Exact Answer: 2 to 3 Days
A human body, irrespective of gender, is host to a lot of bacteria. Some of the bacteria are good, while some bacteria are not healthy for the body. It is the same with the vagina too. In general, a vagina has both good and bad bacteria in a balance.
The good bacteria inside the vagina keep control of the bad type of bacteria. When the number of bad bacteria in the vagina becomes more than the good bacteria, it can disrupt the balance in the vagina, and cause bacterial problems. One such problem is Bacterial Vaginosis.
Although there are medications available to treat it, there is no instant fix for Bacterial Vaginosis. The complete treatment of bacterial vaginosis can take a few days.
How Long Does It Take For Metronidazole To Work For BV?
Since Bacterial Vaginosis or BV is a mild infection, multiple medications are available to treat it. One such medicine is Metronidazole. Metronidazole is in general is an antibiotic that can be used to treat different types of infections. It can be used to treat infection in any internal area of the body like the lungs, heart, brain, or even vagina.
Bacterial Vaginosis is a mild infection in general and sometimes can go away on its own. In cases when the infection increases, metronidazole is administered to treat bacterial vaginosis. Whenever a medication is applied to a sensitive area like the vagina, it can take some time to treat the infection.
As the vagina is sensitive, medications with harsh components cannot be applied as they can worsen the problem. Overall it can take about 2 to 3 days for metronidazole (pill and gel medication) to start working in the case of bacterial vaginosis.
However, in the case where the infection is severe, it can take even weeks to see any specific difference in the condition. There can be other factors too that can increase the time it will take for metronidazole to work for bacterial vaginosis.
| The severity of bacterial vaginosis | The time it will take metronidazole to work for BV |
| Mild infection | Maximum 7 days for pill, and 5 days for gel. |
| Severe infection | Maximum 10 days for pill, and 3 to 6 months for gel. |
Why Does It Take That Long For Metronidazole To Work For BV?
The primary reason why metronidazole can take more or less time to work for bacterial vaginosis is the severity of the case. Bacterial vaginosis can be different in different females. In some females, it can be mild and last only for a couple of days.
While some females might have bacterial vaginosis that can be very severe, it will tend to last for a very long time. Even when the medication is applied regularly in a severe case, it can take months to get rid of the infection completely.
A major aspect that will impact the timing it will take for metronidazole to work is how it is applied. If the medication is applied as instructed by the doctor, it will start working within a couple of days, and it will be gone after some weeks.
However, if the patient fails to apply metronidazole as told by the doctor, it will take a long to see even a minor difference. It will also extend the overall timing that it will take to completely treat bacterial vaginosis.
Since every individual female is different from another, the timing that it will take to treat BV for one female can be more than it takes for another female. In some cases, it can also be seen that metronidazole might have no effect on a few females for a bacterial vaginosis case.
Conclusion
Although metronidazole is a good medication for treating bacterial vaginosis, it should be avoided if there is an allergy to it. It should not be taken by a pregnant female, as it can cause harm to the unborn baby. It is also not approved to be used by females who have not yet had a menstrual cycle.
For the medication to be effective in the best way, the medicine must be taken as prescribed by the doctor. In such a case, the condition will become better in about 2 to 4 days on average.
References
