3-7 days and recurring every 21-35 days. It happens that women observe brown discharge instead of menstruation all the time or from time to time. Why does menstrual bleeding change color? There are many of them, from quite harmless to very serious, signaling trouble in the body. That is why it is necessary to find out exactly why menstruation is brown. Perhaps the vigilance of the woman herself in such a case will preserve the health of not only her, but also the unborn child.

Read in this article

When brown menstruation is a variant of the norm

There are quite a few reasons why brown menstruation is not a sign of illness. And each of them is associated with the age of a woman, certain stages of her life cycle and the development of the body.

Adolescence

Girls from 12 to 14 years old outwardly develop quite quickly. But nature cannot be deceived, and for the first couple of years after their body presents surprises in the form and strange color of discharge. If a girl feels normal, that is, she does not experience severe pain on critical days and immediately before them, her psychological state does not go beyond the limits of the norm, then brown menstruation is not a cause for concern. When the hormonal background is still fluctuating, the reproductive organs are in the process of formation, the replaced layer of the endometrium differs in composition from what exists in adult women. Accordingly, the color of the discharge has the right to be different than theirs.

Menopause

Women approaching their 50s also experience hormonal changes. But in this case, they are associated with the attenuation of the reproductive function, not as active as in youth, the work of important hormone-producing organs - the ovaries. For these reasons, their menstruation ceases to be regular, brown discharge may be observed, more than before, or, on the contrary, scanty. Despite this, a woman should not stop routine visits to the gynecologist. It is possible that some kind of disease is disguised as.

postpartum period

- work that requires a lot of effort from the body. Naturally, subsequent recovery, including the menstrual cycle, takes time. It increases if a woman is breastfeeding. The main hormone prolactin acting in her body inhibits the production of others responsible for the normalization of the cycle. The endometrium develops sluggishly within a month, which causes quite a lot. This happens for 6 cycles after the cessation of lactation. A longer period in which menstruation does not return to normal should force a woman to seek professional help.

The same is true for bottle-fed babies. In the absence of lactation, periods come faster, but the body recovers more slowly. And in these circumstances, the brown color should not linger in the discharge for a long time either. Otherwise, we can already talk about a symptom of some gynecological ailment, and one cannot do without professional help in such circumstances.

External factors

The appearance of brown discharge instead of menstruation, which appeared among full health, can be provoked by external factors:

• Climate change. Especially clearly its influence affects the work of the thyroid gland. She, as you know, is not the last place among the hormone-producing organs. Many women who have experienced problems with conception have managed to take advantage of this correctly. Moving to a different climate zone, or just vacationing and relaxing in conditions that are very different from their usual ones, helped them get pregnant. But the influence of another climate is by no means always so favorable;
• or, conversely, overeating. The absence of nutrients and other nutrients in the body for a long time causes, disrupts the production of sex hormones, metabolic processes. This provokes a malfunction in the functioning of the ovaries. Which gives out brown discharge instead of menstruation at the first stage. The following complications, if a woman continues to neglect reasonable nutrition, may be dysfunctional uterine bleeding, benign ovarian neoplasms,;
• Exorbitant for a woman. All the accumulated energy is spent on them, and the body does not have enough strength to produce the necessary hormones. Hence the menstruation is often late, and if it is, it is scanty and brown;
• chronic stress. The production of sex hormones responsible for the menstrual cycle is directly dependent on the health of the central nervous system. Emotional overload is, to put it mildly, not useful to her, and causes changes in the color of menstrual flow, as well as intensity;
• Taking pharmaceuticals, medicinal herbs. Antidepressants, corticosteroids, antipsychotics, as well as plants that promote increased blood clotting can have a strong effect on the hormonal background. The result of such exposure may be the appearance of brown discharge instead of menstruation;

The female reproductive system and hormonal background are subtle tools that are easily influenced by external influences. It can manifest itself in brown monthly discharge, even if the woman herself does not otherwise feel it.

Pathological causes of brown menstruation

Brown monthly causes, so easily eliminated, as described above, are by no means always. Allocations may be associated with dysfunctional pregnancy, gynecological diseases, infections, endocrine disorders.

