Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

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Small ovarian cyst

17 July, 2017

Question:

I have a Mirena IUD inserted over two years ago. The last few months I’ve had spotting even a day after going to the mikvah, sometimes discharges that are dark red/brown, the color of old blood. An ultrasound has shown a cyst on an ovary, too small to remove but enough to cause bleeding after relations. Is there any way that this is not considered niddah?

Thank you very much for your help.


Answer:

If you do not experience an actual flow of blood, you may take precautions against becoming niddah from staining. You should wear colored underwear or disposable pantyliners and wait at least a few seconds (ideally 15 seconds) after urinating before wiping.

You should not look for any blood after intercourse. Wait a few minutes before getting up and/or cleaning yourselves. Be sure to use dark-colored towels or tissues to wipe yourselves and don’t look!  Make sure your bed linens are colored as well. See our page on stains for a more detailed discussion of precautions.

In addition, we recommend refraining from intercourse for 24 hours after finding a stain so your status may be fully clarified.

Please feel free to get back to us with any further questions.

B’hatzlacha!

This response has been updated to reflect the rulings of our current Rabbinic Supervisor, Rav Kenneth Auman, regarding waiting before wiping.


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