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Why does the cervix bleed and what to do?

 
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
 
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When a woman has brownish spotting between periods or blood streaks appear in her normal discharge, this may indicate that the cervix is bleeding. Symptoms of cervical bleeding should not be ignored, as this is a signal of serious processes that may lead to serious consequences in the future.

Causes cervical bleeding

In medicine, bloody discharge is distinguished as a result of background and precancerous diseases, medical procedures, and cervical cancer.

  1. Common background diseases of the cervix include ectopia, erosion, and polyps. All of them are often diagnosed in women of childbearing age. If dysplastic changes in the epithelial layer are detected during examination, this indicates a precancerous condition. Background diseases arise due to hormonal imbalances, inflammation, and mechanical damage. Their list is very extensive, as can be seen by referring to the International Classification of Diseases and searching for ICD-10 codes. It is necessary to identify and treat such diseases, since in the future this may cause health problems, including cancer.
  2. Bleeding due to surgical manipulations and mechanical damage to the cervix. The most common outpatient manipulation performed to treat cervical diseases is cauterization. If the cervix bleeds after cauterization, this means that the manipulations damaged the vessels of the cervix. Bleeding after a cervical biopsy occurs for the same reasons. The cervix is also often injured due to the installation or removal of an IUD, during abortions and during childbirth. In addition, such injuries are associated with medical examinations or sexual intercourse.
  3. Bleeding in cervical cancer. There are several versions of the development of cervical cancer: due to changes in hormonal levels, due to infection with human papilloma viruses and due to mechanical damage.

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Pathogenesis

The pathogenesis of this disease in almost 95% of cases is characterized by the degeneration of stratified squamous epithelium. In other cases, the cancerous tumor is formed from the cylindrical epithelial layer. The first signs of the disease may coincide with the signs of processes that are harmless. This is why cervical cancer is so dangerous: late diagnosis has a much less favorable prognosis for the development of the disease. For diagnosis, it is necessary to take into account the anamnesis data: multiple births and abortions, injuries, background diseases. For an accurate diagnosis, a biopsy of the cervix will be decisive. If the presence of a cancerous neoplasm is confirmed, conization of the cervix is performed, during which the transformation zone of the cervix is removed, as well as part of its canal. It should be noted that in some cases the cervix bleeds after conization: the primary consequences appear after the operation, and the secondary ones can be annoying for several weeks.

If the cervix is bleeding during pregnancy, this cannot be ignored and you must immediately consult a doctor. In about half of the cases, such symptoms do not pose any threat, they pass on their own and without complications for the baby and mother. In other cases, bloody discharge may indicate the onset of a miscarriage, placenta previa and other dangerous pathologies.

Often, such symptoms are associated with several reasons at once. For example, due to the birth of a child, mechanical damage to the cervix is inevitable, which can cause the development of a fungal or viral infection. They, in turn, cause inflammation and prevent tissue regeneration.

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Diagnostics cervical bleeding

Diagnosis of cervical bleeding includes:

  1. Conducting an examination using special mirrors, with the help of which it will be possible to determine the size and shape of the cervix, the presence of deformations and ruptures, and the condition of the mucous membrane.
  2. Analysis of smears for flora and cancer cells, analysis for infections.
  3. Examination of the cervix using a colposcope. Dysplasia and early forms of oncological diseases are characterized by changes that are not determined during a regular examination, but they are detected using a colposcope. A colposcope makes it possible to examine the mucous membrane under multiple magnification, and samples - to find violations and make an accurate collection of material for cytological analysis.
  4. Cytological examination is often used as a method of instrumental diagnostics. During it, smears taken from the surface of the cervical canal are examined under a microscope for the presence of cancer cells. The analysis allows for the diagnosis of cancer with an accuracy of up to 95%. Inflammatory processes in the cervix can create difficulties for cytologists when conducting differential diagnostics. Cytological results due to inflammation can prevent the detection of cancer cells if bacterial flora and leukocytes prevail in the material, and epithelial cells are minimal or completely absent. If inflammation is detected, it must first be eliminated, and only then a cytological analysis must be performed.
  5. An ultrasound examination will determine the presence of a cyst, fibroid, or tumor.
  6. Blood test for hormones.

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How to examine?

Treatment cervical bleeding

Therapy is entirely determined by the causes that caused the bleeding from the cervix.