If conception has occurred

Everyone is informed that in the event of an offensive they must stop. But this process does not always proceed as a textbook. Some women, confident in their own pregnancy, notice the appearance of brown discharge instead of menstruation in a small amount. If everything unusual in this period is limited only to them, this means the implantation of the embryo into the wall of the uterus.

Another thing is if this happens again and again. Then there is the issue of insufficiency. The endometrium tends to be torn away, which means that there is a direct threat to the fetus. With this, you need to hurry to a specialist, otherwise a miscarriage will occur.

An ectopic pregnancy is also capable of giving dark brown menstruation as a symptom. If the test confirms conception, and the discharge is scanty, most likely the fetal egg has settled where it should not be. The development of this abnormal condition is characterized by fever, pain in the abdominal cavity.

Inflammation of the female organs

Sometimes the occurrence of brown discharge instead of menstruation is due to the presence of inflammatory diseases or a sexually transmitted infection. A long stay of a woman in the cold can cause:

• Problems with appendages (, salpingitis,). Diseases in an acute form occur with abdominal pain. The chronic course gives out more smoothed symptoms, the obligatory of which is a violation of the cycle. It may appear, for example, as a light brown period;
• . It is worth knowing more about this disease, since, unlike others, it almost does not manifest itself. Unless painful sensations during vaginal sex, which many women attribute to the awkwardness of their partner. Erosion of the cervix occurs with prolonged injury to the organ or the same inflammation. From the cervical canal there is constantly a discharge that irritates her vaginal part. Hence the brown color of menstrual bleeding;
• . The abnormal growth of an organ directly involved in menstruation leads to the fact that menstruation becomes a common occurrence. They acquire an unusual appearance, are complemented by pains, daubs at the end of critical days,. The latter provoke anemia, which causes the brown color of menstrual flow;
• . Menstruation with mucus, the causes of which lie in this disease, are caused by the vital activity of bacteria, viruses or protozoa. In this case, the weakening of the basal and functional layers of the organ plays its role due to improper douching, difficult childbirth or installation.

If everything that happened was preceded by curettage, hysteroscopy, you should not be surprised why menstruation begins with brown discharge. Most likely, menstruation and the general condition will have to be normalized with the help of medications, having previously identified one of the listed diagnoses.

venereal infections

In addition to unusual discharge, they are accompanied by other signs:

• Pain when urinating;
• Itching of the perineum and vagina;
• Unpleasant sensations during sexual contact;
• A disgusting smell.

If before that there was unprotected sex with a dubious partner, and brown discharge during menstruation was not observed before, it is probably trichomoniasis or another sexually transmitted disease. In an age of uncontrolled use of antibiotics, most of these infections occur with erased symptoms. The unusual color of the discharge is one of them. To the unusual shade of menstruation, pus is added with gonorrhea and profusion, foaminess with trichomoniasis. Even characteristic of thrush during menstruation can turn brown.

Hormonal disorders

Failure can be triggered by loose work of internal organs or hormonal intake if they are not properly selected. In the first case, the reason is

• ovarian dysfunction;
• Thyroid diseases;

Any of the diseases can cause the appearance of brown discharge instead of menstruation, small in volume. They are the result of an incorrect ratio of progesterone and estrogen.
Normally, contraceptives can provoke a similar phenomenon only for the first 2-3 months of taking. If it lasts longer, a woman should take care of choosing another method of protection. Continued use of inappropriate birth control can lead to infertility.

An increase in prolactin in the body

It makes sense to dwell on this in more detail, since this reason often becomes not only the culprit of a strange type of menstruation, but also female infertility. It's not about lactation. In such a case, an increase in the level of this hormone is absolutely justified. If a non-nursing woman notices that her period lasted 2 days, and then the brown discharge changed them, perhaps this is a sign

• Diseases of the pituitary gland (brain cyst, prolactinoma, meningioma);
• Problems with the hypothalamus (sarcoidosis, tuberculosis, receiving a high dose of radiation, germinoma);
• cirrhosis;
• Hyperprolactinemia of unknown origin.

