B.V., infections, toy cleaning..Anyone? I need help!

Agree! Unlubricated condoms was a trick I figured out back in high school, I was SOOOO much more (practically continuously) likely to have an infection before I realized not to use them.

Sigh.

I got my IUD when I'd been in a monogamous, long distance relationship for a year (and he was moving back home), so I hadn't had a yeast infection for a long time (I was thanking my lucky stars when they asked about it!). Things have honestly been a lot better this way, actually, for me at least. BC pills mess with my moods so I avoid them at all costs.

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I had a boiling party yesterday myself... I even had a theme song.

Then bleach and water it is! Just make sure that you use a very minimal amount of bleach and a huge amount of water. Let it sit for five minutes and then rinse it off quite thoroughly.

Yikes! Using bleach on something I put in my body sounds scary to me. I have very sensitive skin and I react easily to certain things and chemicals, so I have a feeling no matter how much I rinsed it off after putting bleach on it I would have a reaction to it.

Yeah, it's not something I personally recommend to people. I would never do it. Also, your body washes, choice of menstrual product, and even your laundry detergent can be problematic. If you haven't done so already, boiling your panties might not be a bad idea either.

Just got my bottle of Accuflora today! Excited.

Have you tried non-latex condoms? Here's Eden's page of non-latex and female condoms link What about the Today Sponge, or a diaphragm?

PP only gets donations, no goverment money, so of course, they have to often go with the least expensive BC pills. But, you do get them on a sliding scale or for free if you qualify. My daughter used to get her NuvaRing from them with a co-pay, but they recently stopped offering it from PP due to cost, unless you have health insurance.

I did try condoms over all my toys,but it didn't really seem to make a difference since I still got infections. I hadn't had B.V. for a while until recently. Yeast, I get many times a year, it has come and gone but has definitely seemed impossible.

Thank you for mentioning this, but I have considered stress as a VERY possible reason for this for the past 2 or 3 years, but there's not much I can do about that since I have tried but all of the stressers are out of my control completely. I've read that stress can cause both infections, and a number of other issues.

Alice, you'd be surprised. I've worked with women in their 50s and older, or women in their 20s and 30s or any age who didn't know how to wipe to prevent infections and who were still douching three or four times a week, "So I'll be really clean for my husband." They aren't stupid, but we have to give the info to everybody.

We have to tell all women this, because we don't know each woman's level of knowledge. No one is thinking you're stupid or naive, we're just covering all our bases. Giving basic info isn't a judgement call on you, personally. You'd be surprised how many women still douche. Some simply don't read up to date facts or still think their vaginas are "dirty" places. It isn't their fault as so many woman have been raised to think this way. We have to let ALL women know the facts, because we have no way of knowing if you or anyone else has the knowledge and is putting it into action. It's nothing personal.

I hope you can get your BV cleared up. Metrogel (as nasty as it is)or clindamycin (Cleocin), metronidazole (Flagyl), and tinidazole (Tindamax)orally are lesser used antibiotics that work well for BV. Many "common" antibiotics don't seem to work well on BV. Add some diflucan (sadly, it's prescription only) to prevent candida (yeast infection) at the same time is one of the best ways to treat BV.

I hope you feel better. Honey, you really need to get this treated. It can effect your entire body health, your fertility and not to mention your quality of life and comfort levels.

I'm so glad you have healed and have found a way to stay healthy.