Doctors are warning over the dangers of rushing back into sex after a years-long dry spell in a grisly medical report.
The woman, a 39-year-old mother, suffered a tear in the right side of her vagina after having sex for the first time in eight years.
The frightening episode saw blood flood into her bathroom and the patient go through 20 sanitary pads in an attempt to stem the bleeding.
She lost more than half a liter of blood in total, prompting doctors to keep her in the hospital overnight.
Women have suffered tears to the vagina during sex (stock image)
The patient, who was in the UK, received sutures to close up the wound in her vagina and stem the bleeding.
She was discharged the next morning, and suffered no long term complications as a result of her injury.
Doctors said it was possible that the injury was caused by her vagina not being properly lubricated before penetrative sex occurred.
In the report, they said: ‘The vagina becomes lubricated with transudate [watery fluids] and increases in dimensions of length and width as part of the sexual excitement.
‘Sexual intercourse that occurs without this physiologic preparation of the vagina is more likely to lead to a vagina injury.’
Injuries to the vagina can lead to lots of bleeding because the area is highly vascularized, or contains lots of blood vessels.
Doctors warn that injuries in this area also leave patients at risk of infections and long-term damage to the reproductive organs — possibly caused by scar tissue.
These injuries are rare but not unheard of, with a 2022 study on 316 gynecologists finding 83.5 percent had treated people with vaginal injuries from consensual sex.
Three cases of vaginal bleeding following sex were revealed in the report published in Case Reports in Clinical Medicine.
In every case the sex was consensual, the women had not fallen pregnant and none were due to have a period at the time the bleeding began.
In the second case, an 18-year-old lost an estimated two liters of blood — or a third of the blood in her body — after suffering from a vaginal tear.
The patient had consensual sex with her partner in the morning, and denied using any sexual toys or implements.
But then rushed to the bathroom, where she spent two hours trying to stem bleeding — including inserting a tampon which was forced out by the flow of blood.
She made her way to the ER, but had two sanitary pads soak through with blood before her arrival. The patient also said she was starting to feel faint.
Examination revealed a two-inch tear in the lip of her cervix, which is the area at the back of the vagina.
She received stitches to close the tear and a blood transfusion to replace the lost fluids, and was kept in hospital overnight before being discharged.
In a third case, an 18-year-old mother came to the hospital suffering from heavy vaginal bleeding.
It had begun shortly after 4am after the patient had penetrative sex with her partner, she said, and also had their fingers put into her vagina.
Examination revealed a 1.5-inch tear in the vaginal wall, which was repaired using sutures.
She was discharged and suffered no long-term complications from her injury.
In their report, the doctors said: ‘An [injury to the vagina after sex] is a rare emergency that may be complicated by excessive blood loss, which is increased if there is a delay in seeking care and diagnosis.
‘Prompt treatment should be instituted in such cases to minimize complications.’
The wounds after often treated using sutures to help stem the bleeding, as well as applying pressure to a wound to help stop it bleeding.
The study was led by researchers at Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust based in London.