Replaced by brown secretions, in these circumstances, they should be supplemented with other signs.
But it is likely that everything is not so dangerous, and the increase in the concentration of prolactin is caused by

• starvation diet;
• Strong stress;
• Excessive physical activity;
• Massage of the collar zone of the back, the nerves of which control this indicator;
• Tight bra. Constant injury to the nipples, it turns out, provokes the production of this hormone.

Recent surgeries endometrium;

The "rotten" smell that accompanies them, with temperature and pain, indicates a bacterial infection or other complication. The period of discharge also needs special control. If it is more than 10 days, the woman urgently needs a doctor and additional treatment.

Brown discharge instead of menstruation, if they are unusual for the normal course of critical days, need to be evaluated by a specialist. It is quite difficult to determine their nature on their own. It should be noted that many diseases, including those that threaten reproductive function and even life, have become much younger. Hoping for "maybe" and being treated on your own means wasting time and smoothing out the signs of the disease. The only thing a woman can do for herself is to try to avoid stress, lose weight without tormenting the body with hunger, excessive physical exertion, and not neglect regular examinations by a gynecologist. Compliance with these principles is necessary at any age.

For the female body, discharge is a healthy and normal phenomenon. Thanks to them, the body removes bacteria, dead cells, protects the vagina from infections.

Progesterone and estrogen, the hormones responsible for a woman's fertility, affect the female body the most. It is they who change the color and amount of discharge in the menstrual cycle.
When pregnancy occurs, menstruation stops, but the discharge does not always disappear. Having correctly determined the patient's diagnosis, having analyzed the color, consistency and amount of fluid released, one can not only assess the state of the woman's health, but also notice a dangerous disease in time.

Pregnancy manifests itself and proceeds always in different ways. However, brown discharge is most often a sign of early pregnancy. They are one of the very first responses to changes in the hormonal background of a woman. However, you should look closely at the secretions in any situation.

If your period is delayed and brown discharge appears instead, you are pregnant. At the beginning of pregnancy, they talk about the attachment of a fertilized egg to the wall of the uterus. Usually, the discharge begins on the seventh day after fertilization and lasts 3-4 days, and their color varies from pink to dark brown.

Small bleeding may also appear - this is the blood that was in the womb before fertilization. Bleeding may be accompanied by small cramps in the lower abdomen - these are muscle cramps of the uterus. Gynecologists note that too much bleeding and very severe pain can be a signal of a possible miscarriage.

If you had only colored discharge instead of menstruation, and a full menstruation began a few days later, this is a sign of hormonal disorders. In this case, it is recommended to consult a gynecologist to normalize hormonal levels.

How to distinguish regular periods from discharge

It is necessary to distinguish between menstrual bleeding with the release of chronic endometrium and discharge. In the first case, old blood or old tissues left in the uterus during previous periods come out (which is why they turned brown). Allocations can also be called "daub": they are smaller in number, the consistency of the discharges is more viscous.

Everything here is as individual as with pregnancy. In some women, brown discharge can come out as profusely as blood during menstruation. Moreover, they can coincide with the cycle, thereby confusing the woman completely.

If you're not sure if it's pregnancy, answer two simple questions:

• Have you had unprotected sex?
• Were there errors in taking oral contraceptives?

If you are unsure about any of these points, be sure to take a pregnancy test.

Coitus interruptus (sex without any contraceptives, but with the removal of the penis from the vagina just before ejaculation) is equated with unprotected sex.

There are no periods during pregnancy. The body of a pregnant woman goes into another mode, in which the egg ceases to be produced in the ovary - which means that the need to remove an unfertilized egg disappears (this is the main function of menstruation).

If a pregnant woman observes bleeding from the vagina, this is not menstruation, but spotting. In early pregnancy, 25 percent of women experience such discharge.

You can identify false periods by several signs:

• Menstruation is not as profuse as usual;
• Menstruation came earlier than usual;
• Menstruation ended earlier than usual;
• Unusual color of discharge (from pink to black).

If you are sexually active, any change in your cycle could be a sign of early pregnancy. Remember that there are no contraceptives that can 100 percent protect a woman from fertilization.

