"Spotting" is the term used for when there is vaginal bleeding during a female's menstrual cycle. Spotting is by no means rare, affecting almost every woman at some stage in her life. While there is usually nothing to be concerned about, spotting can signal serious health problems on some occasions.

Spotting a Week After Period, Why?

Lots of women wonder why they have spotting, especially after a week of their period. Start with the weird ones: diabetes and extremely stress. Feel surprised that those two can cause spotting? Here are 10 more explanations:

1. Old Blood

It is possible that the body is inefficient at expelling menstrual blood, meaning remaining tissue in the uterus needs to be expulsed. The expulsion will more than often take place a week, or possible two weeks, after the period in the form of spotting.

2. Birth Control

As birth control pills are filled with female hormones, the consumption of them can disrupt your body's hormonal balance, which can lead to unexpected bleeding, or spotting a week after period.

3. Vigorous Sex

Deep vaginal penetration and rough sex can cause bruising of the cervix which, if vigorous enough, can lead to physical damage and light spotting.

4. Irregular Periods

Spotting a week after period is highly predominant in teenage girls, as they are still in the process of puberty and their bodies have not fully adjusted to their menstrual cycle. Their menstrual pattern can take months or even years to become regular.

5. Hormonal Imbalance

Many factors, such as the consumption of birth control, can affect the balance of hormones inside the body. Spotting can be caused by an imbalance of progesterone and estrogen, hormones that are responsible for regulation of the menstrual cycle.

6. Intrauterine Device

An intrauterine device is a form of birth control made out of plastic. When inserted into the vagina, it can cause irregular and unexpected bleeding.

7. Infection

Infections, such as yeast infections, can cause a color discharge to be excreted from the vagina and can lead to spotting after period.

8. Pregnancy Complications

Spotting can be caused by numerous complications which arise during pregnancy, such as miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies, meaning the fertilized egg not reaching the uterus but residing in the fallopian tube.

9. Uterine Fibroids

Uterine fibroids, or polyps, are benign growths that can cause spotting when they form and rupture in the uterus.

10. Cancer

Cancer is a far less common cause for spotting than most of those mentioned above, but vaginal bleeding can be caused by cancer of the vagina, uterus, ovaries or cervix.

How to Handle Spotting a Week After Period

Small amount of spotting on rare occasions is very common and no cause for concern. If the spotting continues, then it is highly advisable to seek the help of a medical professional. With support from your doctor, you can find the cause of your frequent bleeding and get a proper solution to subside abnormal spotting a week after period:

1. If birth control pills are prescribed to you, ensure that they are not consumed irregularly. This can cause bleeding between periods as it affects the menstrual cycle. Taking your birth control pills at a regularly fixed time will help to reduce spotting. Besides, you can change your birth control methods, like using a condom, to reduce vaginal bleeding.
2. If you regularly take aspirin and are experiencing spotting, try to limit the amount of aspirin you consume because aspirin thins the blood and can make spotting much more exacerbated.
3. Manage your stress to reduce spotting as high levels of stress can affect a woman's hormones and her menstrual cycle, and cause unexpected vaginal bleeding. Meditations, deep breath, some exercise and other techniques can be highly effective in stress relief.
4. Keeping a diary or log of your periods, and whether any spotting occurs before or after, including detailed information on the quantity of the discharge, its color, and its frequency, can significantly help your doctor determine the cause of your spotting.

Keep yourself fit to help prevent infections and diseases which can cause spotting a week after period. Also ensure you visit a doctor to determine the cause of spotting as soon as it becomes a noticeable problem to prevent serious problem from happening.