Close your legs, your breath smells

December 4, 2012 6:45 PM

Should I stick garlic up my vagina?

Vagina owner seeking a way to get off the Bacterial Vaginosis / antibiotic merry-go-round.

Comments in this thread speak of garlic and yoghurt as a way to cure BV. I've googled but become confused by the pharma-fluff.

Do you stick garlic up your vagina or use some other home remedy successfully?

posted by Kerasia to Health & Fitness (34 answers total)

I suggest trying boric acid suppositories before some of these smellier options. Those things are like magic.
posted by medusa at 6:49 PM on December 4, 2012 [6 favorites]

I tried live-culture yoghurt a few times (soaking a tampon in it). It didn't work.
posted by lollusc at 6:49 PM on December 4, 2012

Seconding boric acid.
posted by two lights above the sea at 6:50 PM on December 4, 2012

(But whatever my pharmacist sold me afterwards did.)
posted by lollusc at 6:50 PM on December 4, 2012

Garlic has worked for me, but more for warding off a full-on infection when I start to feel the slightest bit of infection symptoms. It's not going to hurt you, so why not give it a try?
posted by shrimpsmalls at 6:53 PM on December 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yogurt worked for me (I think). It was also very soothing when applied so there's that.
posted by entropyiswinning at 7:12 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've done it, I'm not really sure if it was successful or not (I got my period right after and sometimes that makes my BV go away anyway). I've heard lots of good things about boric acid. I've tried taking probiotic pills both orally and as vaginal suppositories, and while they seemed to make my infection much less severe, they didn't ultimately cure it.

Also, if any of these home remedies seem to take away the fishy smell but you're still getting watery discharge/burning/discomfort/any other weirdness, it's probably not 100% gone. If money is an issue, if there's any way to get to a free clinic, I'd just try to get in and get some flagyl.
posted by stoneandstar at 7:12 PM on December 4, 2012

I've successfully used garlic for yeast infections, never bv.

I have also heard much of the boric acid suppository remedy for bv but never tried it myself.

Are the antibiotics for the bv and it's recurring, or are they for some other condition?
posted by abirdinthehand at 7:14 PM on December 4, 2012

Garlic works for early yeast infections. I'm not sure about BV. It's cheap and, contrary to what I've read, it didn't hurt, so what's the harm in trying, right?

I would try Boric Acid suppositories.

The BV merry-go-round sucks, but there is light at the end of the tunnel!
posted by ablazingsaddle at 7:17 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

It can't hurt so it's definitely worth a try. I did it once when I had a yeast infection, and I strongly recommend you use a needle and thread (or dental floss?) to create a handy loop for easy removal. I didn't do that and the clove got stuck! That was an uncomfortable afternoon spent contorting myself until I could get grip on it and pull it out.
posted by apricot at 8:16 PM on December 4, 2012

Try this stuff: RePhresh, specifically the gel. It worked really well for me.
posted by bedhead at 8:16 PM on December 4, 2012

I've used garlic and yogurt successfully. One fresh peeled clove every day, and a syringe-full (squirty kind, not needle kind) of non-fat live culture garlic at least once a day. Pantyliner for leaks. Do this for at least one full menstrual cycle.

I'd be wary of making a thread loop for the garlic as suggested above; I was always careful not to nick the clove when I peeled it so as to avoid burns.
posted by Specklet at 9:00 PM on December 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Warning: You may be able to taste the garlic.

I've definitely heard about this for yeast infections but not BV - they're completely different organisms. Personally it never worked for me for candidiasis, but that is meaningless in your case (I just want to chime in too!)

Veering away from home remedies - Make sure that the diagnosis is correct - previous treatments might not have worked if they were treating the wrong thing. If you've had previous ABs then you might have resistant bacteria, so if you get further swabs and it's a bacterial or trichomonas infection, make sure with your health care provider that the antibiotics you are given will actually kill the bug - they can test the antibiotic sensitivity of these bugs quite easily and depending on the lab, routinely, if they can culture it.
posted by chiquitita at 9:01 PM on December 4, 2012

Garlic has always worked for me for yeast infections, although I've never tried it for BV. It certainly can't hurt.
posted by besonders at 9:32 PM on December 4, 2012

You could also try apple cider vinegar diluted with water. It usually helps my yeast infection symptoms but doesn't completely get rid of it.
posted by IndigoRain at 10:07 PM on December 4, 2012

A lot of the suggested home remedies for candidiasis/yeast infection and BV are the same, because they both involve an imbalance in the normal "flora" (bacteria) that live in your vagina. From a physician's standpoint, the only thing that has strong evidence is more antibiotics, but I know that can be frustrating because there is a high recurrence rate. I recommend you hop over to the LiveJournal community VaginaPagina. There is a TON on BV home remedies there. Here is a link to the tag for BV.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 10:19 PM on December 4, 2012

I've used yogurt for a yeast infection when none of the standard over the counter methods worked. It worked quickly and because I froze it into small insertable sized pieces first, it immediately soothed the burny itch.
There is some discharge as it melts, so panty liners are a good call.
posted by newpotato at 2:16 AM on December 5, 2012

non-fat live culture garlic

I meant non-fat live culture YOGURT, of course. Sleep deprived new mother here, sorry.
posted by Specklet at 2:33 AM on December 5, 2012

What? I just use OTC AZO tablets from the store. Always worked for me. I don't feel comfortable inserting stuff other thantampons, though.
posted by KogeLiz at 4:06 AM on December 5, 2012

