Bleeding After Sex: Most Common Causes Of Bleeding During Sex

Bleeding after sex or postcoital bleeding is as an “intruding guest” in a treasured moment to most women.

Bleeding during or after sex or spotting after sex, is never normal. Of course this excludes those few cases of some “first-timers”.

After an encounter, the pleasure may rapidly be changed to anxiety as a woman gets into the bathroom.

We will see the definition of bleeding after sexual intercourse as well as the common causes.

What Is Bleeding After Sex?

In general,bleeding or spotting after sex is vaginal bleeding that occurs during or just after a vaginal sexual encounter when you are not menstruating. It may vary in severity, from very light( spotting after sex) or frank bleeding.

It most commonly occurs in women between the ages of 20 and 40.

Women often discover postcoital bleeding in several ways- bloody “wet-spot” on the bed, blood stained toilet paper in the bathroom or in some few cases blood stained panties after sex.

Causes Of Bleeding During Sex

Generally, spotting after intercourse is never normal. Furthermore, cancer, though the most feared cause, is not the culprit disease in most patients. Many causes are due to benign conditions that are easily treated. Therefore bleeding during sex should always be evaluated by your doctor to make sure the “bad causes” are excluded.

Strangely enough, some reports have indicated that in up to 50% of some cases, no precise cause is found. However, it is not worthless because though no cause is found, serious causes have been ruled out and you can relax!

In terms of the structures involved, bleeding can result from the cervix, uterine lining or vagina.

Cervical causes

• Cervical cancer
• Cervical dysplasia: Is it cancer? (abnormal cells on the cervix that aren’t cancer but may be precancerous)
• Cervical ectropion, a condition in which the cervical tissue is more susceptible to abrasion
• Cervical polyps. These are benign growths from the cervix lining. See uterine polyps.
• Cervicitis. This is inflammation of the cervix commonly caused by infections.

Uterine causes

• Endometrial cancer
• Hormone use such as oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy
• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This is infection of the tubes, ovaries and endomerium of the uterus. STDs are common causes.
• Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) . This is an important cause in some sexually active women.(such as chlamydia or gonorrhea)
• Uterine fibroids

Vaginal Causes

• Vaginal cancer
• Vaginal dryness (more common after menopause. see menopause vaginal dryness)
• Vagivitis. This is inflammation of the vaginal wall due to an infection or menopause dryness.
• Trauma to the vaginal entrance or vaginal wall

Bleeding after first time

Some young women bleed after their first sexual encounter. The bleeding often originates from the hymen, which is a membrane that is found at the vaginal entrance. In some women, it is almost virtually absent. In others, it can partially obstruct the vagina entrance and therefore is ruptured during sexual activity which then results in bleeding.

Symptoms

The usual symptoms is bleeding that may vary in severity. However, there could be other symptoms associated with the bleeding depending on the underlying cause.

These symptoms may include

• Fever
• Pelvic pain
• Painful intercourse
• Vaginal discharge with abnormal color or odor
• Nausea and vomiting
• Infertility

What Should I Do?

The best advice is to seek medical care if you experience bleeding after sex, even if it is light spotting.

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