Spotting for a week after your period ends

A longer episode may still involve old menstrual blood, but the duration makes it useful to look for other explanations. Hormonal shifts, contraception, pregnancy, irritation, and infections can alter the uterine lining or cervix. Endometrial polyps and uterine fibroids may cause ongoing or irregular bleeding. Cervical dysplasia, cervical cancer, and womb cancer can also present with abnormal bleeding, particularly when bleeding follows sex or occurs after menopause. A week of spotting does not establish any one diagnosis; the pattern and accompanying symptoms guide assessment.

Use a calendar to mark each day and describe the amount as staining, light flow, or more substantial bleeding. Record colour, clots, cramps, pelvic pain, discharge, fever, and whether sex triggers it. Review recent contraceptive changes and medicines with a clinician rather than stopping treatment without advice. Test for pregnancy if it is possible. Arrange an appointment soon if the spotting reaches a week, keeps returning, or is affecting daily life; take your notes to the consultation.

Seek urgent care for heavy bleeding, faintness, severe pain, or marked weakness. Bleeding with possible pregnancy and one-sided pain, shoulder-tip pain, or dizziness needs urgent assessment. Contact a clinician promptly for fever, foul-smelling discharge, or pain when urinating. Bleeding after menopause should be assessed rather than watched at home, even when it is light.

Does the duration suggest a need for examination or testing? Could pregnancy, infection, contraception, a polyp, or a fibroid explain the pattern? Which warning signs should change my appointment to urgent care? When should I expect the next cycle?