Bleeding between Menstrual Periods

Most women will experience bleeding between menstrual periods in their life. While the root might be benign or caused by oral contraception, a woman's life can be significantly disturbed by mid-cyclebleeding. Not given medical attention the causes can have serious implications.

What Is Bleeding between Menstrual Periods?

While no menstrual cycle is entirely regular, women usually maintain a steady menstrual pattern that varies from 21 to 35 days - with bleeding occurring around the same time each month. However, due to decreasing levels of estrogen, perimenopausal women are particularly likely to encounter irregular bleeding.

Bleeding between menstrual periods suggests that a woman's natural cycle is not working as normal.

Menstrual irregularities affecting menstruation

Polymenorrhea. Frequent menstrual periods that occur less than 21 days apart. This abnormality can lead to irregular ovulation and infertility.

Oligomenorrhea. Infrequent or short menstrual periods that exceed 35 days. Oligomenorrhea is experienced mostly during adolescence and is generally not a cause for concern - unless it lasts 90 days or more. Skipping a period, but receiving a heavy flow in the following month is also common, and most likely a consequence of missed ovulation.

Amenorrhea. Refers to the absence of periods for 90 days or longer. The lack of a period for three or more months indicates that your ovaries have stopped producing hormones. This might occur in women who are breastfeeding or those who have experienced extreme weight loss. This term is also used to describe girls who haven't started their period by the age of 15.

What Causes Bleeding between Menstrual Periods?

The causes for irregular periods can be divided into psychological and physical categories. While psychological causes aren't as common as physical, it's an important consideration when examining the cause for irregular periods.

Psychological causes

Anxiety and other forms of emotional daily stress, overwork and fatigue can cause irregular periods. If these factors are not controlled, they could make you lose emotional stability. Therefore, these could affect your body functioning balance, producing alterations that will lead to irregular periods. Either way, keep in mind that the physical causes for irregular periods are much more frequent.

Physical causes

The hormones estrogen and progesterone regulate ovulation during the menstrual cycle. If women don't maintain hormonal balance, consequent abnormal (anovulatory) menstruation will lead to irregular periods.

Less common causes

There are several things that could cause bleeding between periods, such as changing contraception methods, an infection, or an injury.

• Infection. Chlamydia, pelvic inflammatory disease, or other sexually transmitted diseases can cause vaginal bleeding.

• IUD use. Women may have some slight bleeding between their first two or three periods after having an IUD fitted. This may improve over time. If you have prolonged bleeding, it may be possible for your doctor to give you another contraception.

• Injury to the vaginal area. Whether caused by intercourse, infection, or polyps, any injury in the area can cause bleeding at any point of the cycle.

What to Do about Bleeding between Menstrual Periods?

In order to receive the correct treatment for irregular periods, discovering whether the cause is psychological or physical is vital.

Irregular periods triggered by anxiety, stress, overwork, or fatigue can be treated by ensuring some time is taken each day to rest and relax. Integrating regular exercise into your life will benefit both your mind and body and contribute to maintaining regular periods.

Most commonly, irregular periods are prompted by imbalanced hormonal levels. There are several methods for managing irregular periods, but the best approach is to combine therapies such as “lifestyle approaches” with alternative medicine. Obesity, crash diets and vigorous exercise can all disrupt regular ovulatory functions.

Click on the link below to discover a treatment for bleeding between menstrual periods that suits you.