At any given moment, almost one in three women in the U.S. has bacterial vaginosis. Yet, for many, medicine does not have a good treatment. Now, scientists are trying something new: Take fluid from a happy vagina and put it in an unhappy one.
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Ask a woman for the most embarrassing, frustrating, and uncomfortable health condition she’s ever dealt with down there, and bacterial vaginosis (BV) likely tops the list. While many women may have BV without any symptoms, the
telltale signs of a life-disrupting infection include surprise plops of gray, green, or white vaginal discharge, a fishy odor, itchy skin, a burning sensation when you pee, and painful sex all of which can make even the most empowered woman feel anxious and insecure.
Despite the shame and stigma that sometimes comes with BV, what’s happening isn’t your fault. Rather, it’s a reflection of the complex and ever-changing balance of bacteria inside the vagina.