Discharge found on NuvaRing

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May 6, 2013

Question

I am currently using a nuvaring for birth control. Last night, I removed the nuvaring to do a hefsek, which was kosher, then put it back in, then put in the moch, which was also kosher. Today, I took out the nuvaring to do my Day 1 Bedikah. As I began rinsing it, I saw that there was some gloppy stuff on the nuvaring, but by the time I realized, it had been rinsed off and I didn't have time to check it carefully for colors. It definitely wasn't red, because I would have noticed that, but it might have been dark brown. (It was only a second so I'm having a hard time visualizing it.)
I then did a bedikah, which was kosher, and then put the nuvaring back in.
Do the possible colors on the nuvaring invalidate my count – and so should I instead count the Day 1 bedikah as my hefsek?

Answer

Given that your bedikot before and after were acceptable, that you did not get a good look at the "glop" before it was rinsed away, and that you are confident it was not red, your count remains valid. You may continue as originally scheduled.
For the future, it may be helpful to rinse off the NuvaRing in the dark, as there is no requirement to look at it, even during the clean days. Please also note that it need not be removed for every bedikah. The recommendation of the rabbis of this site is that it be removed for the hefsek taharah, one bedikah on day one, and one bedikah on day seven.

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