Causes

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Vaginal bleeding after sex can have various causes.

Medical conditions that affect the vagina itself can cause this type of bleeding. They include the following:

  1. Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) — This condition involves thinning, drying and inflammation of the vaginal walls after menopause. It used to be called vaginal atrophy.
  2. Vaginal precancer or cancer — This is precancer or cancer that starts in the vagina. Precancer refers to irregular cells that might, but do not always, become cancerous.
  3. Vaginitis — This is inflammation of the vagina that may be due to GSM or an infection.

Vaginal bleeding after sex also can be caused by conditions that affect the lower, narrow end of the uterus, called the cervix. These include:

  1. Cervical precancer or cancer — This is precancer or cancer that starts in the cervix.
  2. Cervical ectropion — With this condition, the inner lining of the cervix protrudes through the cervical opening and grows on the vaginal part of the cervix.
  3. Cervical polyps — These growths on the cervix are not cancer. You might hear them called benign growths.
  4. Cervicitis — This condition involves a type of swelling called inflammation that affects the cervix and often is due to an infection.

Other conditions that can cause vaginal bleeding after sex include:

  1. Endometrial precancer or cancer — This is precancer or cancer that starts in the uterus.
  2. Genital sores — These can form due to sexually transmitted infections such as genital herpes or syphilis.
  3. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) — This is an infection of the uterus, fallopian tubes or ovaries.
  4. Vulvar precancer or cancer — This is a type of precancer or cancer that starts in the outer part of the female genitals.
  5. Vulvar or genital diseases — These include conditions such as lichen sclerosus and lichen simplex chronicus.

Vaginal bleeding after sex also can happen for reasons including:

  1. Friction during sex due to not enough lubrication or foreplay.
  2. Hormonal types of birth control, which can cause changes in bleeding patterns.
  3. Bleeding during sex due to noncancerous polyps or fibroids that involve the lining of the uterus, also called the endometrium.
  4. Intrauterine devices for birth control that are not placed correctly.
  5. Trauma from injury or sexual abuse.

Sometimes, health care professionals find no clear cause of vaginal bleeding after sex.

Causes shown here are commonly associated with this symptom. Work with your doctor or other health care professional for an accurate diagnosis.

From Mayo Clinic to your inbox

Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.

To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.

Oct. 20, 2023

See also

  1. Genital warts
  2. Vaginal atrophy