"Monthly" during pregnancy does not override the results of a pregnancy test or a positive hCG test. If your blood or urine shows you are pregnant, you are bleeding and not having a full period.

At the very beginning of pregnancy, spotting indicates the attachment of the embryo to the wall of the uterus. Allocations may appear at a later date: this is due to the greatest sensitivity of the vagina and cervix. Blood flows much more abundantly, and any damage to the mucosa responds with discomfort.

The most common mechanical injuries include sex and gynecological examination.

Sex

During pregnancy, sex is safe, and classic sex is even good for the health of a pregnant woman. However, brown discharge is a common "side effect" of sexual intercourse.

Increased blood flow makes the mucosa as sensitive as possible to any irritants, including the penis. Small injuries appear - they are not dangerous, but it is still necessary to contact a gynecologist.

If the gynecologist does not find complications or abnormalities, you can resume sexual activity. Keep in mind that you can’t have sex from the moment the discharge appears until you go to the gynecologist. If the discharge appeared during intercourse, it must be stopped immediately.

Use spacers so you can control the color and amount of discharge. The gynecologist will definitely ask about this at the next examination.

Pregnant women, especially in the early stages, take all possible tests, including smears. Pap smears and any other medical penetration into the vagina easily provoke spotting. They are not dangerous.

You will have to give up sex for a while and use personal hygiene products (daily "daily" is also suitable if spotting is not very plentiful). Discharge from mechanical damage lasts no longer than two days.

Danger to pregnancy

By themselves, the discharge is safe and even beneficial. Healthy secretions do not have an unpleasant odor, appear uniform in consistency and are not accompanied by pain.

An unpleasant odor is the first sign of inflammation. Make a mucosal analysis (smear) and consult a gynecologist. Any inflammation threatens the health and development of the embryo.

Other hazards include lumpy discharge, pieces of tissue coming out, a bright scarlet color. Dizziness, fainting, severe pain, vomiting. In these cases, immediately call an ambulance.
These symptoms indicate serious complications: ectopic pregnancy (the fertilized egg did not reach the uterus), cystic drift (the embryo does not develop correctly), missed pregnancy (the embryo has stopped developing), miscarriage.

Allocations as a threat of miscarriage

After confirming pregnancy, do not stop monitoring your menstrual cycle.

With a confirmed pregnancy (positive test and analysis for hCG), discharge instead of menstruation acquires a shade of danger. This means that the woman's body cannot cope with the production of enough hormones to carry the embryo.

The period of menstruation is most dangerous for the fetus in the early stages. When the body has not yet had time to switch to the "mode" of pregnancy, the concentration of progesterone is greatly reduced, and the uterus can remove the supposedly unfertilized cell. There is a high risk of miscarriage.

Diseases manifested by brown discharge

Brown discharge is usually harmless, but it can also be a sign of serious illness. Please note if you have satellites such as:

• severe itching;
• Unpleasant odor from discharge;
• tingling;
• Swelling or pain in the vagina;
• Pain during sex.

You should immediately contact a gynecologist. These can be sexually transmitted diseases, which are usually treated with antibiotics; uterine polyps - they can be stopped with hormonal drugs (or in case of complications - an operation to remove the uterus); cervical cancer.

In addition, brown discharge instead of menstruation can be a signal of menopause or atrophic vaginitis (hormone deficiency that accompanies menopause). Menopause cannot be cured, but the symptoms of age-related changes in the body can be stopped.

When brown discharge appears instead of menstruation, it is recommended:

• Change pads regularly throughout the cycle;
• Do not use tampons during pregnancy;
• Wear cotton underwear of a suitable size;
• Do not rinse your vagina! This will disrupt the natural flora and cause infection.

To correctly determine the cause of the discharge, it is first necessary to find out the fact of the patient's pregnancy - the choice of treatment depends on this.

During pregnancy, any deviation from the norm should be taken seriously. Here, not only the health of the expectant mother, but also her child can suffer.

