When you’re trying to decipher the factors that affect your own bacterial vaginosis, there are many things to consider.
Women are always commenting that the underwear they wear contributes to their bacterial vaginosis reoccurrences.
They say that if the underwear does not have a cotton crotch or is not made of cotton, it causes a flare-up of the BV symptoms.
They say that when they wear underwear made of anything other than cotton that they have problems.
Many women believe that all these habits related to daily living are factors in bacterial vaginosis flare-ups and re-occurrences. The way to monitor yourself on these personal habits is to keep a record of the habits and also your bacterial vaginosis symptoms. This way you can track how each of these habits affect you.
One of the most important things to track for your underwear is what pair of underwear you wore for the day.
For example, did you wear a thong?
Did you wear bikini style or high cut style?
Some health care providers have stated that wearing a thong is actually not recommended for any woman, without even considering those with bacterial vaginosis. They say that a thong is a health risk.
A thong rubs tight against the vágina and anús and has the potential to transmit bacteria from the anús to the vágina better than bikini style or high cut underwear. By doing this, the bacteria can cause a váginal infection that lowers the amount of Lactobacillus bacteria in the vagina.
This would precipitate a re-occurrence of bacterial vaginosis.
When you track your underwear, also write down what type of fabric the underwear is made from. Just look on the label; you may need a magnifying glass but the fabric will be listed.
You can also track your underwear based on its color or pattern. For example, the smiley face underwear might be tracked with the words smiley face and the red lace underwear might be tracked with the words red lace.
The scientific community has actually researched the effects of different habits on bacterial vaginosis. One study called Personal Hygienic Behaviors and Bacterial Vaginosis followed the habits of 3620 women and then analyzed the data with regression analysis.
By the sheer number of participants in the study, you know there is enough to not raise a red flag about the study. Research studies with ten or less subjects are just not large enough to make any valid conclusions.
In this study, you may be surprised to find out that they did not find a correlation between nylon underwear and bacterial vaginosis. Instead, they found a correlation between váginal douching and incidence of bacterial vaginosis.
The problem with the studies is that unless we go directly to the researchers and specifically ask them what exactly was studied, we don’t get the whole truth. For example, was the douche made from synthetic chemicals or was it hydrogen peroxide, apple cider vinegar or yogurt?
Was the underwear strictly cotton or nylon or did some women wear rayon/nylon?
Was the underwear that was worn bikini style or thongs?
In research studies, we need all the details to make the final conclusion. It could be that the study was performed properly but the conclusion reached was in error. In this study, we just don’t have enough data to go on.
Your best answer to the question of whether or not you should wear nylon or cotton underwear is to try it yourself. Many women have found a correlation between wearing cotton underwear and an improvement in symptoms from Candida yeast infections.
Does that connection hold for bacterial vaginosis?
Only you can find out. Don’t take someone’s word for it. Check it out. Wear cotton underwear one month, then nylon the next month. Then evaluate what occurred.
Be your own scientist.
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