If you use hormonal birth control, brown spotting may be a sign of breakthrough bleeding. This is bleeding that occurs between periods as your body adjusts to the hormones from your birth control.
You can also have spotting on other estrogen-free birth control methods, including Depo-Provera shots or hormonal intrauterine devices, such as Mirena. Brown spotting can also happen if you take birth control pills and miss a few doses.
Once you get back on schedule with your pills, the spotting should go away. Sometimes, brown spotting before your period is actually implantation bleeding. This is mild bleeding or spotting that happens when a fertilized egg implants itself in your uterus.
Keep in mind that only some pregnant people experience implantation bleeding. Implantation bleeding usually happens a week or two after ovulation and resembles brown spotting. The bleeding tends to only last for a day or two. In some cases, it might be accompanied by implantation cramping. Other symptoms of early pregnancy include:. Learn more about how long implantation bleeding lasts and when to consider taking a pregnancy test. Perimenopause refers to the period of time leading up to menopause.
During this time, which can start up to 10 years before menopause, your hormones start to fluctuate. In response, you might not ovulate or menstruate as often as you once did. You might have a long, heavy period followed by a relatively light, short period. But if you have very heavy bleeding or bleeding that occurs more often than every three weeks, follow up with your healthcare provider. Sometimes, brown spotting between periods is a symptom of an underlying condition that needs treatment.
Sexually transmitted infections STIs can cause irritation in your vaginal tissues that can lead to bleeding and spotting. If you have symptoms of an STI, see a healthcare provider as soon as possible to avoid any complications or transferring the infection to others. Pelvic inflammatory disease PID results from an infection in your reproductive system, including some sexually transmitted infections. Left untreated, it can have lasting effects on your reproductive health, including fertility.
In many cases, the condition resolves with a course of antibiotics. Sometimes, an object you place in your vagina, including tampons or contraceptive devices, get stuck. Starting or switching hormonal birth control methods can cause discharge to be red, pink, or brown. Any hormonal birth control can create a hormonal imbalance, which can lead to breakthrough bleeding. Low levels of certain hormones may influence when and how the uterus sheds its lining, which may lead to spotting in the form of pinkish-brown discharge.
This spotting is common when people first begin to menstruate and when they are about to enter menopause. Many infections, including common sexually transmitted infections STIs , can cause spotting or pinkish-brown discharge.
Implantation occurs when a fertilized egg implants into the wall of the uterus. Some people may notice a light spotting or pinkish discharge when this happens. This process often occurs around the same time that the individual would expect to get their next period. As a result, they may confuse implantation bleeding with a light menstrual cycle. After implantation bleeding occurs, the early signs of pregnancy tend to follow.
These typically include:. Sometimes a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, usually in one of the two fallopian tubes. When this happens, the embryo cannot develop properly, which tends to cause complications. One of the first signs of ectopic pregnancy is unusual vaginal bleeding, which may be pink or brown. Generally, bleeding will be lighter or heavier than regular menstruation, and the following symptoms will occur alongside it:. Anyone who is concerned that their pregnancy might be ectopic should seek emergency medical attention.
Ovarian cysts are fluid-filled sacs that develop on the ovaries. Sometimes, an ovarian cyst will not resolve but will grow larger instead. If this happens, it can cause abnormal discharge between periods. Some people with ovarian cysts will not have any symptoms, but others may experience the following alongside the abnormal discharge:. People with particularly large cysts or multiple cysts, which can be common in people with PCOS, may need medical treatment. In most cases, women who experience a pregnancy loss will notice brown bleeding and a pink, mucous discharge.
It is possible to have a miscarriage very early on in the pregnancy, sometimes before the woman even knows that she is pregnant. Doctors refer to this as a chemical pregnancy. Many women bleed during the first trimester of their pregnancy without having a miscarriage. However, women who notice any vaginal bleeding during pregnancy should speak to their doctor. After this, the bleeding will slow, and the discharge will lighten in intensity and color. Brown vaginal discharge is brown because it's tinged with dried blood.
Blood turns brown as it dries. That means some blood took a little extra time to come out of your uterus. See below for some reasons you may have brown spotting, brownish discharge, or brownish-pink discharge. Most commonly, it can happen at the beginning or end of a period, after a pelvic exam, after strenous sex, during implantation, around ovulation, and when you're taking birth control pills.
This is menstrual blood that is taking a bit longer to be expelled from your uterus because there's less of it at these times and the flow is lighter. A pelvic exam is not likely to cause bleeding unless you're pregnant and your practitioner is checking your cervix. But an annual checkup with the gynecologist usually includes a Pap test along with a pelvic exam. And spots of red or brown blood after a Pap smear is common because the test involves scraping your delicate cervical tissues with a cotton swab or brush.
You could have some brown, blood-tinged discharge after sex. Friction during vigorous sex can cause some trauma to your vaginal or cervical tissues, especially if you're not well-lubricated, and that can cause some spotting. And the cervix can become bruised with deep penetration. Hormonal contraception, such as birth control pills , may cause some spotting, especially when you first start using it. This breakthrough bleeding may be more common with the minipill , which contains no estrogen.
And when the blood comes out slowly, it can be brownish. Spotting or brownish discharge the week before you would expect your period can be an early sign of pregnancy. Not everyone has bleeding at this time, but some do. A small number of people may have some spotting or discharge in the middle of their menstrual cycle, when the egg is released from the ovary. You can estimate when you're ovulating with our Ovulation Calculator. Brown discharge may be a sign of perimenopause, the transition period before menopause, when periods stop for good.
During this time, your menstrual cycle becomes irregular, which can cause spotting. You may also have hot flashes, vaginal dryness, decreased sex drive, irritability, moodiness, night sweats, and trouble sleeping.
These symptoms usually start in your 40s. But perimenopause can start when you're younger and can be a reason for fertility problems. In this case, it's sometimes called primary ovarian insufficiency.
If you have brown discharge that smells bad, there may be something stuck in your vagina that got left there accidentally, such as a tampon, condom , diaphragm , cervical cap, or sponge.
If you still have symptoms after you remove it or if you can't remove it , see your doctor. It may have caused a vaginal infection. In rare cases, brown discharge can be due to a cervical infection like pelvic inflammatory disease, especially if it has an unusual smell. You'd likely have other symptoms as well, though, such as abdominal pain, pain during sex, burning during urination, and fever.
Call your doctor. PID can be treated with antibiotics.
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