Chapter 24, Problem 7CT

Summary Introduction

To answer:

Why some natural health advocates are promoting the ingestion of live Lactobacillus cultures to prevent bacterial vaginosis and why is the practice likely to fail.

Concept introduction:

The bacterial infection of the vaginal lining is called vaginosis. The bacterial vaginosis is characterized by the fishy smell with white vaginal discharge. Sometimes, itching and irritation may occur in the opening of the vagina. However, nearly 50% of women reported no symptoms for bacterial vaginosis. Vaginosis is caused by microbial infection, vaginal douching, and having more sexual partners.