Is it safe for a couple to have unprotected sex when the girl is being treated for bacterial vaginosis?
Saturday, September 4th, 2010 at
1:23 am
Will the man have chance of contracting this if no condom is used while treatment of bact vaginosis?
Tagged with: condom • vaginosis
Filed under: Bacterial Vaginosis Treatment Q&A's
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There has been much debate over whether bacterial vaginosis is actually a sexually transmitted disease; current thinking instead treats bacterial vaginosis as actually a change in the vaginal flora, not an STD. Bacterial vaginosis occurs when a female individual acts to change the usual environment of the vagina. Common causes may be excessive douching, application of creams & other hygienic products, as well as innoculation with material from around the perianal/genital areas. Bacterial vaginosis is simply an overgrowth of anaerobic bacteria that are usually not a significant part of the vaginal flora.
Bacterial vaginosis is usually treated with metronidazole x1, which effectively eradicates these anaerobic bacteria. Given that the male urethral environment is nothing similar to the vaginal environment, guys are not usually affected by the presence of these bacteria in the female. Even the risk of carrying such bacteria is not the significant factor here because the problem was an underlying change in the woman’s vaginal environment. Bacterial vaginosis is not the same as chlamydia or gonococcal infections, nor is it similar to candida or trichomonas infections. Instead, it is a transient change that occurs due to flora displacement.
Bacterial vaginosis presents as a thick yellow-white discharge that has a fishy odor and characteristic findings on the microscope. It does not pose a risk to the female nor the male.
Therefore, there is actually not a significant reason why you wouldn’t be able to have sex during treatment. However, you would still not want to disturb the vaginal environment with semen, potentially delaying the treatment. Also as mentioned above, you should always wear protection, not because of bacterial vaginosis itself, but simply because it is safer and it adds to the contraceptive action of the birth control pill. So I would tell you to just simply wait, it’s not that long, you can do it.
You really shouldn’t because you can transfer the bacteria to him and then after you have completed your antibiotics he could potentially re-infect you. Just doesn’t sound like something I would want to go through again if I didn’t have to.
Are you crazy? If you have to ask this ? then you know the answer. When my husband has a cold I don’t even go near him, I don’t to get sick, so why would you want to have unprotected sex with someone who has an INFECTION.
unprotected sex, sex while one has a disease.
not a bright couple are you? well, least you are made for each other, marry one other please. spare the rest of us.
No it is not safe. With such close contact, you will get the bacteria on your member.
Yes you will get it and spread the bug if/when you have sex with someone else.
It is best to abstain from sex for around 6 weeks after treatment has commenced. Surely your doctor would have advised this.
Not only should you not have unprotected sex with anyone, the male sexual partner should be undergoing the same treatment as the woman at the same time. The chances are incredibly high that he’s already got the infection, if you two were sexually active prior to the diagnosis, and if the treatment isn’t given to both the man and woman at the same time, it will just keep coming back, because you’ll keep reinfecting each other.
I’ve heard of women going to one doctor, going through treatment, then getting it again, and going to a different doctor, getting another treatment, and on and on like this, where if they had simply gone back to the same doctor, s/he would’ve explained that they were likely being reinfected by their partner, and that he’d have to go through treatment, too, for it to go away and stay away.
Send your fellow to the doctor, or he might be able to call the doctor’s office and explain that his sexual partner has an infection (make sure he uses the correct name for it), and if he’s got a good enough relationship with the doctor (sees the doctor regularly), he might be able to get a prescription called in without having to have an appointment. But only the doctor’s office can determine that, please have him call and make an appointment if he must.
Its not safe to have unprotected sex with anyone.
no. the man will not get it. but because sex and particularly semen can again change the microbial flora of the vagina (e.g by neutralizing the acidic pH of the vagina, by mechanical introduction of cutaneous microorganisms), i suggest you defer sex for now as it might reduce the efficacy of the treatment. after all, the treatment would only last 7 days