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

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu

Gynecological exam during clean days

8 November, 2015

Question:

I have a gynecologic checkup scheduled during my 7 clean days. What can I do to prevent making myself nidda?


Answer:

Thank you for reaching out to us!

A routine gynecological exam does not usually make a woman niddah or invalidate her clean days.

It generally includes a manual exam, a speculum exam, and a Pap smear. In each of these examinations, the gloved hand or instruments typically enter only the vagina, not the cervix or uterus, so there is no effect on the niddah status. Please refer to the links above for more detailed information on these exams.

If any procedures other than those mentioned above are performed, please see our overview article on Gynecological Procedures to learn about when they might make a woman niddah and get back to us with the names of the procedures and what instruments were used (including the diameter of any instruments that entered the cervix)

We follow the halachic position that a woman does not need to ask her physician if they saw uterine bleeding, and does not need to look at anything that was inserted internally. If blood is nevertheless observed on an instrument or a glove that was inserted internally, ask if it might have been the result of a scratch or irritation from the procedure and consult us or a local halachic authority for help determining your status.

Bleeding shortly after the examination is assumed to be dam makkah and does not invalidate the clean days (shivah neki’im).

Still, it is best to also take precautions against invalidating the clean days, for example, being careful about discharge on toilet paper. You may also choose to wear a pad or pantiliner following the exam in case there is some bleeding. We follow the view that staining found on a disposable pad or pantiliner does not make a woman niddah.

We recommend performing the bedikah for that day before your appointment, and not resuming bedikot until the afternoon of the next day or until the bleeding subsides. Although you may omit bedikot on intermediate clean days following the appointment in these circumstances, it is vital to get an acceptable bedikah on the first and seventh days of your shivah neki’im. Bring any questions to a halachic authority, explaining about the examination, rather than assume the clean days have been invalidated.

Please also be in touch with any further questions, or if you are concerned that you will not be able to get an acceptable bedikah on the seventh day. You may wish to call our telephone hotline for a quicker response.

This response was updated on 19 November, 2022.


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.


Accessibility Toolbar