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What Causes Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding During Menopause?
Question: Hello. I am 62 years old and post menopausal for 12 years. Yesterday I had some blood in my underwear. I thought it might be a urinary tract infection, but I have no pain and no desperate need to urinate. I drank lots of water and cranberry juice, but never felt desperate to urinate. Today I have had to wear pads in my underwear because a little blood is coming out from time to time. Very watery, thin blood, and no pain. I think now that it is coming from my vagina, and not when I urinate. I can't be sure where it is coming from or what it might be. Any ideas?
Brief Answer:
it is possible that the blood is from the vagina, which needs to be checked
Detailed Answer:
thank you so much for asking your question on healthcare magic. I will do my best to help you.
the first most important thing to do is to identify where the blood is coming from. as you can see, that is not always as simple as it sounds. if you can't figure it out on your own, I would recommend that you see your gynecologist for an exam. it may be obvious to your doctor on exam where the blood is coming from. if not, then he/she can order some tests on your urine and a pelvic ultrasound to figure it out.
blood in the urine is most commonly due to a bladder infection which, thankfully, is usually easy to treat with antibiotics. especially in women your age, it is not always easy to identify these infections by symptoms alone. however, blood in the urine can also be a sign of other things that are much more rare but also much more serious such as bladder cancer. so it is important to get that checked out.
if indeed the source of the blood turns out to be vaginal, then your doctor will likely have to get an ultrasound and almost certainly a biopsy from the uterus. almost 90% of the time, when a postmenopausal woman has bleeding from the uterus, the cause turns out to be a benign problem such as polyps or hyperplasia. however, it is possible that it is a sign of uterine cancer, so your doctor will need to check for that as well.
I hope this helped answer your question, please let me know if you need any more information or have more questions.
it is possible that the blood is from the vagina, which needs to be checked
Detailed Answer:
thank you so much for asking your question on healthcare magic. I will do my best to help you.
the first most important thing to do is to identify where the blood is coming from. as you can see, that is not always as simple as it sounds. if you can't figure it out on your own, I would recommend that you see your gynecologist for an exam. it may be obvious to your doctor on exam where the blood is coming from. if not, then he/she can order some tests on your urine and a pelvic ultrasound to figure it out.
blood in the urine is most commonly due to a bladder infection which, thankfully, is usually easy to treat with antibiotics. especially in women your age, it is not always easy to identify these infections by symptoms alone. however, blood in the urine can also be a sign of other things that are much more rare but also much more serious such as bladder cancer. so it is important to get that checked out.
if indeed the source of the blood turns out to be vaginal, then your doctor will likely have to get an ultrasound and almost certainly a biopsy from the uterus. almost 90% of the time, when a postmenopausal woman has bleeding from the uterus, the cause turns out to be a benign problem such as polyps or hyperplasia. however, it is possible that it is a sign of uterine cancer, so your doctor will need to check for that as well.
I hope this helped answer your question, please let me know if you need any more information or have more questions.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Answered by
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