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

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Mid cycle staining with perimenopause

25 November, 2015

Question:

I am 56 years old and am probably perimenopausal. I have had 2 incidents of staining in the past 4-5 months. What happened recently is as follows. 13 days after my period, I felt a liquid leaving my body (would this be classified as a ‘hargasha’?) and upon checking my panties I noticed that I had stained. Unfortunately, I did look at the toilet paper (I know, I know, I’m not supposed to but…..) but not right after urinating. It was bloody. This has been going on for 3 days now although, today (day #3) I only had a small amount of light brownish/red in the morning. Help! This is getting quite frustrating!


Answer:

Unfortunately mid-cycle bleeding is common in the perimenopausal stage. You should continue to take precautions against staining while tehorah as outlined in our article on stains.

One of the three definitions of hargashah is a sensation of liquid flowing out of the uterus.  Most rabbis maintain that this hargashah refers to a sensation of flow within the body, not of liquid leaving the body.  Therefore, the feeling you describe of liquid exiting your body is not considered a hargashah. As such, any subsequent staining found on colored underwear would not render you niddah.  If the underwear was white, then depending on the color and size of the stain, it may have rendered you niddah. Please get back to us with more details if necessary.

Stains found on toilet paper do not render you niddah as long as you waited at least a few seconds after urinating before wiping. If you would like to check your toilet paper to see if you are staining, you should take care to wait at least a few seconds (ideally 15 seconds) between urinating and wiping.

We recommend that you abstain from intercourse until the staining subsides. This is a precaution, not a halachic requirement.

You also may want to consult with your doctor to rule out any other cause of the bleeding.

B’hatzlacha!

This response was updated on 12 February, 2024.


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