What if you spot before your period

Learn ways to manage the birth control shot side effect of irregular bleeding and when you should see a doctor. Throughout your menstrual cycle, the color and consistency of blood can change.

It can be thin and watery one day, and thick and clumpy the next. Abnormal uterine bleeding is any vaginal bleeding that occurs between periods. How late is too late for a period to come? We'll break down how to know if it's late or just not coming this month and some common reasons why.

Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. What Causes Spotting Before Periods? Causes Vs. What is spotting? Read on to learn more about what could be causing your spotting.

What causes spotting before periods? Is it spotting or your period? Should I take a pregnancy test? When to see a doctor. Read this next. Is It Spotting or a Period? Causes, Symptoms, and More Spotting is lighter than a period and may indicate that you have an underlying condition. Medically reviewed by Alana Biggers, M. Medically reviewed by Suzanne Falck, MD. Medically reviewed by Debra Sullivan, Ph.

Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, Ph. How Late Can a Period Be? Medically reviewed by Fernando Mariz, MD. A slow thyroid hypothyroidism can create changes and imbalances in your metabolism, sense of body temperature, and period, but is rarely life threatening.

Low thyroid hormones can cause other scarier symptoms such as constant fatigue, irregular body temperature, significant weight gain, hair loss, and neck pain. A doctor should address these symptoms as soon as possible.

But rest assured, they are normal and usually treatable with medicine. Light spotting to heavy bleeding can occur for the first few weeks after childbirth, pregnancy loss or an induced abortion. This happens because your uterus has not contracted to the pre-pregnancy size or because there is still remaining fetal tissue in your uterus.

While this spotting can be normal, it should be checked with your doctor. These drugs help keep clots from forming in your heart, veins, or arteries. These drugs should only be taken if advised by your doctor. While anticoagulants help with clotting, one side effect is spotting before your period or bleeding more than normal on your period.

Also medications like phenothiazides, which are antipsychotic tranquilizers and tricyclic antidepressants which affect serotonin uptake can as well result to spotting. Spotting is also common in women who are taking corticosteroids anti-inflammatory medications. Taking blood thinning medications like Heparin, Warfarin or Aspirin also result to spotting.

Cervical erosion is when the cells from inside your cervical canal, or glandular cells, are present on the outer surface of your cervix. This is easily found if you get a cervical screening test, also known as a smear test, the area appears red, because glandular cells are red. You can be born with cervical erosion or develop it through hormonal changes. For many women, there are no problems associated with cervical erosion. However, for some, it can cause spotting as glandular cells bleed more easily and can create more mucus than squamous epithelial cells.

Women who miscarry commonly spot before a miscarriage. A miscarriage is the loss of the pregnancy before a woman has been pregnant for 20 weeks. Women who miscarry commonly spot beforehand.

In the unfortunate case of an impending miscarriage, you might experience distinct symptoms like abdominal cramping, back pain, lower abdominal pain and spotting. While, these symptoms can be common in pregnancy in the first place, in many cases, spotting and cramping can be the first indication of a miscarriage.

If the vaginal bleeding becomes heavier and includes clots or when the blood color is altered, it is no longer considered spotting and most likely represents a miscarriage. It is usually possible between 5 to 6 weeks of pregnancy. He or she might recommend an ultrasound of the uterus or blood tests to follow changes in pregnancy hormones.

Unfortunately, a miscarriage in process cannot be stopped. Treatment may involve watching the symptoms until they pass. Sometimes, it is necessary to take medication or have a surgery to remove any remaining pregnancy contents from the uterus. Women with a negative blood type like "A negative" , need an injection of a drug called Rh D immune globulin RhoGam to help prevent problems in future pregnancies. Abortions can be performed two ways: surgically or using medication.

After a surgical abortion, vaginal bleeding is common, but typically lasts less than a week or so. The bleeding is usually lighter than a menstrual period, though some blood clots can be passed as well. When women take medication to end a pregnancy, known as a medication abortion, this also causes spotting followed by heavier vaginal bleeding and clots. After the pregnancy passes, the bleeding lightens and tapers off over weeks. As with miscarriages, women who experience an abortion may need an ultrasound of the uterus and blood tests to follow changes in pregnancy hormones.

Women with a negative blood type, need an injection of RhoGam to help prevent problems in future pregnancies as well. If you are concerned about post-abortion symptoms, it is best to get checked at the clinic where you had the abortion or by your doctor. Following a pregnancy loss or termination, it is common and normal for women to experience a variety of emotions.

Seeking support by talking with loved one or with a healthcare provider about these feelings can be helpful. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome PCOS is a hormonal imbalance that interferes with normal ovulation and can cause abnormal bleeding, or spotting between periods. It can also cause annoying things like unwanted hair and acne.

It is very common in teen girls and young women. One out of every 10 woman has PCOS. If you have PCOS, your ovaries are not getting the right hormonal signals from your pituitary gland. This causes your period to be irregular, and spotting in between. Ask your healthcare provider if you are experiencing symptoms such as irregular periods, extra hair on your face and other parts of your body, acne, weight gain, and patches of dark skin on the back of your neck and other areas.

The most common treatment for PCOS is birth control or other types of hormonal therapy. Cervicitis is the inflammation or irritation in your cervix. The symptoms are very similar to vaginitis, such as vaginal discharge, itching, pain with intercourse, and spotting. If the urine tube, or ureter, gets infected, you can feel pain and burning when you pee, which also can be a sign of cervicitis.

