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

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Staining on Pill

29 December, 2005
Question:

I was on a birth control pill and had to switch because of side effects I was having. I switched to a different one and three days later started bleeding. It's not officially a period because you don't get your period on this pill, but it's bleeding due to the fact that my body is getting adjusted to the new pill. Does such a thing make someone a nidda or as long as it was on colored underwear it's okay?


Answer:

Uterine bleeding can make a woman niddah, even when it is not, medically speaking, menstrual blood.  Whether or not the bleeding you describe made you niddah depends on some details.  Provided you did not have a hargashah, staining on colored underwear does not make you niddah.  However, if you have a flow of blood (akin to your lightest periods) or have seen blood leaving your body, you are in niddah.  Blood stains on the lower part of your body also render you niddah if they are beyond the size of a gris (roughly, the size of an Israeli shekel or American dime).

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