PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - P Hay
TI  - Life in the littoral zone: lactobacilli losing the plot
AID  - 10.1136/sti.2003.007161
DP  - 2005 Apr 01
TA  - Sexually Transmitted Infections
PG  - 100--102
VI  - 81
IP  - 2
4099  - http://sti.bmj.com/content/81/2/100.short
4100  - http://sti.bmj.com/content/81/2/100.full
SO  - Sex Transm Infect2005 Apr 01; 81
AB  - Recurrent bacterial vaginosis is a challenge for those affected by it, and their physicians. Our inability to prevent relapse after treatment, may be because of the flawed approach of using antibiotics to treat a condition that is an imbalance rather than an infection. The maintenance of a healthy lactobacillus population offers an approach to preventing relapse: the problem is how best to do this. Physiological approaches such as the use of hydrogen peroxide, lactic acid, and exogenous lactobacilli need to be explored further. The role of bacterial vaginosis as a risk factor for acquisition of HIV and other STIs is a further impetus to attempting to prevent bacterial vaginosis from recurring.