The STD We Pretend Isn’t an STD (Because It Happens to Women)

Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) is recurring, disruptive, and likely sexually transmitted. But you won’t find BV listed as an STD in your doctor’s pamphlet.

---

Pexles | Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom

If you enjoyed this article, please share it with a friend or consider becoming a paid subscriber.

One in three women has fought Bacterial Vaginosis (BV). One minute, your vagina is a serene self-cleaning oven of pH perfection. The next…it smells like someone stored a tuna sandwich in a gym sock and left it on the dashboard in July.

But while some women take the prescribed antibiotics and go on with their lives, millions unknowingly open a floodgate of recurring infections, drug-resistant bacteria, and vaginal microflora so confused it starts questioning its own taxonomy.

For these women — let’s call them BV veterans — this isn’t a one-time awkward trip to the gynecologist. It’s a monthly reckoning. And they are not alone. Sixty percent of BV cases recur within a year.

Consequently, women are left with a cycle of creams, pills, abstinence, douching (don’t do it), online forums, yogurt experiments, and increasingly specific Google searches. And the medical establishment’s answer to this miserable loop has long been: “Maybe your vagina is just…like that.”

Now, a recent study from the New England Medical Journal (NEMJ) had the gall to ask the obvious: Why do so many women struggle with recurring BV?

And could it have something to do with…men? (Hint: there’s an oral link.)

Let’s dive into the latest research.