The Main Causes of Postmenopausal Bleeding

Menopause is the last menstruation in a woman’s life. Doctors usually determine this phenomenon on the long road of life retrospectively – there was no bloody discharge for 12 months. The average age of the menopausal change onset is 52 years. For some, this happens earlier, for someone later. Sometimes, entry into this difficult period is accompanied by unpleasant changes in the nature of bleeding.

However, in postmenopausal women, any bloody spot is an occasion for an urgent visit to a specialist. Even minor postmenopausal bleeding a year or more after the last menstruation can timidly indicate an existing problem.

What is the most common cause of postmenopausal bleeding?

Here is a list of the most common postmenopausal bleeding causes:

  •  Polyps. As a rule, these are benign formations that grow in the uterine cavity. The polyp can be quite tightly attached to the wall of the uterus or grow on the surface of the endometrium. Postmenopausal bleeding symptoms must not be never ignored.
  •  Atrophy of the endometrium. In deep postmenopause, due to the extremely low level of female sex hormones, the endometrium can become very thin and fragile. This is not at all dangerous, bloody spotting is usually scarce and not dangerous.
  •  Endometrial hyperplasia. The endometrium has become too thick – in postmenopausal women, it is always a disturbing story. Especially, if the postmenopausal bleeding ICD 10 first started, and then the doctor saw hyperplasia during an ultrasound scan.
  •  Synechia of the uterine cavity. Synechia is a fusion. Due to severe atrophy of the endometrium, the uterus is “stuck together”. In postmenopausal women, this is a quite common option, but doctors are often very worried and scared, for fear of missing a serious problem.
  •  Endometrial cancer. Unfortunately, this is the most common cause of postmenopausal bleeding. The good news is that endometrial cancer reports itself very early when there are great opportunities for radical treatment and recovery.
  •  Cervical cancer. If the diagnosis of cervical cancer was made only when the woman consulted a doctor for postmenopausal bleeding, it is very, very late. Neglected cancer, which already manifests itself as ICD 10 code for postmenopausal bleeding from a decaying cervix, is practically incurable.

Can stress cause postmenopausal bleeding? Such cases are known in medical practice, yes, it is possible, but it happens extremely rarely. But, it should be noted that in this case, the woman would have to be subject to constant, very strong stress. The cause of this can be a prolonged severe depression.

How postmenopausal bleeding workup is conducted?

Every patient with postmenopausal bleeding should immediately go to the gynecologist. After a conversation with clarification of details, a study of medical history, the doctor conducts postmenopausal bleeding workup. Usually, this allows them to understand where the blood flows from: an injury in the vagina, a problem with the cervix or blood flows through the cervix from the uterine cavity.

In order to determine the causes of postmenopausal bleeding they use such methods:

  •  An endometrial biopsy;
  •  Transvaginal ultrasound;
  •  Saline Infusion Sonohysterography (SIS).

Comments are closed.