But it is possible to highlight the key principles of treatment:

  • Stopping bleeding: with the help of drugs (hormones and drugs that stop bleeding), surgical treatment;
  • Taking medications that will relieve bacterial or fungal infections (if they were detected during examinations);
  • General strengthening therapy (taking medications containing iron and vitamins);
  • Physiotherapy.

Homeopathy

Homeopathy is not a panacea. Traditional medicine is skeptical about treatment with homeopathic drugs. But in some cases, practice shows that such drugs can still be effective. If the cervix is bleeding due to polyps, you can undergo a course of treatment with phytotampons.

Special phytotampons contain components of medicinal plants that can inhibit the growth and reproduction of microorganisms, promote tissue regeneration, normalize hormone levels and metabolism. Manufacturers of these phytotampons indicate that they help exfoliate and remove dead cells from the uterine cavity, thus ridding the endometrium of polyps. Tampons are used intravaginally.

To get rid of polyps, it is recommended to take the drug Thuja-6 (seven granules daily before bedtime) and Acidum Nitricum 12 (similar regimen). The course of treatment continues until complete recovery - about three months). If the cause of bloody discharge is cervical erosion, the drugs Kali bichromicum, Calendula, Carbo animalis, Hydrastis are recommended.

Folk remedies

In addition to traditional treatment, you can also use folk remedies. But, in any case, before it's time to use folk recipes, you need to find out the reasons for the discharge with the help of a specialist. And in no case should you self-medicate, especially if the cervix is bleeding heavily.

  1. Treatment of polyps.
    • In the morning, bake an onion in the oven, peel it and grind it into a pulp. Using the prepared clean thin cotton fabric, make a tampon and insert it into the vagina.
    • After 12 hours, change this tampon to another one - with a mixture of equal parts of chopped raw onion and chopped laundry soap.
    • Replace with tampons with a similar composition the next morning and during the day.
    • Before going to bed, take fresh cottage cheese, add aloe leaf juice and a spoonful of honey to it and prepare a tampon with this mixture, which you then insert into the vagina overnight.
    • Replace the tampon with a new one with the same composition in the morning, at lunch and in the evening.
  2. If cervical erosion is bleeding, you can make a tampon with eucalyptus oil, which is inserted into the vagina before bedtime. The treatment is carried out in a course of at least 10 days.
  3. Another proven remedy for erosion is tampons with flax oil. To do this, you need to dip folded gauze in flax oil and insert a tampon overnight.
  4. Sea buckthorn suppositories will help restore and heal damaged tissues of the cervix.

Whatever method you choose, you must consult a doctor before treatment.

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Herbal treatment

This treatment is recommended as an adjunct to traditional therapy.

  1. A decoction of St. John's wort will help eliminate the inflammatory process and will promote the regeneration of the mucous membrane. To prepare the decoction, take 1 tbsp. of St. John's wort and boil it in 200 ml of water for several minutes over low heat. Drink the strained decoction 100 ml in the morning on an empty stomach.
  2. Fresh nettle juice helps heal damage to the mucous membrane of the cervix. To do this, wash 5-6 branches of fresh nettle, chop them and squeeze the juice out of them using a thin cloth. Insert a tampon soaked in the juice into the vagina for at least two hours. The course can be continued until complete healing.
  3. To eliminate lesions that have arisen against the background of erosion and to restore microflora will help the rhizome of bergenia crassifolia. To prepare a decoction, you need to take 3 tablespoons of roots per glass of hot water. Boil the composition on low heat for 30 minutes, and then let it brew for 24 hours in a thermos. With the help of otar douching at night. The course of treatment should be continued for at least 14 days.
  4. A decoction of bedstraw will help improve the condition of the cervical tissue. To prepare it, take 3 tablespoons of dried flowers and 300 ml of water. Boil the decoction for 5 minutes, then let it cool and strain. Drink 100 ml of the decoction in the morning and before bed. Continue the course of treatment for 10 days.

Prevention

  • timely treatment of hormonal imbalances, infectious diseases and inflammatory processes of the female genital organs;
  • healthy lifestyle;
  • regular examination by a gynecologist (every six months);
  • use of contraceptives if pregnancy is not part of your plans (abortion causes serious harm to health);
  • attentive attitude to menstruation (keeping a calendar indicating the duration, regularity and abundance of discharge).

If the cervix is bleeding, and this is not related to menstruation, it is necessary to react to this signal. The delicate organization of the female genitourinary system is susceptible to any changes, and discharge notifies the woman herself of problems.

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