Dr Amir Khan

If you bleed after you've had sex.

So bleeding after sex, people automatically think, God, this must be something serious like a cancer.

But more often than not, it's not.

It is something that definitely needs checking out.

And particularly if you've had persistent bleeding after sex for six weeks or more, we need to have a look at that.

But what it could be is an STI, a sexually transmitted illness.

That still needs checking out and it still needs treating, but it's not a cancer.

You could have some trauma from the sex itself and that can cause bleeding.

You can have inflammation over the cervix called an ectropion, which is just a thin bit of inflammation and skin around the cervix.

So anything that knocks it causes it to bleed and that can be causing it.

But again, cervical cancer is...

or vaginal cancer can cause bleeding after sex as well.

And that is the thing we need to rule out.

So if you came to see me as a woman, let's say, and say, I'm bleeding after sex.

So the first thing I will do is examine you.

So I'll have a feel of your tummy and I'll have a look at your cervix to see if there's anything obvious that is bleeding.

I will also swab the cervix or get you to swab it yourself and do some lower vaginal swabs to look

for any sexually transmitted illnesses.

If they all come back normal, I will then do something called a fast-track referral to rule out a cervical cancer or a cancer of any other sort that could be causing bleeding.

So bleeding after sex, definitely, definitely need to check it.