Contents
What is spotting?
Small bleeding from the uterus that occurs outside of your period is called “spotting”. The English term “spotting” means “stain”. This bleeding is much less heavy than a period, most often painless and generally darker in color than a period. This is mainly due to the fact that these blood losses sometimes reach the underwear a few hours or days after being emitted by the genital tract. Exposed to the vaginal cavity, the blood oxidizes and may thus turn slightly brown.
Spotting is a fairly common occurrence in a woman’s life, and usually not serious. But it can sometimes be a sign of an underlying pathology.
“Spotting” and “metrorrhagia”: not to be confused
Spotting refers to very little bleeding, or even simple colored, brown or pinkish discharge. If the discharge is clearly red, or it is real bleeding, we are talking more about metrorrhagia, which can be due to the same causes but also to more serious causes.
Blood loss in the middle of the cycle: the different possible causes
There are different factors that can explain the occurrence of spotting-type bleeding, such as:
- implantation, because the embryo, when implanting, cuts off a little the endometrium, or uterine lining;
- ovulation, due to the hormonal peak;
- a recent contraceptive change, as the body needs time to adjust
- unsuitable, inadequate or insufficiently dosed hormonal contraception;
- an unnoticed forgetting of contraceptive pill, between two correct intakes;
- pre-menopause and its share of hormonal variations;
- stress and jet lag, because of their harmful effects on the hormonal balance.
As we can see here, spotting generally occurs from changes or hormonal imbalances, likely to weaken the uterine lining (endometrium).
Note that taking progestin alone tends, over time, to cause small blood loss, also called metrorrhagia or spotting, due to the fragility of the uterine lining, which has become very thin under the action of this type of contraceptive.
Spotting during pregnancy
Small spotting-type blood loss can occur in pregnant women, especially in early pregnancy, due to a more fragile cervix. A vaginal examination, sexual intercourse or even just the implantation of the egg in the uterine cavity can give rise to spotting, small brown or pinkish discharge. That said, if only as a precaution and for reassurance, any loss of blood during pregnancy should lead to a consultation his obstetrician-gynecologist or midwife. Because bleeding during pregnancy can just as easily be a sign of a retroplacental hematoma, the onset of miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy.
Spotting: when to consult?
Although mostly benign, spotting can be a symptom of a previously unnoticed pathology, such as the presence of uterine fibroid, endometrial polyp, precancerous lesions in the cervix or cervix. endometrium, a sexually transmitted infection (endometritis by chlamydia or gonococcus in particular) or other.
While spotting during pregnancy should lead to a consultation as quickly as possible, there is less urgency when spotting takes place outside of pregnancy. Corn small spotting-type blood loss that lasts for a long time, are repeated at each cycle or after 3 to 6 months of trying a new contraception should lead to a consultation. And the presence of bleeding, even of the spotting type, should lead to a consultation quickly after menopause, because these cannot then be explained by hormonal variations.
Spotting-type blood loss: what treatment?
The treatment to be implemented in the presence of small blood loss or spotting depends on the cause of the latter. It can be translated as a change of contraceptive if the current contraception no longer seems suitable, by surgery in case of uterine fibroid or endometrial polyp, by drugs against the sexually transmitted infection in question, by rest in case of stress or jet-lag, etc.