If you’ve ever experienced vaginal discomfort like itching, burning, or unusual discharge, you know how frustrating and uncomfortable it can be. Many women assume they are dealing with a yeast infection (thrush) or bacterial vaginosis (BV), but there’s another condition that frequently gets missed – aerobic vaginitis (AV).
AV is caused by an overgrowth of aerobic bacteria like E.coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Group B Streptococcus, and Enterococcus faecalis. Unlike BV which is caused by anaerobic bacteria, these aerobic pathogens found in AV need oxygen to multiply.
The tricky part is that AV symptoms are very similar to those of BV or thrush, leading to misdiagnosis by general practitioners who may be unaware of this condition. Unusual discharge, odor, irritation, and inflammation can occur with all three vaginal imbalances.
As a result, aerobic vaginitis often gets mistaken for BV or a yeast infection. This results in ineffective treatment when anti-fungal or anaerobic-targeting antibiotics are prescribed instead of ones effective against the aerobic bacterial triggers of AV.
Part of the problem is lack of awareness about AV, even among many doctors and gynecologists. AV was first recognised in 2002 (in the medical world, that is considered rather recent!). Research suggests up to 12% of women have this condition, yet it remains poorly understood compared to BV and fungal infections.
AV is characterised by:
- Presence of aerobic bacterias (the ones mentioned above)
- A suppression of lactobacillus cultures
- A pH of 4.5 or above (becoming more alkaline than we would want)
- Yellow or green vaginal discharge
- Unpleasant smell (however it is not “fishy” like that of BV). OR no smell at all
- Redness, sweling, inflammation of the vulvo-vaginal tissue
- A stinging and/or burning sensation
- Epithelial atrophy (decrese in skin cells leading to issues of the vaginal tissue such as formaiton of small “tears”.
- Pain during sexual intercourse
That’s where advanced testing methods I offer as a naturopathic practitioner can help – both for properly diagnosing aerobic vaginitis in individuals and helping the patient receive the appropriate treatment by brining awareness of the condtion to general medicine practitioners in the case where they are unwarw of AV and how it is different from BV.
Vaginal microbiome mapping can accurately identify all the bacteria present, including the aerobic pathogens involved in AV (as well as being useful for identifying BV, dysbiosis, fungal infections). It’s a powerful diagnostic tool that can distinguish AV from other vaginal imbalances.
With a proper AV diagnosis, treatment can then target the right aerobic bacteria using appropriate antibiotics like clindamycin or kanamycin rather than ineffective medications for BV or yeast. Often G.P.s who are unaware of AV will attempt to treat it as BV, prescribing metronidazole (an antibiotic that targets anaerobic bacteria- not the aerobic bacteria found in AV) which is likely to be ineffective.
Don’t let persistent vaginal discomfort linger due to a misdiagnosis or lack of awareness about aerobic vaginitis! This condition affects millions of women yet often goes unrecognised by general practitioners.
If you’ve tried treating suspected BV or thrush without success, let’s try testing for aerobic vaginitis. Vaginal microbiome mapping can identify this frequently missed yet treatable culprit!
DOI: 10.1016/j.resmic.2017.04.004
https://dermnetnz.org/topics/aerobic-vaginitis
https://www.evvy.com/blog/aerobic-vaginitis
https://doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2015-052406