Is Bleeding After Sex Normal?

While it's well understood that bleeding might occur after the first time you have sex (because it's likely your hymen will tear in the process), postcoital, vaginal bleeding can happen anytime to pretty much anyone. Or to be totally clear, it happens to about 9 percent of all women at some point in their lives. It could be a simple case of not using enough lube, but it can also be a sign of something much more serious. 

To offer some guidance on when you should just give your vagina a rest for a few days and when you should see a doctor right away, Cosmopolitan.com spoke with Anne-Marie Aimes Oelschlarger, a pediatric and adolescent gynecologist at Seattle Children's Hospital, about all the different things vaginal bleeding after sex can mean.

WHERE THE BLOOD COMES FROM

Vaginal bleeding after sex gets complicated fast because there are lots of different spots the blood can be coming from, and it's almost impossible to tell on your own, without the tools and expertise of a medical professional. Dr. Aimes-Oelschlarger​ said she breaks it down into four different locations: the entrance of the vagina at the hymen, inside the vagina (on the walls or in the septum, if you have one), the cervix, and inside the uterus. 

Different things cause each of these locations to bleed, and they all vary in severity. The most immediately severe bleeding comes from a tear in a vaginal septum, which is a piece of flesh that divides the vagina in half that about 1 in every 3,000 to 80,000 women are estimated to be born with. Dr. Aimes-Oelschlarger​ said a tear in the septum can result in very heavy bleeding — like soaking through a pad every hour or so — and recommends going to the emergency room immediately if you suspect this has happened to you after sexual activity.

Bleeding from the other locations is harder to differentiate because there may not be a lot of blood and it's hard to peer up into your vagina with a flashlight to see what's going on up there. The most common source of bleeding in younger women, according to Dr. Aimes-Oelschlarger​, is tiny fissures (or cuts) near the vaginal entryway that you may not notice until you touch the spot with toilet paper and feel a slight burn or stinging sensation. Another common source is from inside the uterus, which gets jostled around when you have sex or orgasm, and might shed some lining in the process. This is even more common if you're about to start your period in the next week or so.

HOW TO KNOW IF BLEEDING IS DANGEROUS

As Dr. Aimes-Oelschlarger​ explained, the most important thing to pay attention to is the volume and rate of the bleeding. Like any other wound, a lot of blood is never a good sign. "Most postcoital bleeding will be pretty light, except for the septum," she said. "It's pretty rare to have really heavy bleeding unless there's a laceration in the vagina. The heavy bleeding, where you're soaking through a pad every hour or so or passing large clots, those patients need to be seen very quickly."

She clarified that if you're passing a clot larger than the size of a quarter, soaking through a maxi pad, or feeling lightheaded or dizzy, you should go to the emergency room. But for lighter bleeding that subsides in a few hours or within a day or so, you can call your gynecologist and schedule an appointment.

WHEN YOU SHOULD SEE YOUR GYNECOLOGIST

Even though the bleeding might go away quickly, or not come with any sort of pain, Dr. Aimes-Oelschlarger​ said you should still plan to see your gynecologist. There are several STIs that can cause vaginal bleeding with sex (like HPV, chlamydia, gonorrhea​, and trichomoniasis​), and yeast infections and cervical and uterine polyps can cause bleeding as well. A visit to the gynecologist will rule all those things out, and polyps can be easily removed as well.

The most crucial reason to see your gynecologist, though, is that regularly bleeding from your cervix during and after sex can be an early sign of cervical cancer. Cervical dysplasia, or a change in the cells that line the cervix, is a precancerous condition that's often caused by HPV, and Dr. Aimes-Oelschlarger​ said it can cause bleeding. "Everyone needs to make sure they're up-to-date on their pap smears," she said. "If they've haven't had the HPV series, they need to make sure they've gotten that. Even if they're older." 

At a gynecologist visit for postcoital bleeding, Dr. Aimes-Oelschlarger​ said you can expect your doctor to ask a series of questions to first figure out how severe the bleeding is and how commonly you might experience bleeding between periods. Then she said you'll probably test for STIs, HIV, and pregnancy, and then have an exam to rule out polyps, a yeast infection, or any larger fissures that might be on the wall or entry of your vagina. And even if you're up-to-date on your pap smears, your gynecologist still might recommend one, just to rule out the possibility of cervical cancer. 

HOW YOU CAN PREVENT BLEEDING

As it is with almost every single preventable problem you can have with your vagina, Dr. Aimes-Oelschlarger​ emphasized the importance of lube. "If a couple has frequent intercourse — like multiple times during the day — or they have prolonged intercourse and they're not using enough lubrication, it's not uncommon to have a little light bleeding that should resolve within a day," she said. "Some people notice it more with condoms because they're not using lube that's appropriate with condoms. The message here is not to stop using condoms, but to use condom-safe lubrication."

She clarified that for older women, declining levels of estrogen can lead to more sensitive vaginal tissue that tears more easily. But women of all ages can experience small fissures if they're not properly lubricated — it has nothing to do with how feminine or sexy or cool you are, it's just a thing that happens to basically all ladies. Lube up! LUBE. UP. 

Another way to prevent bleeding is to take things nice and slow if it's been a while since you've last had sex. "Be gentle," Dr. Aimes-Oelschlarger​ said. "If you haven't had sex for a while, go slowly. If you're with a partner who has trouble controlling himself, try changing positions so you have more control." And then, of course, you should always be having conversations with your partner, so the sex is fun and comfortable for both of you. 

A very easy to way to do that? I'll say it once more: Always be using enough lube.