Becoming tehorah after bleeding in menopause

I am 58 yrs old and in menopause. However I had two days of menstruating. Do I wait a total of five days then start the week of checking? My husband says it might be different if you are in menopause. Thank you for you help.

Dear questioner,

Thank you for your question.

Uterine bleeding makes a woman niddah, even if she is in menopause.  The laws for becoming tehorah are the same for menopausal and other women, including a five-day wait followed by seven clean days.  (For information about the reasoning behind the five-day wait, please see our site's article "The Five Day Minimum.")

Halacha does apply different rules to menopausal women regarding vesatot.  If you have gone over ninety days without becoming niddah, you are exempt from observing vesatot.  You will not have to halachically anticipate becoming niddah again once you immerse in the mikveh.

(The exceptions would be if you were to have the same interval three times in a row, thus setting a fixed veset for interval, or if you were to become niddah at intervals shorter than ninety days three times in a row.)

If this episode of bleeding came after a year or more without uterine bleeding, you should also consult your physician.

Please write back with any further questions.

This internet service does not preclude, override or replace the psak of any rabbinical authority. It is the responsibility of the questioner to inform us of any previous consultation or ruling. As even slight variation in circumstances may have Halachic consequences, views expressed concerning one case may not be applied to other, seemingly similar cases.

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