Bleeding straight after sex

Blood noticed during or just after penetration is called postcoital bleeding when it is unrelated to a period. A single light episode can have a minor cause, but timing and appearance cannot reliably identify the source.

Friction can irritate delicate vaginal tissue, particularly when there is vaginal dryness. Other possibilities include inflammation or infection, a cervical polyp, or cervical ectropion, in which glandular cells are present on the outer surface of the cervix and bleed easily.

Cervical dysplasia and cancers of the cervix or vagina can present with bleeding after sex, although this symptom has many non-cancerous explanations. Because examination is needed to distinguish them, recurrent or unexplained bleeding should not be self-diagnosed.

Book a gynaecology, primary-care or sexual-health appointment. Record whether the bleeding followed penetration, how much there was, whether it happened before, and whether you also have discharge, odour, pelvic pain, pain during sex, urinary discomfort or a late period.

The clinician may offer a pregnancy test, infection testing, and an examination of the vagina and cervix. Depending on the findings, further assessment may include cervical testing, colposcopy or imaging. Treatment is directed at the cause rather than the bleeding alone.

Seek urgent assessment if you have missed a period or could be pregnant and the bleeding occurs with abdominal or pelvic pain. Go to emergency care for heavy bleeding, severe pain, fainting, marked dizziness, weakness or feeling acutely unwell.

Promptly contact a clinician if bleeding keeps returning, happens without penetration, or accompanies unusual discharge, fever or increasing pelvic pain. Keep cervical screening up to date, but do not wait for a routine screening appointment to report symptoms.

Ask which part of the genital tract appears to be bleeding, whether infection or pregnancy testing is appropriate, and whether the cervix needs closer examination. You can also ask what to use for dryness, when sex is comfortable to resume, and how results will be communicated.