The disease bacterial vaginosis, although is not a form of sexually transmitted disease, can be triggered by sexual contact with multiple partners.
However, it also is common in many women who have not had sexual contact and women with single partners.
It is caused by an imbalance in the bacterial flora of the female reproductive tract.
Many treatments have been documented to help women combat the persistent nature of the disease.
To ensure efficacy, women usually combine pharmaceutics with home remedies.
One of the commonly cited home remedies is baking soda for curing bacterial vaginosis.
Baking soda, chemically known as sodium bicarbonate, is used widely for many purposes such as in cooking, cleaning agent, cattle feed supplement, and many others.
Taking one-half teaspoon of baking soda with water or application of baking soda to the female reproductive tract has been said to cure the disease.
The truth is, many have tried the said method to no avail.
There have also been accounts that the method actually made the disease worse.
The thing is, baking soda is alkaline by nature because of the bicarbonate it contains.
In fact, it is even used as an antacid to cure hyperacidity.
The female reproductive tract, for it to continue to perform its protective function, has to maintain an acidic environment with a pH of 3.
8 to 4.
2.
And one of the causes of bacterial vaginosis is the loss of acidity in the tract with pH of 4.
5 and above.
This change in pH causes the decrease in normal bacteria which thrives in acidic environment with a succeeding increase in bad bacteria.
So application of the alkaline baking soda will make matters worse.