In the US, bacterial vaginosis (BV) happens in about 10-64% of the general women population at any point in their life, and 16% of women during pregnancy. The exact causes of bacterial vaginosis are still under investigation. What is known thus far is that certain factors involved in maintaining vaginal health have been affected.

In BV, the delicate vaginal flora balance between the naturally-occurring good and bad bacteria is disrupted – the number of ‘good’ hydrogen peroxide-producing lactobacilli becomes much smaller, while the concentration of multiple ‘bad’ anaerobic bacteria is increased. This is why BV is not easy to be diagnosed as there are many types of bacteria involved. It is also not easy to cure BV permanently. However, nowadays many women managed to eradicate BV completely with natural bacterial vaginosis cures. One of the best guides available is 3 Days to Permanent Bacterial Vaginosis Relief.

Before continuing to take a look at bacterial vaginosis causes and risk factors, it helps a great deal to first clear up some of the misunderstanding about this vaginal condition.

Firstly, you must be aware that that you do not get BV through:

* Touching objects around you.

* Swimming pools.

* Sitting on toilet seats or chairs.

* Linens and mattresses you sleep on.

So what causes bacterial vaginosis?

Known causes and risk factors of BV include:

1. Sexual activity

Although BV is not considered as STD, medical scientists found an association between sexual activity and BV. Nevertheless, it remains unclear as to how sex alters the balance of the microorganisms in the vagina.

The majority of women diagnose with BV are active sexually, but the infection can also take place, though rarely, in women who haven't had intercourse. The BV-causing bacteria have also been detected in the rectum of virginal boys and girls. So far, sex activity is the strongest contributing factor of BV.

Medical observations until now are that:

* The risk of getting BV is greatly increased if the woman has more sexual partners.

* BV could be related to having a new sexual partner.

* The male partner does not get BV symptoms even if he may carry the same germs in his urinary tract as in the woman with BV.

* Not using a condom during sex may predispose women to BV.

2. Vaginal douching

Medical studies have found that vaginal douching increases the risk for disruption of the vaginal flora, and thus BV. The proposed hypothesis for this is that douching causes either an imbalance to the vaginal flora or stimulates inflammation as a result of the physical or chemical irritation from douching. As a result, women may be easier to be attacked by BV infection. Most commercial douche products contain mainly fragrance, water and acetic acid, and some also have surfactant detergents.

Surfactant detergents kill bacteria by breaking their cell structure. At the same time, it also washes away antibacterial factors on the vaginal cell membranes, causing irritation of the vaginal wall lining and increasing the susceptibility to infection.

3. Other identified BV causes include use of intrauterine birth control device, stress and cigarette smoking.