I must have some weird sensitive vagina. Because I read all the hubbub about using garlic on the Internet And I tried that once And I was in the most excruciating pain for hours. It started to burn as soon as I put it in And it kept burning even after I took it out immediately. It was a constant stinging brutal pain. And I said that's the last time I take random advice from the internet on medical issues. You have been warned!!!
posted by TestamentToGrace at 4:32 AM on December 5, 2012 [2 favorites]

Seconding testamenttograce. Hurts like firey hell. Don't do it!
posted by windykites at 4:51 AM on December 5, 2012

Prep H cleansing wipes for some relief. The primary ingredient is witch hazel, which soothes away the ick. But don't suffer too long - see a doc if it doesn't resolve in a day or two. Too painful!
posted by agregoli at 6:01 AM on December 5, 2012

(And no garlic! It burns!)
posted by agregoli at 6:02 AM on December 5, 2012

I am baffled by people saying it burns. I have used garlic lots and it's always been perfectly fine and perfectly effective. Are you people like smashing the garlic before inserting it? Or maybe there are different types of garlic and that's what is making this drastic difference?
posted by DarlingBri at 6:48 AM on December 5, 2012

I have been struggling with recurring BV/yeast infections/UTI's/you name it I've had it, for the past two years. I've taken boric acid, countless Flagyl, probiotic pills, etc., and although I believe that if you have a full-fledged infection you do need to take antibiotics/antifungals, you can seriously nip nascient infections in the bud by using garlic as a suppository (didn't hurt at all for me) and greek yogurt for relief. In addition, I've found that oatmeal baths, PH-balancing cleansing washes, such as Vagisil PH-Balance Cleanse, and gentle Always wipes help a LOT to keep these infections at bay and keep you from feeling irritated. In addition to this, I try to drink tons of water to flush out whatever yuckiness sticks to your vaginal walls, and also never ever douche with soap or anything else.
posted by OnTheWing at 7:17 AM on December 5, 2012

A few years ago, a former RN with training in a variety of alternative med approaches told me that vaginal yeast infections are just the tip of the iceberg and indicate more serious yeast overgrowth in the gut. This actually fits with my personal experience: I had a chronic, super severe vaginal yeast infection in my late teens and early twenties. At age twenty-one, when I was pregnant with my first child, I threw up for most of my pregnancy, morning, noon and night. During that pregnancy, in order to cope with how sick I was, I eliminated a number of foods from my diet pretty much permanently. A side effect of the dietary changes was that my chronic, severe yeast infection cleared up within a matter of weeks.

Re the burning that some people report: Anecdotally, my general experience* with using garlic, peppers and other spicey foods medicinally is that it sometimes burns if it is killing something. When I have cleaned up mold and my hands were covered in it, pouring peroxide over my hands burned like crazy. Other times, I pour peroxide over my hands and although it is very drying, it does not burn.

As someone else said, if you persist in not getting results, get it cultured. I knew a woman who was brutally raped and thereafter kept going to the doctor for recurrent yeast infections (this was back when you could not buy yeast treatment over the counter and needed a prescription). The doctor finally said "Oh, I will just write you a prescription with unlimited refills." She went "Oh no you won't. You are doing a culture and finding out what the problem is." They did a culture and found that she had vaginal strep (presumably left by her assailant). They treated for that and her yeast infections finally cleared up.

* I have done a lot of alternative med stuff but I have never put garlic in my vagina.
posted by Michele in California at 7:48 AM on December 5, 2012

Garlic stings if it is not intact and the juice get out. A solid, peeled clove with no cuts or nicks does not sting, in my experience.
posted by girlpublisher at 8:05 AM on December 5, 2012

boric acid! it's great.
posted by hotelechozulu at 8:16 AM on December 5, 2012

Boric acid! It was the only thing that stopped my BV/yeast infection cycle.
posted by jrichards at 8:36 AM on December 5, 2012

Based on my wife's experience, you can safely put garlic there, but it does nothing. The boric acid was effective and safe, so I am throwing in with all the others.
posted by The Castle at 9:40 AM on December 5, 2012

I've taken boric acid

I think this is a typo but just wanted to be sure that anyone reading this thread knows that we're talking about boric acid vaginal suppositories, and that boric acid is highly toxic if taken internally.
posted by Specklet at 11:54 AM on December 5, 2012 [1 favorite]

I had a bacterial problem. I was given acid pills to put up my hooha and macrobiotic pill to put down my cake hole. It worked!
posted by Foam Pants at 1:27 PM on December 5, 2012

I have never tried garlic for BV. But using garlic right after all the BV meds are done to avoid a yeast infection, coupled with tons of yogurt eating, yes! I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure BV is not anything to home-remedy-experiment with too much, whereas yeast infections are kinda okay to experiment with. But IANYD and IANAD so:

My experience with garlic:
-Only works on early infections, not a couple days in
-Don't need a string or anything so long as you arent afraid of touching the inside of your vagina. It will come out.
-I make a couple cuts in the garlic, more if it's a worse infection. Start with one or two.
-Burning hasn't been bad. It's a "good burn."
-You will taste garlic in your mouth. Tooth brushing will not make this go away.
posted by manicure12 at 11:20 PM on December 5, 2012

Response by poster: Six months later...
I changed my washing routine, reducing soap use, and things have changed very much for the better!
posted by Kerasia at 3:30 PM on June 26, 2013 [2 favorites]