Managing Common Vaginal Bleeding Problems course for GPs

This session will help GPs to offer first-line management for common complaints regarding vaginal bleeding, including heavy bleeding, painful bleeding, bleeding between periods, and absent or irregular bleeding.

This session was reviewed by Khyati Bakhai and last updated in October 2019.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Describe the purpose and potential findings of abdominal and pelvic examination
• Describe the indications for and potential value of any investigations that can be initiated in primary care
• List the options for first-line management of heavy menstrual bleeding and referral criteria
• List the options for first-line management of painful menstrual bleeding and referral criteria
• List the options for first-line management of intermenstrual bleeding and referral criteria
• List the options for first-line management of irregular or absent menstrual bleeding and referral criteria

This session takes a problem-orientated approach, rather than a pathology-based approach, to the most common presentations of bleeding issues. First-line primary care management should be logical, safe and effective in improving quality of life.