Even though pregnancy and menopause are common causes of brown vaginal discharge, don't neglect your health. Contact your gynecologist as soon as you feel unusual sensations.

Video - brown discharge instead of menstruation is a sign of pregnancy

All women of reproductive age have brown discharge on the first day of menstruation. They are not always an indicator of diseases of the reproductive system, but they cannot be ignored. All girls are required to monitor the course of the menstrual cycle, its regularity and the nature of whiter. If there are warning signs, you need to visit a gynecologist as soon as possible.

In adolescent girls, a scanty dark secret preceding menstrual bleeding can be observed every few years after the first menstruation.

There are women in whom brown periods are an individual trait transmitted genetically.

What is a pathology

They talk about disorders in the body if they are accompanied by symptoms such as:

• severe intense or sharp pains in the lower abdomen, fever, deterioration of well-being - indicate a possible ectopic pregnancy;
• unpleasant odor, clots and impurities of pus in the discharge on all days of the cycle - an indicator of inflammatory processes of infectious etiology;
• weight jumps, the appearance of skin rashes, emotional instability - an indicator of hormonal failure;
• pain during urination, sexual intercourse - they talk about diseases of the excretory system;
• change in the course of menstruation (they become more frequent and abundant) - an indicator of endometriosis, endometrial hyperplasia, polyps, cystosis or polycystic ovaries, neoplasms in the genital organs;
• the heterogeneity of the consistency of the secret (the presence of clots or, conversely, excessive wateriness) may indicate pathologies of the uterus and cervix.

The appearance of brown discharge instead of normal every month for several cycles, in combination with some of the listed symptoms, is a signal that you need to see a doctor for an examination as soon as possible.

Any of the diseases, a symptom of which is dark menstrual flow, with untimely treatment is fraught with serious complications that are dangerous for the reproductive function of a woman and her life. Therefore, it is impossible to ignore such a manifestation of the fairer sex of any age.

Many women who are serious about their health are concerned about the phenomenon of dark brown discharge. Sometimes they appear suddenly, between periods, and sometimes during or immediately after them. What do these highlights mean? Could they be a sign of a pathological process in the female body? Let's look into this in more detail.

Is dark discharge always a sign of a disease?

It is probably understandable that the brown color of the vaginal discharge gives the blood. Sometimes this occurs in perfectly healthy women. For example:

• natural dark brown discharge before menstruation, a few hours or days before the start (this is the first sign of their approach);
• normal discharge and after menstruation for several days;
• when taking hormonal contraceptives, they can “decorate” the middle of the menstrual cycle;
• after violent sex, dark discharge is usually caused by injury to the vaginal mucosa;
• the same can happen with insufficient lubrication during sexual intercourse;
• at the very beginning of sexual life, spotting appears not only at the moment of deprivation of virginity, but also during several subsequent acts;
• in adolescent girls, before the start of the first menstruation, dark discharge may also be observed for some time, which signal the girl's transition to a new rank - "girl".

When should diseases be suspected?

But discharge of a dark brown color can also be signs of a disease. If they are not associated with taking hormonal drugs and appear in the middle of the cycle or occur every time after sexual contact, this is a reason to be wary. If the discharge is accompanied by fever, aching pain in the abdomen (its lower part), itching in the vagina, dryness and pain during bladder emptying or sexual intercourse, and if a lady over 45 years old has not had a period for a year before, a woman should suspect something was wrong and contact a gynecologist. Next, we will consider pathological processes, the signs of which can serve as these discharges.

Cervical erosion

The named disease is one of the most common diagnoses in gynecology. It is a defect in the mucous membrane of the cervix, which is caused by various reasons: frequent and rough sexual intercourse, sexual infections, trauma during childbirth or abortion, etc. In most cases, this pathology is asymptomatic, it is detected only during an examination by a gynecologist. But sometimes the disease is accompanied by dark brown discharge after sexual contact, and sometimes for no apparent reason. Often such discharges have an unpleasant odor, which, by the way, indicates the presence of inflammation. There are congenital, true erosion and ectopia (pseudo-erosion). Depending on the size of the pathology and concomitant infections, the therapeutic tactics will be different, but in any case, this disease requires regular monitoring by a specialist.

