Actually the warning should be that my posts are usually long. :>

I used to get BV, mostly giardia. Nothing like your doctor trying to explain how to wipe yourself properly to make you want to die on the spot. :>

I do not recommend douching as a regular thing. However, in the case of BV or resistant BV (bacterial vaginosis, for anyone following the thread) I do think you should for a while. You need to knock down the population of fungus, giardia, mycoplasma hominis, bacteroides, candida and even, trichomoniasis particularly in combination so that the lactic bacterias can get a good start.

I'll put some douche recipes at the bottom. The schedule I followed is 2 or 3 weeks of douching and inserting good bacteria everyday. So, before bed douche, then insert some plain, active culture yogurt (yes, I'd go for the full fat type for the moisturizing value) or kefir. Upon waking and after my morning shower, I'd take a probiotic capsule and insert it.

If you mix the yogurt and the oils and teas you are probably not doing yourself any good. The teas and oils are "kill" products, and the yogurt/kefir/probiotics are "colonize" products. The teas and oils will kill the colonizers if you mix them.

I would also check out the bowel cleansing forum. If you have a bacterial overgrowth problem in the vagina, you ALWAYS have the same problem in your intestines. The problem generally arises in your bowels and intestines.

I recommend having sex with your partner while doing these regimes. Your partner probably has the problem too, and unless you can get him to do all of this too the easiest way to share the wealth is sex. Otherwise you can have him passing it back to you over and over. I know that my DH was very agreeable to doing things to help me rid the problem, but frankly never actually did it. But having sex...no problem! Just redo your regime after sex.

Obviously, don't have sex with the garlic in! :> And unless your in for a odd sensation, wait until any capsules have a chance to melt.

You can and should orally take any of the obvious foods as well. Do wash the whole external area with the douche as well, starting in the belly button (yes, you can have yeast infection in your belly button) and going all the way back. Might as well get any colonies that are an imminent threat to reinfection right off the bat.

There are instructions on how to make your own suppositories here:
http://www.bioexcel.com/admin.htm
I'd suggest that coconut oil would work just as well or better since it has antifungal, and antibacterial qualities itself.

-Oregano, thyme, peppermint. The oils can be taken internally in a carrier oil, but as to topical application to the mucous membranes all of these are powerful irritants. For douching you should probably go with teas. As to oregano tea, you need oregano vulgaris and most oregano that you see in stores is oregano majoram.

-5-20 drops in a cup of water. Don't use Grapefruit-Seed-Extract full strength on your skin or mucous membranes.

-10 drops of calendula oil in a cup of water.

-1/2 teaspoon of tea tree oil in a cup of water.

-2 tsp of vinegar to a cup of water.

-1 tbl of boric acid to a quart of water.

-2 or 3 capsules (or a tampon soaked in) of full strength tea tree oil (1/3) and vitamin E (2/3). This works, but if you have a particularly bad case of BV, this could end up making you quite uncomfortable the first couple of times. The feeling does subside.

-Goldenseal tea, Pau d'Arco tea (also called Taheebo), or myrhh tea.

-A cup of collodial silver.

-Gentian violet. You can just apply this with a tampon. This will stain EVERYTHING purple, so just be aware of getting it on you is gonna look a little funny :> This will treat monilla as well. And imagine the possibilities if your partner isn't aware that he's gonna go purple (bwhahahahahaha).

-Acidopholis capsule, and or other lactic bacteria capsules. The reason that you should do the yogurt as well is that there is some concern that the lactic bacterias in capsules may not set up colonies very well (aren't propogatable). You can guarantee that the lactic bacterias in yogurt / kefir are propogatable.

-If you are having external itching of the vagina or the rectum, you can also use a skin retention mixture, rehydrating Bentonite with one of the teas and adding an oil as well. Place on the skin and mucous membranes and let it sit overnight.

If you are pregnant, if I remember correctly you should avoid the goldenseal for sure as it has been known to trigger miscarriages or early labour. Boric acid is not recommended I believe, but I don't know why. Peppermint, oregano, thyme are used to bring on menses, but there is no real evidence that the use of them in pregnancy causes any problems.

Hope This Helps (HTH).