What bacterial vaginosis is and how it spreads
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is an infection of the vagina caused by excessive growth of bacteria (Wikipedia). It is not usually serious, but if you have it you may need to be treated with antibiotics (NHS). That single sentence answers the core of your question: BV is a bacterial overgrowth condition, and it is treatable.
On how it spreads, the evidence points to risk factors rather than a single transmission route. Risk factors include douching, new or multiple sex partners, antibiotics, and using an intrauterine device, among others (Wikipedia). In practical terms, that means the things that disturb the vaginal bacterial balance. Douching, a change in sexual partners, a course of antibiotics, or an IUD. Are the circumstances most associated with BV. Having BV also approximately doubles the risk of infection by a number of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS (Wikipedia). Is a reason to take it seriously rather than dismiss it as a minor annoyance.
Symptoms: what to look for, and when there is nothing to see
Common symptoms include increased vaginal discharge that often smells like fish (Wikipedia). That discharge and odour are the classic picture. But the symptom story has a second half that matters just as much: half of women with bacterial vaginosis do not have any symptoms (NHS). So a lack of symptoms is not evidence that you do not have BV — it is simply one of the two normal presentations.
If you do notice discharge or odour, that is your cue to get it checked rather than to self-treat. If you notice nothing but have a reason to be tested. For example, you are pregnant or a partner has been diagnosed. The absence of symptoms does not close the question. The symptom pattern tells you what to look for; it does not tell you whether you can skip testing.
The test that confirms bacterial vaginosis
Confirmation comes from a clinical assessment, and the place to get it is a sexual health clinic. Treats problems with the genitals and urinary system (NHS). That is the concrete destination: a sexual health clinic is set up for exactly this kind of problem. You do not need to guess which service to approach.
What changes the answer here is your circumstances. If you are pregnant, seeking treatment matters more, because there is a small chance BV can cause complications with pregnancy (NHS), and it also increases the risk of early delivery among pregnant women (Wikipedia). So the test is not just a confirmation step for curiosity — for a pregnant reader it is the gateway to treatment that protects the pregnancy. For everyone else, the test is what separates BV from other causes of discharge before you start antibiotics.
Treatment: it is treatable, and here is what that involves
BV is treatable. The condition is not usually serious, but if you have it you may need to be treated with antibiotics (NHS). That is the direct answer to the treatment question: antibiotics are the treatment route, and the decision to treat is made after confirmation.
The condition that changes the treatment decision is pregnancy. It is also important to seek treatment if you are pregnant, as there is a small chance it can cause complications with pregnancy (NHS). Outside pregnancy, the tradeoff is straightforward: treatment clears the overgrowth. The risk factors that triggered it. Douching, a new partner, an IUD. Can bring it back. Is why the prevention steps below matter alongside treatment.
Preventing recurrence: the steps that reduce risk
The prevention picture follows directly from the risk factors. Because douching, new or multiple sex partners, antibiotics, and IUD use are associated with BV (Wikipedia), the practical steps are about reducing those exposures and getting checked when they change. The sequence below turns that into an action list you can follow.
- Stop douching — it is a listed risk factor for BV (Wikipedia).
- If you have a new partner or multiple partners, treat that as a reason to get tested at a sexual health clinic rather than waiting for symptoms (NHS).
- If you are prescribed antibiotics for any reason, be aware that antibiotics are a listed risk factor, and raise any vaginal symptoms with a clinician (Wikipedia).
- If you use an intrauterine device and develop discharge or odour, get it checked at a sexual health clinic (NHS).
If you are pregnant, seek treatment promptly — BV carries a small chance of pregnancy complications and increases the risk of early delivery (NHS, Wikipedia).
Your stop boundary is simple: once you have a confirmed diagnosis and a treatment plan from a sexual health clinic, you have what you need to act. If symptoms return after treatment, go back rather than restarting antibiotics on your own.