Minimum days with light monthly staining

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January 26, 2018

Question

I am 44 years old and have been taking a low dose birth control pill since my youngest was born over 10 years ago. For most of that time, I have skipped periods altogether. Recently, I have begun to stain very slightly for about a day during the week when I would have expected based on the pill schedule to have a period. The staining is observable for literally half a day, if not less.

My question is, do I have to wait the full 5 days before I begin to count 7 clean? Is there any circumstance where that would not be the case?

Answer

When staining makes a woman niddah, she does observe the full five days before the seven clean days, even if the staining is of short duration.

However, staining such as you describe does not necessarily make you niddah.

Please see our site's articles "Ketamim" and "Toilet Paper" for more information. Then please get back to us with any follow up questions.

We also recommend contacting your health care professional about changes in your cycle.