Vicarious menstruation refers to extragenital bleeding during a woman’s menses.
Sites of bleeding include:
(1) in or around the eyes (orbital, conjunctial, bloody tears)
(2) pulmonary
(3) sweat
(4) epistaxis
Some cases are associated with foci of endometriosis. One case involved conjunctival amyloidosis. Many cases are idiopathic.
The diagnosis involves:
(1) correlation of bleeding with menses
(2) exclusion of other explanations for the bleeding
Suppression of menstruation (for example with oral contraceptives) tends to ameliorate the bleeding.
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Specialty: Obstetrics & Gynecology
