You should get on birth control if you are going to engage in risky sexual behavior and don't wish to become pregnant. I doubt you have anything to worry about this time around but having birth control handy won't cause you any harm. Planned parenthood, or your doctor, can discuss your birth control options with you.

As far as the BV, it sounds like you should take the cream from the doctor. That way you know it will be gone.

I had the same thing. Mine was on going. Dr. gave me Flagyll and it worked for about a week. The horrible smell came back stronger. I could smell it through my cloths and sex was out because i was so embarrased. I finally went to another MD who put me on (pardon the spelling) CLYNDEMIACIN. It worked like a charm. This was months ago and i have not had the problem since. First Doc suggested i had (pardon spelling again) TRICHOMONIS which is an STD!!!! Hell no way. I was ready to kill my husband as i know where i've sleeping. Turned out to be a stubborn strain of bacteria. Nothing sexually transmitted.

BV is an INFECTION, it requires antibiotic treatment. If you do not treat it properly it can lead to PID, a very painful infection that can cause fertility issues.

thnx for your help. i actually do have birth control, but i got it from Planned Parenthood. the brand is "ortho" i think? i hear from a lot of people its not a very good BC and will make me gain weight. im very cautious about my weight considering i only weigh 115 at the height of 5'7..im trying to stay at this height and weight because im working on pursueing a modeling career. so, i dont want to gain any weight .. im nervous about starting it.. has anyone taken Ortho before?
also, i usually do have protected sex. i really dont know why i did this time... i am no longer with that boy so hopefully from now on if i am to get a new boyfriend he doesnt ty to persuade me into having sex with no protection like my ex boyfriend did.

Metronidazole is the preferred treatment for BV.

And if you are serious about a modelling career, don't mess up your chances by taking risks! if I were you I would stay focused on the career and leave boys out of the picture for now.

Good luck.

yeah, Metronidazole a.k.a Flagyl.. i tried that.. the side effects were HORRIFICC!!! and i only took it for 2 days i couldn't imagine taking it for 7... my doc. says theres a gel/cream she can perscribe me.. that is supposed to work the same as the pill.

I don't understand why I have BV. I'm 18 years old and it's extremely hard for me to deal with. When my doctor called with the swab results, I broke down.

It's sort of like contracting an STI but not as bad. But I still feel so bad.

Could it be change of sexual partner? I've been sleeping with the same guy for the past 5 months, protected and sometimes unprotected.
I was with my ex boyfriend before him for 3 years and we had protected and unprotected sex, never any problems down there, I may have gotten thrush once or twice but thats normal.

I'm so conscious about this, I've even stopped eating a drinking yeasty products.
The first sign of BV, my doctor prescribed me

TINIDAZOLE (Simplotan) - Four tablets at once immediately after food.
Two days later it was gone, and thank god.
Not even two months later it reappeared.

I went to my doctor who took another swab and prescribed me METROGYL (Metronidazole) - One tablet twice a day with meals for one week.
So I took them for a week, by the second day BV was gone.
Then about 3 weeks later, it came back again. So I called my doctor who told me that the swab that came back was "more" thrush than BV and that I should just buy a thrush treatment. The bottle of METROGYL had 7 remaining tablets and I was certain I had BV because it had that smell, thrush doesnt smell or look like that.
So I took 2 tablets a day until it was gone and stopped taking them. Which then left me with 4 tablets. Then another 4 weeks later I got BV again, this time the odour wasnt as strong but it was still BV. So I took the remaining tablets and it minimized the smell, but its still there.
I've still got it, and I've had no time or money to go to the doctor. I don't know what else to do. Do I have to keep going through this over and over again.
What can I do to manage this condition. Because I'm obviously going to have to put up with it for the rest of my life. I'm over it. I'm depressed and I need an easy way to deal with it because I'm too busy with work and getting my life together, it's taking a toll on my social life because I can always smell it, through my jeans, throught my shorts, through everything. And I don't want to go out incase anyone else notices it.
It's frustrating, and I'm rambling but I'm over it. And I'm sure many other women are as well.