Cervicitis can be caused by non-infections such as trauma, frequent douching, or exposure to chemical irritants. Cervicitis can be also by infections, such as certain sexually transmitted diseases STDs. A doctor can diagnose and treat cervicitis in just a few days. The most common reason for cervicitis are sexually transmitted diseases, so the best prevention method is using a condom and being protected during intercourse.

As just mentioned, cervicitis can cause spotting and be caused by sexually transmitted diseases. Most common types that cause spotting are chlamydia and gonorrhea. Chlamydia, if not treated, can cause serious health issues such as pelvic inflammatory disease, and infertility.

Because chlamydia does not often cause symptoms, it is important to get tested every year. However, certain symptoms include unusual vaginal discharge burning while urinating, spotting between periods, pain in your stomach, back pain, nausea, and pain during sex.

Gonorrhea is another common STD that, if untreated, can lead to infertility and can spread to parts of the body such as the blood, joints, heart, or even the brain. Symptoms include yellow or vaginal discharge that may smell bad, a burning sensation while urinating, pain during sex, and spotting between periods. Gonorrhea can also be in other parts of your body, such as the throat and anus.

Trichomoniasis and genital herpes can also cause cervicitis. To prevent any types of STDs, go get regularly tested at your doctor or local clinic. Spotting between periods can also be caused by ovarian cysts. Ovarian cysts are small sacs that develop in your ovaries and are filled with fluid. You may not know you have ovarian cysts until one ruptures. If one ruptures, you can experience lower pelvic pain, spotting, and severe discomfort. It is important to go immediately to the doctor if you are in extreme pain.

Normally, doctors will wait and see if the cysts resolve themselves. Uterine Fibroids also known as leiomyomas or myomas are noncancerous growths of the uterus that can occur during your childbearing years.

They can range in size from tiny growths that are almost undetectable to the human eye, to large, bulky growths that can alter and enlarge your uterus. You can also have more than just one fibroid at a time. It is common for women to have fibroids at some point in their life, as they show no symptoms and can be so small it is undetectable. However, some women who experience uterine fibroids have symptoms such as heavy menstrual bleeding, spotting between periods, pelvic pressure or pain, frequent urination, and constipation.

Although uterine fibroids are not usually dangerous, they can cause pain and discomfort and can lead to complications, such as anemia from heavy blood loss.

Uterine Polyps, or Endometrial Polyps, are noncancerous growths that are attached to the inner wall of the uterus that extend into the uterine cavity. Polyps may be associated with fibroids. Polyps form when there is overgrowth of cells in the lining of the uterus. They are mainly found in women who are going through or have finished menopause, but it is possible for younger women to get polyps as well.

Usually, these are noncancerous. However, some can be cancerous and turn into cancer. While polyps usually stay in the uterus, some can travel through the opening of the uterus cervix into the vagina. Symptoms for polyps include irregular menstrual bleeding, spotting before periods, vaginal bleeding after menopause, and infertility. Seek a doctor if you have any of these symptoms.

Adenomyosis is a noncancerous growth that occurs when endometrial tissue exists within and grows into the muscular walls of your uterus. The endometrial tissue thickens, breaks down, and bleeds, like it should in a normal menstrual cycle.

However, an enlarged uterus can be painful and cause you to spot between periods and have heavier periods. While the cause of Adenomyosis is unclear, it usually occurs after menopause.

Some treatments can relieve pain, but the only cure is a hysterectomy. PID is a serious health concern that can affect the fertility in women. Your period starts when hormone levels drop, signaling a lack of pregnancy and telling your body to shed the uterine lining that would've held onto a fertilized egg.

Basically, before the uterine lining sheds and comes out your period , the process of it starting to break down can cause slight bleeding from your uterus. Which also explains why blood from spotting may look a bit lighter than your heavier, darker period blood. And it explains why this would be normal two or so days before a period when the lining is breaking down , and not so normal five days before.

Brightman said a few more serious health problems can present as spotting, which is why it's so important to take note of any changes in spotting patterns like if you start spotting and never have before, or if you start spotting five days before your period. Spotting can also be a sign of a polyp in the cervix.

And in the rarest of cases, spotting before a period can be a symptom of cervical cancer. But Brightman emphasized how rare this is, and said if cervical cancer causes any bleeding, it's typically after sex — not before a period. Follow Hannah on Twitter. Those may include pelvic pain or pressure, constipation, the need to pee frequently, and more, according to the Mayo Clinic. So if you have bleeding especially if it's heavy when your period should not be happening, not to mention any of these other symptoms, see your MD.

You can get diagnosed via an ultrasound and lab tests. Gynecological cancers can present with abnormal bleeding, so it's important to take any vaginal bleeding that you're concerned about seriously and get it checked out. As Dr. Minkin points out, a little bit of spotting right before your period in particular most likely isn't cause for concern. With these cancers, symptoms would happen throughout your whole cycle. In addition to abnormal bleeding, other symptoms of endometrial or cervical cancers include pelvic pain and bloating.

But with any health symptom that you feel uneasy about, don't hold back from getting an expert opinion sooner rather than later—even if it turns out to be nothing serious. You know your body best and are your number-one health advocate. Weight Loss. United States. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories.