Read on to find the causes of spotting after periods and whether it is something that you should be worried about…
On an average, your period gets over between three to five days. However, sometimes, you might experience spotting or bleeding even after your periods have ended, or in the middle of the menstrual cycle. What causes this? Is it normal or something that should be reported to a gynecologist immediately? Let us find out answers to all these questions, one by one.
Causes
- The most common cause of spotting, which occurs a week or so after the periods have ended, and is brownish in color, could be because the uterus was not able to fully pass out the menstrual tissue during the periods, and hence is expelling it, a week after the menstruation has ended. If this does not happen every month and the blood flow is less, it is nothing to worry about. However, if this becomes a regular occurrence and the bleeding is so large in quantity that you need a sanitary napkin, a doctor should be consulted.
- Spotting after periods could be due to the hormonal changes that are taking place inside a woman’s body, due to various reasons such as sexual intimacy.
- Another reason is anxiety and stress which a woman is experiencing.
- If the woman is taking certain medicines or drugs, they can cause side effects such as spotting in between the cycle.
- Certain health conditions, such as, cancer, diabetes, thyroid problems, can result in spotting post periods.
- Spotting in the middle of the cycle, especially if it is very less and the blood discharged is brown in color, could be due to implantation bleeding.
- If the bleeding is in excess, it could be a signal of miscarriage.
- Any injury that has occurred to the vagina, due to putting foreign objects inside it, can cause spotting after period.
- If the woman has started taking oral contraceptives, or has suddenly stopped taking them, it can cause spotting in her.
- It may also occur during ovulation in a woman, i.e. between day ten and day nineteen of her menstrual cycle, which is considered quite normal.
- Girls who have just started with their periods, may experience some kind of spotting in between their periods, as their menstrual cycles have still not regularized.
- Uterine fibroids, a harmless condition in most of the cases, leads to bleeding in between periods as well. Though pretty much harmless, if uterine fibroids grow big in size, they should be immediately removed.
Remedies
Bleeding after periods, if it occurs just once or twice, and if the bleeding is very less during that time, is considered normal. Stress or any change in routine, might be the reason behind such an occurrence. An effective remedy for stress induced spotting, is to do yoga and meditation. Taking adequate rest and sleep might also help. If a particular contraceptive pill is causing spotting in the middle of the menstrual cycle, switching to some other contraceptive method or changing the pill can help the woman in getting rid of the spotting.
Spotting after period, in most women happens, just a few times, and even the blood discharge that takes place is quite less. However, spotting, which is heavy, goes on for more than a week, with blood that is bright red in color, accompanied by sharp pain in the pelvic/stomach region, should be reported immediately to a doctor.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for information purpose only. Do not use the information presented herein as a substitute for medical practitioner’s advice.
