Spotting a week after your period

Bleeding between periods may happen around ovulation or after a change in hormonal contraception. Irritation after sex can also cause a small amount of blood. Chlamydia and other infections may cause spotting with pelvic pain, pain during sex, unusual discharge, or burning when passing urine. Endometrial polyps and uterine fibroids can disturb bleeding from the womb. Cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer can present with bleeding between periods or after sex, although spotting alone cannot identify either condition. Womb cancer is another reason a clinician may investigate unexpected bleeding, particularly when it is recurrent or occurs after menopause.

Note the colour, amount, timing, relationship to sex, pain, discharge, and any missed contraception. Arrange an appointment if spotting continues, returns, follows sex, or is new for you. A clinician may offer a pregnancy test, infection testing, cervical examination, and imaging based on your symptoms and age. Do not douche or use leftover antibiotics, because these can irritate tissue or make infection harder to diagnose.

Seek urgent care for heavy or rapidly worsening bleeding, severe pelvic pain, fainting, marked dizziness, fever, or feeling acutely unwell. Prompt assessment is also needed if you could be pregnant and have pain or bleeding. The urgency comes from the bleeding pattern and associated symptoms, not from assuming that spotting represents cancer.

Ask whether you need infection or pregnancy testing, how your cervical screening history affects the evaluation, whether a scan is appropriate, and what bleeding pattern should bring you back sooner.