What Is Gardnerella Vaginitis?

Gardnerella vaginitis is a common vaginal bacterial infection that affects three out of four women at least once in their lives and usually accompanies either a yeast, trichomonas or urinary tract infection. Men can be infected through sexual intercourse and can also transmit to additional partners.

Symptoms

• - Thick, white discharge
  - A strong, unpleasant odor
  - Itchiness and irritation
  - Burning sensation when urinating
  - Pain during sexual intercourse

  While there are many possible symptoms of Gardnerella vaginitis, there are a large percentage of women (and men) who do not have any symptoms. If Gardnerella is not treated in a timely manner, the bacteria can transfer to the urethra and also cause a urinary tract infection. The bacteria may also cause an abnormal Pap smear result, but treating the infection should result in a negative test result (pending there are no other issues).

Detection

• If you believe that you may have Gardnerella vaginitis, you should promptly make an appointment to see your gynecologist. He or she will perform a pelvic exam and take a sample of your vaginal fluid to view under a microscope or send off to a laboratory for a culture. It's important that you refrain from using any douches or vaginal creams beforehand in order for the test results to be as accurate as possible.

Causes

• The following are believed to be possible causes of Gardnerella:
  - Stress
  - Poor diet
  - Lack of sleep
  - Wearing tight pants or nylon underwear
  - Sexual intercourse with an infected person
  - Douching
  - Toilet seats, clothes or bath water used after an infected person
  - Infection after a hysterectomy and post-abortion pelvic inflammatory disease
  - Presence of fetal fibronectin in pregnant women

Treatments

• When your culture results are returned and another infection is present (urinary tract, yeast or trichomonas), your health care provider may prescribe you medication to clear those up first, which may clear up the Gardnerella infection as well. Treatments can include antibiotics, metronidazole or clindamycin (oral or topical).

Prevention

• In order to prevent a Gardnerella infection, refrain from sharing toilets, laundered clothes or towels,or clothes that come in contact with the infected area. It is most important that you do not have direct contact with the infected area, which includes sexual intercourse without proper protection (i.e. a condom). In order to prevent your sexual partner from contracting Gardnerella, you should refrain from close vaginal contact (i.e. sexual intercourse without a condom) until the infection is completely gone. Also, do not share towels, launder clothes or bathe with anyone.