What can I do to stop spotting?

To stop spotting, identify its cause with a pregnancy check or medical assessment before changing medicines or starting treatment. Spotting may follow hormonal contraception, ovulation, irritation, or sex, but it can also reflect infection or a condition affecting the cervix, womb, or uterine lining.

Bleeding between periods may be light pink, red, or brown and can occur once or recur. Chlamydia can cause bleeding after sex or between periods. Cervical dysplasia, cervical cancer, womb cancer, endometrial polyps, or uterine fibroids can also present with abnormal bleeding, though spotting alone does not establish any diagnosis.

Record when spotting occurs, how long it lasts, its amount, and whether it follows sex or a missed contraceptive dose. Take a pregnancy test if pregnancy is possible. Do not stop prescribed contraception without advice; a clinician can review the method, check for infection, and decide whether an examination or scan is appropriate. Use pads if helpful for monitoring.

Arrange a review for new, repeated, or post-coital spotting, especially after menopause or with pain, unusual discharge, or urinary symptoms. Seek urgent help for heavy bleeding, severe or one-sided pain, dizziness, faintness, fever, or possible pregnancy with bleeding. These warning signs need assessment based on the symptoms themselves, not on how common a cause is.

Ask whether your contraception, pregnancy, infection, cervix, or uterine lining could explain the bleeding, and which tests are appropriate before treatment is chosen.