria. By outnumbering the bad bacteria it is able to consume all the resources in the area, thereby killing the harmful bacteria.

In the second, the lactobacillus produces an antibiotic that is more commonly known as hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is used in cleaning wounds and is good in killing harmful bacteria. Similarly, lactobacillus produces small amounts of hydrogen peroxide. By releasing only small amounts, it controls the population of the bad bacteria.

It is only when the harmful bacteria or Gardenerella outgrow the lactobacillus that BV occurs.