Metrorrhagia

There is blood. Not at the expected time, not in the familiar rhythm, but in between. Perhaps just a few drops. Perhaps a wave that surprises you while you are shopping, working, sleeping. Your body opens itself at a moment you had not planned for.

Medically this is called metrorrhagia — bleeding outside of regular menstruation. The causes are varied: hormonal fluctuations, fibroids, polyps, changes in the mucous membrane, cysts, infections, perimenopausal shifts, and sometimes more serious processes that need to be assessed. That is why the first response to intermenstrual bleeding is always the same: go to your gynecologist. Have it looked at. Find out what is there.