Every woman probably experienced
bleeding between periods. It can be scary to find out that you’re bleeding when
you weren’t prepared for it. Spotting at the wrong time of the month may be a
sign from your body that something is wrong.
In fact, your menstrual cycle
depends on hormones such as estrogen and progesterone in your body. Therefore,
birth control pills can have an impact on your period in unexpected ways.
While a little spotting between
periods doesn’t mean a dangerous health problem, regular bleeding between
periods may indicate something serious. In most cases, it actually means
absolutely nothing at all.
However, if it’s happening more
often than not, your body is definitely trying to tell you that something is
wrong. Let’s look at 10 possible causes of bleeding between periods.
1. Missed Birth Control Pills
If you missed one or two birth
control pills, bleeding is a normal process, since you’ve sharply changed your
hormone flow. Moreover, if you often forget to take birth control pills, you
need to remember that forgetting a pill reduces the success in preventing
pregnancy.
2. Constant Stress
Constant stress makes your body produce more cortisol which can affect hormone
background. Those hormone changes lead
to a full stop in menstruation. On the other hand, this can make you start
bleeding at the wrong time of the month. It’s important to remember that
constant and extreme stress is able to impact every aspect of your life,
including your hormone levels and menstrual cycle.
3. The Morning-After Pill
The morning-after pill is considered emergency contraception. It actually often causes light spotting.
The morning-after pill has a high concentration of hormones that affect your
menstrual cycle resulting in bleeding a little later or earlier than usual.
Regardless of whether you bleed or not, you need to continue to take your other
form of contraception the day after you take the morning-after pill.
4. Uterine Fibroids
Uterine fibroids are benign tumors
that develop in or on the uterus and can affect between 20 and 40 percent of
women aged 35 and older. But all women of the reproductive age are at risk of
developing them. Fortunately, fibroids don’t lead to cancer but they can cause
bleeding between periods and pelvic pain. So, if you experience these symptoms,
you should visit a fibroid
specialist and find the cause to plan the treatment you need.
5. A Bacterial Infection
Spotting between periods might be
a sign of bacterial infection. If you’re spotting between periods and have
unusual discharge or strange smells, you need to turn to your doctor as soon as
possible. Don’t try to treat with home remedies like douching as a solution as
it can have unpleasant consequences.
6. Vaginal Dryness
Many women think that vaginal
dryness often occurs during menopause. However, this is not true, and vaginal
dryness can also occur in younger women. Vaginal dryness can be provoked by
things like frequent sex, childbirth, hormone treatments, contraceptives, and
certain medications such as antidepressants, for instance. So, if you’re
spotting between your periods, you might have vaginal dryness. In this case,
you should visit a gynecologist to find Estrogen Patch potential causes and treatments.
7. A Hormonal Imbalance
Imbalance in estrogen and
progesterone always affects the menstrual cycle which can result in bleeding
between periods. According to experts, there are some factors that can impact
your hormonal balances like primary
ovarian insufficiency, thyroid issues, and a change or inconsistency with
birth control pills.
8. A Serious Condition
In rare cases, bleeding between
periods can be a sign of more dangerous conditions like diabetes and some types
of cancer. Therefore, it’s important to turn to a doctor in time, just to be sure
that you don’t have any hidden life-threatening disease.