Bacterial vaginosis is treated with medicine. Two different medicines can be used. They are called:

• Metronidazole
• Clindamycin

Both medicines come in different forms. They can come as a pill or as a gel or cream that a woman puts inside her vagina. Most women have fewer side effects when they use the gel or cream treatment. But you and your doctor or nurse will decide which medicine and which form is right for you.

It is important that you take all the medicine your doctor or nurse prescribes, even if your symptoms go away after a few doses. Taking all your medicine can help prevent the symptoms from coming back.

If you are pregnant and have symptoms of bacterial vaginosis, tell your doctor or nurse. You might need treatment with medicine.

A vulvovaginal yeast infection is an infection that causes itching and irritation of the vulva, the outer lips of the vagina. This type of infection is caused by a fungus called “candida.” (Yeast are a type of fungus.)

Most women cannot tell whether they have a yeast infection or something else. The symptoms of a yeast infection are a lot like the symptoms of many other conditions, so it is hard to tell.

The best way to find out if you have a yeast infection is to see your doctor or nurse. He or she can run a swab (Q-tip) inside your vagina to collect vaginal fluids. Then, he or she can look at the vaginal fluids from the swab under a microscope and look for the fungus that causes yeast infections. Depending on your situation, your doctor or nurse might do other tests, too. For example, he or she might do a “culture.” This is a test to find out if yeast is present and if so, which type of yeast you have.

Yeast infections can be treated with a pill that you swallow or with medicines that you put in the vagina and on the vulva. The medicines that you put in the vagina come in creams and tablets. All medicines for yeast infections work by killing the fungus that causes the infections.

Many women with bacterial vaginosis have no symptoms. When women have symptoms, they often have a “fishy-smelling” vaginal discharge that they might notice more after sex. The discharge is watery and off-white or gray. Women may also notice a burning feeling in the vagina.

Yes. Your doctor or nurse will do an exam. He or she will also take a sample of your vaginal discharge, and do lab tests on the sample to look for an infection.

It depends. If your sex partner is a man, he does not need to be treated if you have bacterial vaginosis. But if you have sex with other women, you should tell any partners about your bacterial vaginosis. That way they can be treated if they also get symptoms.

If your symptoms come back, let your doctor or nurse know. You might need treatment with more medicine.

Some women get bacterial vaginosis repeatedly. These women might take medicine for 3 to 6 months to try to prevent future infections.

Sometimes. You can help prevent bacterial vaginosis by:

• Not douching (douching is when a woman puts a liquid inside her vagina to rinse it out)
• Not having a lot of sex partners
• Not smoking

Symptoms include:

• Itching of the vulva
• Pain when you urinate
• Pain, redness, or irritation of the vulva and vagina
• Pain during sex

Some women with a yeast infection also leak a small amount of fluid from the vagina. This fluid is usually white and clumpy (like cottage cheese). But it can also be thin and watery.

The fungus that causes yeast infections normally lives in the vagina and the gut. Even though the yeast is there in small numbers, they do not usually cause symptoms. Certain medicines (especially antibiotics), stress, and other factors can cause the fungus to grow more than it should. When that happens, a yeast infection can start.

You will probably feel better within a few days of starting treatment. If you do not get better after you finish treatment, you should see your doctor or nurse again. You might need to take more medicine or a different medicine.

Be sure to see or doctor or nurse about it. That way you can find out for sure whether your symptoms are caused by a yeast infection and, if so, which type of yeast. There are a few different types of yeast, and they respond to different treatments. Plus, the same symptoms that you get with a yeast infection can sometimes be caused by other types of infections, an allergy, or other problems. If you get frequent infections, you might need a different treatment than you have tried in the past.