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Other Possible Causes Of Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding

by — Last updated: 2017-09-06 in Women's Health

Table of Contents

Do you experience vaginal bleeding or spotting outside of your menstrual period, frequently or occasionally? While the cause is likely to be benign, unusual bleeding deserves your attention.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Chlamydia and gonorrhea can both lead to bleeding between periods. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a possible complication of both these diseases, which can lead to damaged reproductive organs and chronic pain. PID itself can also cause abnormal vaginal bleeding. Safe sex will do much to protect you from STDs, but it's always handy to be familiar with the symptoms various STDs can cause.

In women, chlamydia and gonorrhea have very similar symptoms: not normal vaginal discharge, pelvic pain, painful urination, and uncomfortable sexual intercourse. PID can cause fever, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, irregular menstruation and infertility as well. 

Sudden abnormal bleeding coupled with some of the other signs should send you the message that it is time to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

Remember, chlamydia and gonorrhea in particular are often silent STDs in women. This means that you or your partner could have been infected during a previous relationship years ago, and still be clueless. In other words, STDs aren't the sole domain of the sexually promiscuous. Only testing will rule out STDs, and earlier treatment will help prevent complications. 

A Thyroid Disorder

Hypothyroidism means that your thyroid is underactive and does not produce sufficient quantities of certain hormones, while hyperthyroidism means your thyroid is overactive. Both are associated with abnormal vaginal bleeding. 

If you have an underactive thyroid, you may experience fatigue, weight gain, depression and dry skin among other symptoms. An overactive thyroid causes weight loss, a rapid heart beat, anxiety and irritability, and increased sweating. 

While symptoms tend to become more severe over time if thyroid disorders are left untreated, most women respond well to hormonal medications. 

Ectopic Pregnancy Or Miscarriage

An ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy in which a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus. The fallopian tubes are the most common site for an ectopic pregnancy, and a pregnancy that develops in a fallopian tube is also called a tubal pregnancy. Tubal pregnancies cannot be carried to term, and can cause the relevant tube to rupture if it is not removed early on. Sharp pain and bleeding, nausea, light-headedness, fainting and shock can occur once the tube is about to rupture or has already ruptured. An ectopic pregnancy will still result in a positive pregnancy test.

Tubal pregnancies can quickly become life-threatening, so it is important to act swiftly if you suspect this is what is happening to you.

A miscarriage is another obvious cause of abnormal vaginal bleeding. Women who are aware that they are pregnant when they start bleeding don't have to wonder about the cause of their bleeding, but miscarriage can still be a possible cause of bleeding in women who were not aware they were pregnant. Some women misinterpret an implantation bleeding as a period, and don't realize they are expecting. 

Hormonal Birth Control

Women who are using combined oral contraceptives ("the pill") or some other type of hormonal birth control can usually point the blame for any mid-cycle bleeding there. Mid-cycle bleeding is especially common in women who have recently started using hormonal contraceptive methods.

Those who use the pill but take it at a different time each day are also more prone to unusual vaginal bleeding or spotting. 

The withdrawal bleeding you experience after finishing a pill cycle can also be termed unusual vaginal bleeding, as this bleeding isn't actually a period — though it looks much like one. Women who frequently experience mid-cycle bleeding while using hormonal contraceptives, or whose bleeding persists even after two or three months of starting the pill, can ask their healthcare provider for advice. It is not, however, something you should worry about.

Other Causes Of Mid-Cycle Bleeding

We've listed a huge number of possible causes of mid-cycle bleeding or spotting here, and we're still not done — unusual vaginal bleeding simply has many possible causes. Others we didn't discuss include celiac disease, hormonal imbalances, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), low platelet counts, a side effect of the drug Tamoxifen, vaginitis, rough sexual intercourse, and the perimenopause. 

As you've seen, many causes of mid-cycle bleeding are benign and won't lead to serious harm even if you don't go to the doctor. Since some serious conditions — including cancer — can also make you bleed at times when you wouldn't normally expect it, all women who suffer from bouts of bleeding or spotting should pay their gynecologist or family doctor a visit.