BV has several typical symptoms that you can identify yourself.
- Fishy odor. The odor often increases after sex. It smells like a rotten fish. You can insert a cotton swab into the vagina and let it wet and smell it. If it smells bad, you may still have BV, but if it has no unpleasant odor, your BV may be cleared.
- Increased discharge with a white or grayish color. If your discharge reduces after treatment, your BV may be cleared. If you have white discharge the next day after using BV Clear, it may be related to the flushing out of the suppository ingredients. It may be normal. The suppository-related white discharge will reduce with time and will be gone after 3 days. However, if you still have discharge 3 days after you use a BV Clear suppository, it may be unrelated to the suppository ingredient. It may be BV-related and you may need to continue treating your BV.
- Increased pH to above 4.5. You can purchase a roll of pH paper from Amazon. The normal range of vaginal pH is between 3.5 and 4.5. You can insert a cotton swab to let it wet. Then touch it with the pH paper. After the pH paper changes color, you can compare it with the pH color templates on the box. If the pH reading is at or below 4.5, your BV is cleared.
Note: Applying a NeuEve suppository, like BV Clear, can maintain vaginal pH in the normal range for up to 3 days. If you are currently using NeuEve suppositories, you will need to wait at least 3 days after your last suppository before measuring vaginal pH.
If you want to conduct a microbiome test, you will need to wait for at least 1 week or until your next period has ended. Also, please do not rush to undergo a lab test before completing the recommended 3-month maintenance period. Without this maintenance, even if your lab test results are negative for BV, the infection may easily recur. Recurrence of BV is common, so it is important to perform maintenance to prevent its return. You should delay your lab test until you have completed the 3-month maintenance.
How to stop BV from coming back?
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 diseases.