Though my mom's period stopped before 5 years, she gets brown discharge now. What is that?

Question

Hi doctor,

My mother is 58 years old. Her periods stopped in 2015. Later she got her periods once in a year. Now from the last year blood like brown fluid came from her vagina when she go to toilet. She do not feel pain or any other symptoms. All test came positive and nothing seen in ultrasound. No infection and no fibroids also. Please guide.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Blood mixed vaginal fluid in the postmenopausal women need to be evaluated cautiously and carefully. Although the common cause of such bleeding is due to deficiency of hormones once menopause is achieved, the possibility of cervical and endometrial cancer needs to be ruled out. Ultrasound will not detect anything abnormal if the condition is still in an early stage, for which microscopic evaluation of the cells needs to be done to see for any cancerous changes. Rarely, the bleeding can be from the urinary tract or from the rectum which could be mistaken as vaginal bleeding too. You need to get her a pap smear and HPV (human papilloma test) testing done along with endometriosis evaluation to rule out both cervical and endometrial cancer possibility. If possible, please share her ultrasound reports to look for her endometrial thickness value. Please do not ignore these tests, if not done previously. I am assuming by getting her evaluated, you have already gotten her examination done with a gynecologist, if not then please make a visit to your gynecologist for her examination.