Hi ladies,

I have literally just got in from a job and came straight on here. Im so upset and I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem. I have been escorting for a little over a year, and have never had thrush or any sti of any kind. I am very clean and have not even once had sex without using a condom. Then in october of last year I got bacterial vaginosis. I could tell right away something wasnt right- i had A LOT of runny thin discharge and the smell was horrible. I was convinced i had some awful sti so i rushed off to my doctor and after she did all swabs, urine tests etc she said it was bacterial vag. She gave me antiobiotics and told me not to use scented shower gels down there, douche and wear cotton underwear. Things I already knew. Then just before xmas, the exact symptoms re appeared. As it was almost xmas I knew i wouldnt get the results as quickly as i wanted so i just paid the ?300 and had all the tests done again in Harley street. Of course it came back i had bacterial vag again...the doctor gave me antibiotics again. The next day the sypmthoms had gone and i felt ok. 3 weeks later i got it AGAIN. I was so upset. I had finished both courses of antibiotics and both times this was happening. This time I knew 100 percent what i had and just got the gel from boots that you insert inside for 7 days i think its called balance active or re-active or something like that...It went although less quickly than with the antibiotics, but the antibiotics where so strong and made me very ill (although i wasnt sick). After i was fine. Then I got it AGAIN end of feb, did the gel again, and today its back.
I feel im going out of my mind. I was just with my client and the smell was so bad i was horrified. I did sense something this morning but i honestly thought it would be ok, surely i didnt have it AGAIN. Since i got it the first time back in october i have been soooo careful. I bought the special intimate wash from boots, i dont spray anything there like perfumes or body sprays, i wear good underwear, i change and wash my towels every other day. Its really interfering with my work...i have to put a sponge inside like i have a period but i can still smell it. Has anyone ever had this??? I never ever have unprotected sex. what could it be could it be the lubricant??? im using durex normal one???x

it must be somehow related to what we do...i mean...surely...i just dont know...

Yes, I'd say getting recurrent BV and/or thrush is definitely an occupational hazard. When I was working in brothels, I all of a sudden started to get in those annoying cycles. But since I quit nearly 8 months ago, I haven't had a single episode. Informal case studies like this speak volumes IMO.

For washing my lady garden I got recommended Aqueous by the doctors. The Boots sell them and it's a parafin based skincream which is safe to use on our privates. Boot's brand is the best I find, since there are no preservative, which can otherwise irritate the skin.

Another tip I've got was to wash all your knickers in a  90 degrees wash (however, I wouldn't do that with fancy work lingerie as it could get ruined). I guess same could apply to bed linen and pyjamas too.

I have written more on Thrush Prevention, as to me it seems to go hand in hand with our diet, lifestyle and the stresses of having sex-with-strangers-whose-hygiene-&-health-we-know-nothing-about. Personally, I think it's strong enough reason to limit the amount of partners one chooses to see. And if clients get the hump about it, why not remind them of the fact that we are taking more health risks with our bodies than they'd ever expose themselves to at work. So there.  

In the meantime, try not to stress out about you getting BV. You can only do your best to prevent it, and by stressing about it, you are somehow taking more responsibility for events which could possibly take both genders to create.
 
SnakeLady

London Girl

BV is definetely more common, but not exclusive to, ladies who have multiple sexual partners (with or without a condom) even though its not actually passed from male to female (or vice versa).   Spermicides have been associated with an increased risk of BV so you're right, it is most likely because of the job we do, which was confirmed by Snake Lady anyway.

I've googled it and from what I can gather, a possible reason that you keep getting BV is that the spermicide in the condoms may be causing the pH level of the vagina to rise which means that it becomes more alkaline and this causes the bad bacteria to multiply until the amount of bad bacteria in the vagina far outweigh the good.  Treatments like Biofem and Bioactive are, to put it crudely, more acidic.  So using these brings the pH level of the vagina back down to what it should be and restores the natural balance of good and bad bacteria.

If I were in your situation I think what I would do is get antibiotics again to clear it up quickly and then I would, as a preventative measure, use Bioactive or Biofem in much the same way as Cassie does in the thread mentioned below   http://www.saafe.info/main/index.php?topic=2404.0  and see how you go with that.  This is totally just what I think I would do, its totally up to you how you deal with it.  

Also, woman using the coil have an increased risk of getting BV according to the sites i looked on in Google.  

Good luck and let us know how you get on. xx

Oh, totally forgot!

The best thing I did apart from cutting out sugars and so forth, was to stop shaving my pussy. A male friend of mine heard this on a Swedish radio show regarding thrush prevention. Apparently that cushion of air which pubic hair creates helps our defence mechanisms (could it be our good bacteria?) to keep nasties at bay or to ward them off. Or something to this extend.

EXCELLENT advice. I used to get swollen glands in my  underarms until a doctor advised me it was cos I was shaving and the sweat had nowhere to go - no probs once I stopped shaving!! Now that I'm shaving my armpits again (cos the blokies HATE hairy pits, ffs), the swollen glands are creeping back  

Now, when I say to people that it's MUCH healthier and clean to NOT shave pussy/underarms, I am met with a general disgust and "EWWWWWW!" whether on or off line, and from men AND women. It's seen (by 'society'/media) as "CLEAN" to have a hairless pussy and armpits, yet the truth is the opposite! Mother Nature put hair *there* for a reason!

Hi ladies,

Thank you so much for all your help. This morning i ordered some organic lube from starglide website it is supposed to have no perfumes etc in it, I do use a lot of lube when im working obviously as i never even slightly get aroused, and im thinking it may be that...i was using normal blue durex lube or boots own brand just the normal ones not flavoured. And yes i am so careful where their fingers go etc but it seems to make no difference...it seems to be coming back every couple of weeks...im going to boots today to see what else i can find... was soooo embarrasing with my client yesterday, after sex the smell was SO bad, i said i was using a new lubricant and its so strong that must be the smell!! but he looked at me wierd like he didnt really believe like i had some awful sti or something..i could not wait to get out of there...x

Most condoms don't have spermicidal lubricant..

     As soon as I logged off I realised this     

Oh well let us know how you get on with the organic lube then, i'll be really interested to know. xx