Ectopic pregnancy

When dark brown discharge instead of menstruation is accompanied by severe pain and a repulsive odor, a similar phenomenon may signal an ectopic pregnancy. By the way, if pain of any strength appears and it is localized in the genitals, accompanied by atypical discharge, then you should immediately consult a gynecologist! The diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy can only be made after examination by a specialist and ultrasound, and in order to ensure its timely interruption, you need to seek medical help as soon as possible.

Vaginitis (inflammation of the vagina) and cervicitis (inflammation of the cervix)

Regardless of whether a woman is sexually active or not, her genital tract can be affected by inflammation. For example, candidiasis (thrush) causes an inflammatory process in women of any age, and women in menopause also have dark brown discharge. In women, in this case, they are associated with thinning (atrophy) of the vaginal mucosa, due to which even small injuries can provoke discharge of varying intensity. An active sexual life with unprotected sex can lead to sexually transmitted infections (gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis). They are accompanied by itching, burning and dryness in the perineum, as well as brown, yellow or green discharge. These diseases can cause inflammation not only of the vagina, but also of the cervix. They must be treated!

polyps

The pathological growth of the mucous layer lining the uterus or its neck, which has the form of a protrusion, is defined in medicine as a polyp. The exact causes of the appearance of such a pathology are still unknown. These include infectious diseases, inflammatory processes, and hormonal disorders. As a rule, polyps are benign formations, but precancerous changes are found in some of them. If the appearance of a polyp is accompanied by dark brown discharge, it is large, and biopsy and cytology tests indicate a risk of developing cancer cells, then the polyp is removed.

endometritis

The endometrium is the mucous tissue that lines the inside of the uterus. Violation of its integrity, coupled with a decrease in local immunity, leads to an inflammatory process. It is often accompanied by an increase in temperature and the appearance of pulling pains in the lower abdomen, purulent or brown discharge instead of menstruation is added to this, and all this is already a serious sign of pathology that requires immediate treatment to a specialist. Undiagnosed in time, acute endometritis becomes chronic, which can affect the reproductive function of a woman.

What is endometrial hyperplasia?

Hyperplasia in medicine is called tissue growth. That is, endometrial hyperplasia is an increase in the volume of the inner layer of the uterus, which has a benign character. Enhanced reproduction of stromal and glandular elements of this layer leads to this state. Most often, such changes occur during hormonal changes in the body (during the premenstrual period in girls and premenopausal in women). One of the main signs of hyperplasia is bloody dark brown discharge, which can appear both in the intermenstrual period and after a short delay in menstruation. As a rule, these discharges are moderate and smearing. True, with hyperplasia that occurs in adolescence, breakthrough heavy bleeding with blood clots is also possible. If they become prolonged, they can lead to anemia.

Cervical cancer

The named diagnosis is in third place in the world among oncological diseases in women. What causes this pathology is unknown. Although it has recently been found that almost 100% of patients with this diagnosis have the human papillomavirus (HPV) in their bodies, not everyone infected with this virus develops cancer. It occurs at any age, but women over 40 are at the highest risk. One of the main symptoms of this pathology is spotting. By the way, why brown discharge in such cancer patients appears after sex or in the middle of the cycle is also not yet clear. If they are joined by pain in the lower abdomen, then this sign is attributed to the symptoms of cancer that has managed to spread to neighboring organs.

Why do brown discharge appear during menstruation?

During menstruation, brown discharge can be either a symptom of one of the gynecological diseases listed above, or a consequence of stress, acclimatization, or the result of taking hormonal contraceptives. But it often happens that such a phenomenon is a sign of a future addition to the family, since some women continue to have periods during pregnancy, especially in its first trimester, however, becoming very scarce and short. Be sure to take a pregnancy test and visit a gynecologist!

Is discharge dangerous during pregnancy?

