Can Men Get Bacterial Vaginosis?

This question comes up constantly, usually from a partner who has just heard the diagnosis. The short answer is no, but the fuller answer is more useful than a flat no.

What bacterial vaginosis actually is

BV is not an infection caught from outside in the way a cold is. It is a shift in the balance of the vaginal microbiome: the protective Lactobacillus bacteria that normally keep the vagina slightly acidic get crowded out by other organisms, and the pH rises. That is why it is described as an imbalance rather than an invader.

Because the condition is defined by what happens in the vagina, men cannot develop it. There is no male equivalent diagnosis.

What male partners can carry

Men can carry the bacteria associated with BV — on the penis, in the urethra, and under the foreskin — usually without any symptoms at all. Carrying them is not the same as having the condition, and it does not require treatment in the way an infection would.

What has changed recently is the thinking about recurrence. BV comes back for a large share of people after treatment, and research has been examining whether treating male partners alongside the person diagnosed reduces that. Early findings have been encouraging enough that some clinicians now discuss it, but it is not universal practice everywhere, and it is a conversation to have with a doctor rather than something to self-manage.

Can a man pass BV to a woman?

BV is not classed as a sexually transmitted infection, but sexual activity clearly influences it. A new partner, multiple partners, and unprotected sex are all associated with higher rates. Semen is alkaline, which temporarily raises vaginal pH. So while a man is not transmitting a disease, sex does affect the environment BV depends on.

What partners can usefully do

• Treat a recurring pattern as worth raising with a clinician together, rather than as one person’s problem to solve alone.
• Condoms are associated with lower recurrence in several studies.
• Do not use antibiotics left over from someone else’s prescription. That is how resistance builds and how the wrong condition gets treated.

If symptoms are present

BV, a yeast infection and trichomoniasis produce overlapping symptoms and are treated in entirely different ways. A proper diagnosis is the only way to tell them apart, and BV in particular is usually treated with prescribed antibiotics. No supplement substitutes for that.

This article is general information, not medical advice.

More on this topic: Vaginal & Intimate Health — 21 articles, each sourced.