To answer your question, there are two possibilities:
1. You have a quiet case of BV, but you thought that you were healthy.
BV bacteria produce amines. When these amines are fully dissolved in liquid-like vaginal secretion, there is little or no odor. But when the environment becomes alkaline upon exposure to semen, amines release ammonia gas. You may smell the pungent fishy odor. Semen triggered the odor release. This is a sign that you might have had BV before you had sex. In this case, your BV is not caused by man. This is a common BV-related symptom.
- A Quiet Imbalance: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is not a sexually transmitted infection. It simply means your protective, native bacteria temporarily dropped, allowing other normal vaginal bacteria to overgrow. This overgrowth can happen completely silently, producing no noticeable odor or symptoms while you are going about your day.
- The Chemical Trigger: BV-related bacteria naturally produce tiny organic compounds called amines. When you have intercourse, your partner’s semen—which is naturally alkaline—mixes with your vaginal chemistry. This change in pH triggers an instant chemical reaction that vaporizes those compounds, releasing a sharp ammonia or fishy scent.
- A Revealing Agent, Not the Cause: Your partner's chemistry did not introduce or cause the infection. Instead, it acted like a "revealing agent," suddenly making a quiet, pre-existing bacterial imbalance noticeable to your senses.
Moving Forward:
Please rest assured that this does not mean your partner is unhygienic or passing something back and forth to you. It simply means your vaginal microbiome needs a little support to regain its natural, acidic pH balance so it can suppress those amine-producing bacteria. Once your natural bacterial balance is restored, your vaginal chemistry will comfortably handle intimate contact without triggering that chemical reaction.
2. Your BV was completely cleared, but your partner might harbor some BV-related bacteria and give BV back to you.
This is much less common. In this case, it happens quietly, and it does not show a noticeable odor immediately after sex. It takes some time for BV to develop after the initial infection. The last section of this article explains how an intimate partner may pass BV back to you.
https://www.neueve.com/blogs/blog/how-to-relieve-stubborn-bacterial-vaginosis
Men do not get BV. This means that even if men harbor BV-related bacteria, it may be temporary. While you are doing BV treatment, it would be a good idea to refrain from having sex for at least 2 weeks. You should let your partner clean well with soap and keep good hydration to flush the bladder with strong urine pressure. This way, after your BV is cleared, your partner will also be clean.
The partner may be a carrier if the infection is associated with group B streptococcus.
Even though he may not have any noticeable symptoms, a study showed that spouses of group B-infected women tested positive for the same type of group B streptococcus in their urine. Thus, men can be a source of re-infection.
Since men do not have group B streptococcus infection, their carrier status may be temporary and may not last for two weeks. It would be a good idea to refrain from having sex for at least 2 weeks while you are treating group B infection.
However, if BV is infected by special pathogens like Ureaplasma, men may get an infection and may need treatment with antibiotics. It is easy to know if a man is infected by Ureaplasma. A typical symptom is pain during urination. If so, a urologist can provide treatment for a man.
Other BV care products use a one-size-fits-all approach. We provide personalized or customized care.
Personalized care is better care. We offer 7 different products to clear stubborn recurrent BV in women of different ages and health conditions.
We would be better able to help you choose a suitable product if you could tell us your age and health conditions, such as birth control, IUD, breastfeeding, hysterectomy, and cancer treatment.
To date, we have helped over 100,000 women with severe recurrent BV, and all other products, including antibiotics and boric acid, have failed to find rapid and complete relief.
Other products may clear BV, but cannot stop BV from coming back. NeuEve is the only product that can remove BV and stop recurrent BV from coming back.
Some stubborn recurrent BV cases are caused by Ureaplasma, which naturally resists most antibiotics used for BV treatment. But NeuEve AV Clear can clear it. For more information about how BV Clear and AV Clear can clear bad bacteria, you may find these articles helpful:
How does NeuEve kill bad bacteria without using antibiotics?
Ureaplasma is sexually transmitted and requires treatment of the partner. This article provides the steps:
Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. It is about natural products, nutrients, and/or alternative methods for managing discomforts associated with vaginal dysbiosis (imbalance of microbiome, not a true infection or disease). It is not medical advice for the treatment of any disease.