Stains, flow, and veset
2 February, 2006
Question:Firstly, thank you so much for your website–you have answered SO many questions for me, I don't know what I'd do if your website didn't exist!!
Secondly, I'm not sure about how to define a "flow." I often have spotting and staining before my period actually arrives, and have only now become aware that many stains on toilet paper that I thought rendered me niddah actually do not!
But I also often get a very light flow, which is often not red, but pink and/or brown (though there is actual red on the paper when I wipe). And I'm not sure if that is considered a "flow" (it comes out onto a feminine hygiene pad I'm wearing), since it really seems more like an accumulation of stains.
Normally my period comes full-force shortly after that sort of flow/staining starts, but this time it hasn't, so I'm not 100% sure what my status is and when my vestot should be (if any). I think I am niddah since last night I noticed the red stains on the toilet paper and stopped counting 15 seconds before wiping, assuming my period was about to arrive anyway.
My main question is: what exactly constitutes a flow (what is the minimum color and/ or amount)?
By the way, I don't know if it matters but I am Sephardi but my rabbi and community are Ashkenazi.
Thank you so very much for all your help!
Answer:Some Sephardi halachic decisors are more lenient regarding stains on toilet paper, not even requiring a fifteen-second wait!
It is difficult to provide a precise definition of "light flow" versus "heavy staining". Were you to see the blood exit your body, it would be a flow. Otherwise, a light flow would be comparable to your lightest period. More would be a flow. Less could be defined as staining (absent a hargashah, a bedikah, or seeing the flow depart the body).
It is generally advisable to abstain from the onset of staining until it becomes clear either that a flow is beginning or that the staining has ended.
Also, if you find a stain on your body in an area where menstrual blood can reach (i.e. much of the lower part of the body or the hands), it could make you niddah, depending on its size and color. The color of a stain on the body can be evaluated if you transfer the stain onto a cloth (by pressing the cloth to the body). Whereas distinct stains on a garment are each treated independently with respect to size (i.e., does any one stain exceed the size limit?), distinct stains on the body are evaluated together, by their total area (i.e., does the aggregate size of these stains exceed the limit?). For a review of the laws of stains, see our article on the topic.
We do not generally base veset calculations on stains. Still, stains that do not render you niddah could theoretically count as a veset haguf were you to have a menstrual flow follow them three times in a row (without ever having such staining without a subsequent flow). However, assuming you wear colored underwear and are not looking for stains in the bathroom, it is unlikely that you would notice such stains three times in a row prior to menstrual flow. In the unlikely event that you were to establish such a veset haguf, you would abstain at the interval after having the stains at which your menstrual flow would be expected. For example, if you were to establish that you stain this way twenty-four hours before a flow, you would observe an onat veset twenty-four hours after the staining.
We hope this helps! Please don't hesitate to write back.
This internet service does not preclude, override or replace the psak of any rabbinical authority. It is the responsibility of the questioner to inform us of any previous consultation or ruling. As even slight variation in circumstances may have Halachic consequences, views expressed concerning one case may not be applied to other, seemingly similar cases. All health and health-related information contained within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is intended to be general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with your health care professional. The advice is intended to offer a basis for individuals to discuss their medical condition with their health care provider but not individual advice. Although every effort is made to ensure that the material within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is accurate and timely, it is provided for the convenience of the Web site user but should not be considered official. Advice for actual medical practice should be obtained from a licensed health care professional.
For further questions or comments: 
The Nishmat Women's Health and Halacha Site is a public service of Nishmat, The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. This project and others like it are made possible by contributions from people like you. If you have benefited from the service, and wish to enable us to help others, click here to donate.
Users of Internet filtering services: This site discusses sensitive subjects that some services filter without visual indication. A page that appears 100% complete might actually be missing critical Jewish-law or medical information. To ensure that you view the pages accurately, ask the filtering service to whitelist all pages under yoatzot.org.