Bleeding after Intercourse

WHEN TO SEE YOUR DOCTOR

* You experience bleeding after intercourse anytime other than during your menstrual period.

What Your Symptom Is Telling You

Although exuberant or rough sex can cause occasional bleeding, infection is a more likely suspect. Aspirin, blood-thinning drugs or birth control pills may also cause post-sex bleeding. And you'll want to rule out the possibility that your partner is the one with the problem.

Benign cervical polyps can bleed when touched during intercourse. And rarely, bleeding can result from abnormal cell changes in the cervix, certain blood diseases or uterine cancer.

Symptom Relief

Don't worry though; a visit to your doctor can help you to clear up the cause of those stains.

Don't wash away the evidence. Your post-sex bleeding is a symptom, not a crime. So don't douche before seeing your doctor, says Roger Smith, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Medical College of Georgia Hospital and Clinics in Augusta. It's important that your doctor be able to see the source of the problem.

Fine-tune your prescription. Sometimes low-dose birth control pills may cause hypoplasia—a too-thin uterine lining—which in turn may cause bleeding after sex. Missing a pill or taking one late may also trigger this bleeding, which is just a nuisance, not a danger sign, says Dr. Smith. Your doctor may need to change your prescription to clear up the bleeding.

Eliminate the "-itis." Hormones can interact with normal genital bacteria to create cervical irritation (cervicitis). Cervicitis is the most common cause of bleeding after intercourse and may frequently cause spotting, not just after intercourse. It's generally not dangerous, says John Grossman, M.D., a gynecologist at George Washington University Hospital and Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and it can be treated with antibiotic creams. (Antibiotics can also clear up vaginitis, which sometimes causes bleeding.) For a persistent irritation, your doctor may recommend cauterization, a simple surgical procedure.

Cancel out chlamydia. If your doctor finds a chlamydial infection, you'll need either tetracycline antibiotics or a family of medicines called the fluoridated quinolones, says Dr. Grossman.

Prune the polyps. Endocervical polyps—benign grapelike growths that protrude through the cervix—may cause bleeding when they're jostled during lovemaking. Your doctor may recommend that they be surgically removed, which usually involves only a simple procedure done right in the office, says Dr. Grossman.

Update your Pap. A doctor who finds abnormal cells in your Pap smear may recommend minor surgery, either cryosurgery (which kills the cells by freezing) or cauterization (which kills the cells with heat).