Your brown discharge before period usually is old blood from the uterus. This explains the color because the old blood gets brown. If you have a brown discharge, your period normally will start soon. If this does not happen soon, you might have a medical problem, so visit your doctor.
Normal Or a Symptom of Illness?
I Have a Light Brown Period Before My Period. What Is the Problem?
If you have a brown discharge, you need to know whether it is normal or pathological.
If a fertilized egg does not enter the uterus during the month, then the hormonal levels in the female organism will drop. This causes spotting which sometimes could be brown in color because of the presence of old blood. If this happens a week or less before period, it is a normal condition and you should not worry. Still, you need to pay attention how often this occurs. If it happens every month, instead of a period, during the period, after the menstrual bleeding has stopped, for example a week after the period, 2 weeks after period, or the discharge appears between periods or with odors, you need to consult a specialist.
The gynecologist will explain to you what test must be done to discover what causes this discharge. Then the doctor will tell you what needs to be done to solve this problem.
Can the Brown Discharge before Period be a Sign of Pregnancy?
If your period appears up to a week after you have noticed the brown discharge and your period has a normal strength and duration, then this discharge is probably not a symptom of pregnancy. But if you have no period, you have a late period or it is very light, visit your doctor. If you have missed a period, you should pay attention whether you have other pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness and nausea. If you have such symptoms, the best thing to do is to visit a gynecologist. Even if you take a pregnancy test, you may have a false result. So, if you want to know for sure whether you are pregnant, visit a doctor.
What Medical Problems Can Cause a Brown Discharge?
If your brown discharge does not appear to be normal, consult a doctor. The specialist will find out whether you have some of the following health problems:
- Progesterone Deficiency and other hormonal imbalances – a deficiency of progesterone can cause regular spotting and a light and brown period.
- Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding (DUB) – a moderate to heavy bleeding before the period could be a symptom of a condition, called dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB). This bleeding could be caused by metrorrhagia, polymenorrhea, menorrhagia and others.
- Polyps And Uterine Fibroids – these extra tissue formations require you to consult a specialist as soon as possible.
- Blood In The Urine Or Bleeding From The Rectum – you need to know whether you bleeding comes from the vagina only but not from the urine or the rectum. Use a tampon to check where the blood comes from. Have in mind that if the bleeding comes from the urine or the rectum, you could have a serious health problem such as kidney disease, rectum cancer and others. Consult a doctor immediately because your health might be seriously endangered.
- Incomplete Or Skipped Ovulation Spotting – this can cause a dark brown or light brown discharge and shows that your organism does not function normally. Consult a doctor to prescribe you the right therapy.
How to Treat Spotting?
Spotting could normally occur a few days before the monthly menstruation starts, as well as during ovulation. If the spotting appears before bleeding several consecutive months, you need to consult a doctor. The repeating spotting requires a therapy.
What To Do?
If the specialist does not discover a serious medical problem, there are a few simple steps which can help you cope with the brown discharge and improve your condition:
- Use the right contraception method regularly – if you are on birth control therapy which is not suitable for you or you have skipped your pills, this can cause a premenstrual bleeding. Consult with your doctor what is the best contraception method for you and keep it strictly. If you take pills, do not skip them or stop and restart the therapy because this could be the reason for your period problems.
- Reduce the aspirin intake – aspirin act as a blood thinner, so you need to avoid it, if you have irregular bleedings, as well as during the period.
- Take care of your woman health – the regular cervical cancer screening will help the doctor find us whether you have a serious disease. Every medical problem found at its early stage is easier to treat.
- Manage stress and overweight – stress and weight problems can cause period issues. You need to improve your way of living and this will result positively on your period.
- Keep A Menstrual Diary – thus you will know whether you have regular problems with your period. Also, the diary will give some additional problem to the doctor which will make the treatment easier and more effective.
The ovulation process, taking birth control pills, hormonal imbalance, implantation spotting, pregnancy and others all can explain a dark brown discharge, menstruation bleeding with brown blood, spotting with light brown mucus, a very light brown discharge or a light brown period. There is a possibility your condition to be normal but if you are worried about period changes, irregular bleeding and others, you need to consult a doctor. Only a specialist could give you the right answer to the question “Why is my period brown and light”, “Am I pregnant?”, “Am I sick?” and others similar. Although a pregnancy test could give you a relatively reliable answer whether you are pregnant, this will not help you cope with a medical problem, if you have any. An untreated health problem could seriously endanger your health, life and reproductive functions, so do not delay the visit to the doctor, if you have any health concerns.