When bleeding is an emergency
Most abnormal bleeding can be evaluated in a scheduled visit. Some bleeding cannot wait. If any of the following apply, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Go now if you have any of these:
- Soaking through one or more pads or tampons every hour for two or more hours in a row
- Feeling dizzy, lightheaded, or faint, or fainting
- A racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, or chest pain
- Bleeding with a positive pregnancy test, or when you could be pregnant, especially with belly or shoulder pain
- Severe pain in your belly or pelvis
- Bleeding with fever after a miscarriage, abortion, birth, or procedure
- Bleeding after an injury or assault
Why pregnancy changes everything
Bleeding in early pregnancy can be a miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy, where the pregnancy grows outside the uterus. An ectopic pregnancy can rupture and cause life-threatening internal bleeding. If there is any chance you are pregnant and you are bleeding with pain, get seen in person the same day.
After an emergency visit
Once you are stable, the cause of the bleeding still needs to be found and treated so it does not happen again. We can pick up from there. Book a follow-up visit.
Sources
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Committee Opinion No. 557: Management of acute abnormal uterine bleeding in nonpregnant reproductive-aged women. Obstet Gynecol. 2013;121(4):891–896 (reaffirmed).