Patient's question:
I've had my period for a week now, but there's still a small amount of bright red blood in my underwear. I went to the town hospital's gynecology department and they asked if it could be post-coital bleeding. I actually didn't pay much attention to it, but in the past few days, when I haven't had any sexual activity, the bleeding has stopped. The doctor also had me do an ultrasound, and the IUD is fine. Do you think I should confirm whether the bleeding is directly related to sexual activity? If it is post-coital bleeding, what should I do?Doctor's answer:
Hello, I'm not very clear about your specific situation, but generally speaking, post-coital vaginal bleeding is a common symptom of gynecological diseases. There are usually several reasons for this:1. Cervicitis (erosion). Many women suffer from cervicitis after marriage, especially those with moderate or severe cervical erosion. During sexual intercourse, the male's penis head rubbing against the cervix can cause injury and bleeding.
2. Cervical polyps. Chronic inflammation of the cervix can lead to the growth of one or more pedunculated polyps at the cervix opening. These polyps are fragile and bleed easily upon contact, so bleeding may occur after intercourse.
3. Endometriosis. In some cases, endometrial tissue grows in the cervix, forming bluish-purple nodules. During intercourse, if these bluish-purple endometrial nodules are touched, bleeding may result. The bleeding is usually light in amount and dark red, and abdominal pain may also occur after intercourse.
4. Cervical cancer. Post-coital bleeding is one of the earliest symptoms of cervical cancer. Due to the presence of numerous small blood vessels and fragile tissue at the tumor site, capillaries are easily damaged and bleed during intercourse. If the cancer progresses further, bleeding may become more frequent.
Other causes of post-coital vaginal bleeding include vaginitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and submucosal uterine fibroids that protrude into the vagina. It's important to take this seriously and seek a detailed medical examination to identify the cause and receive active treatment.