During the menstrual cycle in every woman, the level of progesterone drops to almost zero, and the endometrium begins to detach, which leads to the appearance of menstrual flow. In a future mother, the body sometimes does not leave old “habits” and, despite the successful fertilization that has occurred, the level of progesterone that preserves the fetus, on the days when menstruation should be, decreases. This is how brown discharge appears, which signal that the endometrium is still partially exfoliating. Do not panic, but this sign may also be a symptom of an existing threat of interruption in the development of the fetus or, as mentioned above, its ectopic location. Consult a doctor!

What to do if brown discharge appears?

As you have probably seen from the above, the appearance of discharge of an unusual color, especially accompanied by pain, weakness or fever, requires a mandatory visit to the gynecologist. You should not wait for the unpleasant phenomenon to pass by itself - it may disappear from time to time, but later develop into a serious pathology! Do not try to diagnose yourself - you are not an expert! Do not take risks, do not be lazy and urgently consult a doctor: it is possible that your worries will turn out to be in vain, and the discharge will be only temporary, but if you detect the disease in time and start its treatment, then the risk of remaining childless or getting a serious chronic disease will be minimal. Be healthy!

If the first day of menstruation began with brown discharge, this can be both an indicator of the norm and a sign of serious violations in the woman's reproductive system. A regular menstrual cycle is a very important indicator of health, which, however, can be influenced by various external factors.

It is very important to find out the reasons for the dark discharge on the first day of menstruation, otherwise even the most competent and experienced gynecologist will not be able to help the patient solve her problem.

Physiological causes

So why is there brown discharge on the first day of menstruation, and is it dangerous for a woman's health? Before panicking, a woman should remember that conditionally the causes of such a phenomenon can be divided into 2 groups: physiological and pathological. In parallel, certain external factors can also have a negative impact on the functioning of the reproductive system.

Therefore, if dark brown discharge has gone on the first day of menstruation, this may not be related to the presence of pathological processes. Often such a “frightening” phenomenon has purely physiological causes.

At the beginning of menstruation, the uterine endometrium is strongly affected by sex hormones. Under their influence, it is actively rejected, and the uterus secretes a rather large amount of menstrual blood, which contains dark, brown clots.

These secretions are nothing more than her internal mucous layer, so a woman should not be frightened or worried - her internal genital organs are working normally and are completely healthy.

If the menstrual flow is brown on its own and there are no blood clots, this may indicate that there is too little blood and it oxidizes and coagulates before the vagina has time to secrete it. But such a phenomenon is considered normal on the last, and not on the first day of menstruation. And although it does not always speak of pathologies of the organs of the reproductive system, nevertheless, it should not be ignored. Consultation of a qualified gynecologist will never be superfluous!

The most common factors

If brown discharge appeared on the first day of the onset of menstruation, this may be due to:

• experienced stress or nervous shocks;
• excessively intense physical activity;
• recent diseases (moreover, they may not be related to the organs of the reproductive system);
• uncontrolled use of medications;
• age-related changes;
• "colored" pregnancy;
• postpartum period;
• hormonal disorders;
• anomalies in the structure of the uterus.

In this case, a woman can immediately identify several reasons why dark discharge could go on the first day of the onset of menstruation. Often, special treatment is not required - it is necessary to understand why the failure occurred and eliminate the factor that provoked it.

COC as a cause of brown menstrual flow

If on the first day of menstruation brown discharge occurs for several months, and at the same time the woman takes oral hormonal contraceptives, the reason is clear: it was the birth control pills that caused the occurrence of such an anomaly.

In addition, the menstrual cycle may fail, which is also due to the effect of hormones contained in tablet preparations aimed at preventing unwanted pregnancy.

But we should not forget that the occurrence of brown discharge during menstruation, due to COCs, is permissible only during the first 3 months from the start of their use. If the anomaly has become a constant companion, it cannot be ignored - you need to consult a doctor.

Brown menstrual flow may also appear after the installation of an intrauterine device. It has the property of retaining menstrual blood inside the uterus, which leads to its darkening and thickening.

Age changes

Brown discharge on the first day of menstruation is often observed in young girls who have just begun menarche. Moreover, this phenomenon does not last 2-3 months - it can continue for 1-2 years. And this is absolutely normal, because the girl's body is growing up, and the hormonal background is gradually getting better. Consequently, there are fluctuations in the levels of estrogen and progesterone - the main female sex hormones.

