Several labs offer at home vaginal microbiome lab test. These include:
These tests are not cheap. A test may cost about $100 - 150 each.
You only need to do it if you are not sure or would like to confirm if your BV is cleared or if it not cleared or it has come back.
If you can simply and clearly tell that your BV is cleared or it has come back, you do not need to do a lab test.
How do I know if my BV is cleared?
https://help.neueve.com/kb/bacterial-vaginosis/how-do-i-know-if-my-bv-is-cleared
If you need to do a lab test, please wait for your next period is cleared.
The menstrual period may reset the vaginal microbiome. The most common time for BV to come back is after your next period. It is better to wait until your next period is over to have a new text.
If you are taking any medications, like antibiotics, you need to leave at least one week of time after your last dose of antibiotics to flush out residual antibiotics inside your body. Otherwise, the lab test may not truly reflect your microbiome status.
Likewise, if you are using NeuEve formulas for clearing BV, like Silver, Gold, BV Clear, etc., you also need to leave at least one week of time after your last suppository to flush out the product ingredients. These suppositories promote vaginal friendly bacteria and suppress unwanted BV-related bacteria. After you use the product, your lab test may show good result, but it may not be true before their ingredients are fully flushed out.
The DNA test is precise for a head count of each bacterium. However, it cannot tell if the bacterium is dead or alive. All bacteria regardless live or dead will be counted by the DNA method. As a result, if you have just treated a vaginal infection with antibiotics or a treatment product and you feel that you have found relief (an indication of infective bacteria are killed), but if you do not leave a sufficiently long flushing period before doing a lab test, the lab test will report the total bacteria head count, including those killed by the treatment. Therefore, it is important to leave a flushing period after the treatment before you do a lab test. Ideally, you should wait for your next period to be cleared because the menstrual blood will flush the vaginal microbiome really well.
The NeuEve balm cream is an exception. It does not have any ingredients that inhibit bacteria. You can use it without stoppage while doing a lab test sampling.
Among many labs that offer the vaginal microbiome test, which one do you recommend?
We recommend Juno because Juno uses the cutting-edge NGS (next generation sequencing) technology that provides both the bacterial load and relative abundance (percentage), but some other labs only provide percentage data without the bacterial load. Additionally, Juno offers a group discount to NeuEve customers.
Juno Lab offers a group discount to NeuEve customers
Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. It is about natural products, nutrients, and/or alternative methods for managing discomforts associated with vaginal dysbiosis (imbalance of microbiome, not a true infection or disease). It is not medical advice for the treatment of any diseases.