NuvaRing & OrthoEvra

The ring is technically easier to remove and replace than the patch. The patch, and all the glue, need to be removed prior to mikveh immersion. To the best of our knowledge, according to the ORTHO EVRA package insert, a woman can put the original patch back on after immersion only if it is clean and still sticky. Otherwise, she should use a new patch. Please check your package insert to confirm. The patch does not interfere with bedikot.

In order to be effective contraception, the ring is inserted seven days after the removal of the previous ring, regardless of where in the cycle you are.

The ring should be removed prior to mikveh immersion as a potential chatzitzah. (If it is inadvertently left in for immersion, a halachic question should be asked.) The ring should be removed for the hefsek taharah. Some authorities, including our halachic supervisor Rav Yehuda Henkin, also recommend removing the ring in order to perform one bedikah each on days one and seven of the shivah neki’im.  The ring is rather mobile, so for other bedikot it can be removed or pushed to the side as you go around it. According to the manufacturer, the ring can be out for up to three hours without affecting efficacy. Therefore, removing it for the above purposes should not impair its efficacy.

Establishing a veset after taking off the patch or taking out the ring is halachically similar to establishing one after stopping the active pills in a package of oral contraceptive pills. There is a difference of opinion as to how to proceed in this case (see Hormonally controlled vestot). If to date you have counted your veset based on the interval from cessation of the pill, you can do the same after taking out the ring or taking off the patch. Thus, if you start your period every month at a consistent interval after cessation, then you can establish a veset kavua similar to that established by the cessation of the active pills of oral contraception.