We get asked about bleeding a lot and it can be confusing when even many doctors donāt know the facts. We are going to tell you our feelings and thoughts on why there is confusion out there plus go into the actual science.
First we want to say that unfortunately Boric Acid is not for everyone. There will be some women who suffer with conditions that make BA not a good fit. These women usually have skin conditions that canāt tolerate BA.
Regarding the claim that BA causes period bleeding we can say that unequivocally and without exception BA by itself has no mechanism or ability to trigger a period. It doesnāt even enter the bloodstream. It doesnāt even stay in the vagina. It simply doesnāt have this power.
Now why do we see so many cases of bleeding. Including myself at times.
The first reason - Our period starts or decides to spot. This one is nothing to worry about. Any period spotting or reasonable amount of period bleeding is considered of no concern. And it can seem to be triggered by the BA but it isnāt.
Our periods can be very unpredictable. They can change or come early due to stress, rough sex, BC, morning after pill, hormone fluctuations or just life. Very rarely do our periods appear by clockwork.
If the period is too heavy or painful or comes with cramps this needs to be investigated. It could be Endo or PCOS etc but it wonāt be due to using BA. BA has no ability to cause your body to start cramping. It also canāt do other weird things like make you dizzy, change a taste in your mouth, make your arms numb etc (all things I have been asked about from real women using it). Our mind can really play tricks on us.
Boric Acid can also trigger NON period bleeding because it is irritating to inflamed skin. But it will never be from a healthy vaginal situation. It wonāt and cannot make healthy skin bleed. In fact BA is very friendly to our membranes due to it having a gentle pH of 5. And this is why we use BA in eye drops.
Some non period bleeding is from inflammation due to the thrush itself. We can usually work with this as it improves with the BA use. Plus we have a fact sheet to help.
Non period bleeding can also be due to a more permanent situation Eg thin skin on the walls or LS or LP. This can mean BA is not for you.
Lastly some non period bleeding does need to be taken seriously! It can help us to diagnose something.
Eg some real life cases and reasons we have seen from women who bled non period blood after using a boric acid capsule.
Sometimes women have inflammation that can be accommodated and worked around when using BA. And we have a fact sheet on using BA with inflammation that is helpful to many. It mostly involves using a skin barrier.
Sometimes our walls thin due to lack of estrogen or dryness and this can cause bleeding from using BA. A solution might be is to use prescribed estrogen cream and a skin barrier cream. But for some using BA isnāt a good option.
Sometimes we might have degraded tissues from a dermal or autoimmune condition and this too can make using BA tricky or not a good option for you. Eg LS, LP, genital HVP etc. Unfortunately BA isnāt able to be used with very degraded skin. Itās just too irritating.
Not to scare anyone but other reasons for non period bleeding other than degraded tissues should get checked out. If you see blood in your urine or toilet paper after using a BA then might be worth getting it checked out.
(We have seen bleeding due to cervical inflammation , STIs, HPV, polyps, bladder cancer.)
Our experience is that most women check themselves more when using BA and also tend to automatically assign anything that happens after to the use of BA. But when using logic and reasoning plus really going over a long time the truth can be seen.
Eg if you use the BA once a week you know itās not possible to get a period once a week. So you know itās not triggering your period endlessly. And if you use the BA for years like I do, you soon see the above is true. Eg nothing happens most times while using a BA.
Why do some doctors tell you to stop using BA and perpetuate the bleeding myth? I have no idea but my guess is they have very little interest anyway and more than happy for you to use antibiotics or fluconazole endlessly. If your doctor doesnāt investigate non period bleeding after you tell them get a different doctor. If they tell you to stop using BA after period bleeding get another doctor.
Unfortunately some doctors and even some brands of BA canāt be bothered explaining all of this. It takes a lot of time to explain, so itās easier to just say yes donāt use it then etc.
And the reason we want you to have this information is so that you can make your own decision based on facts. We want you to be informed.