Post menopausal bleeding

At the menopause, a woman’s periods either stop abruptly, or become irregular in timing as well as volume of blood lost. Eventually they stop altogether because ovulation has ceased, and the woman’s reproductive life has come to an end.

Once they have finally stopped, any further bleeding, either after intercourse or for no obvious reason must be investigated by a doctor.

This is because the two most common causes of post menopausal bleeding are cervical erosion and cervical cancer.

A cervical erosion is like a raw area of skin on the outer part of the cervix, which can bleed when touched e.g. during intercourse.

Cervical cancer can cause blood loss even in the very early precancerous stages, so the earlier this type of blood loss is treated the better.

This article was published on Wed 23 September 2009