The eve of menopause also cannot but affect the work of the organs of the reproductive system. This also applies to the nature of menstrual flow. With a decrease in the hormone-producing function of the ovaries, when the level of estrogen is constantly falling, on the first day of the onset of menstruation, a woman may have brown blood. Sometimes it may not stand out at all.

The onset of pregnancy

If a woman has brown discharge, this may be a sign of pregnancy. However, their presence is permissible only at the beginning of this period, when the fetal egg is attached to the wall of the uterus. In this case, the day of the onset of menstruation does not play a role. But if brown discharge appeared exactly when menstruation should have come (according to the schedule), besides, they are quite intense (during pregnancy they are spotty and scarce), this should be the reason for an immediate appeal to the gynecologist. Such an anomaly threatens miscarriage.

Brown discharge, reminiscent of menstruation, can also appear during an ectopic pregnancy. This is an extremely dangerous condition that requires mandatory medical intervention, otherwise the consequences can be extremely serious.

Brown periods in the postpartum period

If after childbirth on the first day of menstruation brown discharge appears, you should not worry - the body gradually returns to the full performance of its functions, which were previously in a "sleepy" state. First of all, it concerns the work of the reproductive system.

Intensive changes in the hormonal balance begin, in addition, the prolonged absence of menstruation also has a significant effect on the color and intensity of the discharge.

Anomalies in the structure of the reproductive organ

Brown discharge at the beginning of menstruation is a fairly common occurrence in the presence of deviations in the structure of the uterus. It may occur with:

• hypoplasia;
• saddle-shaped uterus;
• unicornuate or bicornuate uterus.

So, violations of the normal structure of the reproductive organ lead to the fact that the blood and endometrial areas cannot fully reach the vagina and remain in the uterine cavity. This explains not only the appearance of dark-colored secretions on the first day of menstruation, but also their scarcity. Sometimes menstrual blood can even acquire a black tint, and this should seriously alert a woman. Anomalies in the structure of the uterus can not only cause darkening of the discharge during menstruation, but also lead to more serious and dangerous consequences.

Excessive weight loss

In women who are overly fond of diets, brown discharge in the first days of menstruation is a common thing.

This phenomenon also occurs in girls who deplete their body with unbearable physical exertion aimed at reducing body weight.

Sudden weight loss turns on the body's defense reaction, since too intense bleeding during menstruation can cause serious harm to a woman. Under such conditions, the periods will be brown, spotting, scanty, and sometimes they may not come at all.

Dark discharge in gynecological diseases

Often, brown discharge at the beginning of the menstrual cycle appears due to the development of various gynecological diseases. If the matter is really in the presence of pathological processes, one should not hesitate: many of them can lead to extremely serious consequences (cancer, infertility, damage to neighboring organs, etc.).

The most common diseases associated with the reproductive system that can cause brown discharge on the first day of menstruation include:

1. Endometritis. This pathology is characterized by the development of an inflammatory process in the epithelial tissues lining the mucous layer of the uterus (endometrium). As a result, dark menstrual discharge occurs, which has an unpleasant odor.
2. Endometriosis. This pathology is characterized by the growth of the mucous layer of the uterus - the endometrium. As a rule, brown vaginal discharge appears not only on the first, but also on any other day of the menstrual cycle.
3. Uterine polyposis can also cause dark vaginal discharge.
4. Inflammatory processes in the genitals can also lead to a change in the nature of menstruation.

Dark discharge during critical days may be the result of the formation of tumors in the uterus or ovaries. But to determine the causes of the anomaly on your own is not something that is difficult - it is practically unrealistic, since, as you can see, there are quite a lot of them.

To understand why dark discharge appeared on the first day of menstruation, it is necessary to consult a gynecologist and go through all the necessary procedures to make a correct diagnosis. Only a comprehensive diagnosis is the key to prescribing the right treatment and, as a result, preventing consequences that are dangerous to a woman’s health, because the menstrual cycle is a delicate system that cannot be trifled with under any circumstances!