Reddish brown discharge could be very confusing and it is pretty complicated to discover the clear cause of it.
First of all, each young woman should know that normal physiological vaginal discharge is usually clear, creamy or very slightly yellow without unpleasant smell but could be very specific to each woman natural smell. The volume of normal vaginal discharge can be changed during different days of your menstrual cycle.
Brown discharge at any time of menstrual cycle is most often associated with old endometrial tissues. If your period is late you might get a brown, rather than red, discharge. It could also mean that for whatever reason during your last menses the entire uterine lining failed to make a timely exit. Brown Discharge may happen right after periods, and is just "cleaning out" your vagina. Old blood looks brown.
Red or reddish vaginal discharge is a symptom of fresh shedding of the uterine lining (during menstruation, after delivery, as a result of hormonal treatment, uterine trauma, etc.)
Reddish brown discharge means you have fresh and old shedding of the uterine lining and reason could be different.
Reddish brown discharge – possible causes
Reddish brown discharge may occur when you are ovulating in the middle of menstrual cycle. Increased levels of hormones can trigger unexpected shedding of the uterine lining (just a small portion). Fresh shedding mixed with old shedding from the uterus could be a cause of reddish brown discharge. During ovulation reddish brown discharge could be just during few hours.
If you have reddish brown discharge at the time of your normal period rather than your usual amount of flow, and you have had unprotected sex without using birth control, you should check a pregnancy test.
Sometimes early in pregnancy you may have reddish brown discharge or spotting at the time of expected period (time when your period would normally come). During early pregnancy hormones are changed and short shedding of the uterine lining could happen. Nothing to be worried about.
If you are pregnant and already had reddish brown discharge during 4-6 days, better to visit your doctor and exclude the possibility of miscarriage.
Reddish brown discharge can also be a symptom of a medical concern.
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
Pelvic inflammatory disease is a serious infection in the upper genital tract (uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries). In most cases PID is caused by a type of bacteria, often the same type that is responsible for several sexually transmitted diseases, such as gonorrhea and Chlamydia.
PID can affect the uterus and trigger reddish brown discharge.
Menopause is a naturally occurring stage in women life which means the cessation of menstrual periods – it is a time of the end of women’s reproductive function and reproductive years. Usually menopause happens between the ages of 45 and 55. During menopause women’s reproductive system changes resulting in a discontinuation of estrogen production. During menopause reddish brown discharge could appear as a result of hormonal disturbances.
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) - gonorrhea, Chlamydia or genital warts.
STDs can reach uterine lining and damage it. As a result you could have reddish brown discharge at any time of your menstrual cycle. After STD treatments unusual reddish brown discharge will disappear.
Early cervical cancers usually don't cause symptoms. When the cancer grows larger, women may notice increased reddish brown discharge.
Some types of contraception could provoke reddish brown discharge including birth control pills, other types of hormonal contraception and IUDs.
All hormonal contraceptive methods change normal rhythmic hormone production and it could trigger shedding of the uterine lining at unexpected periods of menstrual cycle. During hormonal contraception usually shedding is happening on very limited area of uterine lining and short reddish brown discharge could be just temporary side effect of contraception.
Your body considers and clarifies the IUD as “unusual item in the uterus” and shedding and/or “trauma” of the uterine lining could happen during first month of IUD use. Reddish brown discharge could be expected during first month of IUD use.