Fascinating

I always find it fascinating when a patient tells me that she took acidophilus bacteria by mouth....to improve her vaginal flora.
Hmmmm....
I remember learning way back then in medical school that the stomach is a pretty hostile environment, that it is about a hundred times more acidic than Coca Cola and if you left a tooth overnight in Coca Cola it would completely dissolve and disappear. I learned that that stomach acid kills pretty much all bacteria except for tuberculosis bacteria and, I learned this a few years later, H. Pylori. And that this was one of the main barriers for the body to prevent bacteria from coming into the body.
So, those acidophilus apparently just pass the stomach acid unharmed. Not only that, they make it all the way though the bowel and then - miraculously - into the vagina! Ok, that is possible, E. Coli does it all the time. But still...
And why not insert the precious acidophilus directly into the vagina? Does the acidophilus get better after receiving a once-over in the bowel? Does it need to "christened" or "matured" or "pre-digested" or maybe "activated" by stomach acid?
Mysterious indeed, very mysterious!

Reminds me of the latest Geico ad:  Road runner stops by, zooms off again, Wiley coyote gets ready to eat our gecko, but gets buried by safe. Gecko shaking head: "Meep-meep??? What a strange place!"
I love that ad!