Blood found on mooncup
11 January, 2016
Question:I've been having bleeding that lasts more than 5 days. I've been showing my mar'ot to a rabbi who has been telling me that I can only get a clean hefsek tahara on day 7 or 8. I saw on the yoatzot website that a mooncup can help to shorten bleeding time. I'm just wondering, is a mooncup mekabel tum'a? Normally I will not use a tampon until I am sure that I have a "flow", as I do not want to become ta'mea too early. If I were to use a mooncup while I am still only staining at the beginning of my period, would that blood make me ta'mea? Or could that blood count as a ketem found on something that is not mekabel tum'a, not making me a nidda?
Answer:The leniencies of ketamim (stains) apply only to stains found externally. Once an object is inserted internally, any blood found on it is not considered a ketem, but is comparable to blood found on a bedikah. This is why any blood found on a tampon will make you niddah; you are correct in not using one until you have a "flow." Similarly, any quantity of blood found on a mooncup will make you niddah, independently of whether it is considered mekabel tum'ah. You should not insert any object internally to contain the bleeding unless you consider yourself niddah already.
There are other methods of trying to shorten the bleeding besides the mooncup. We have received reports of taking large doses of vitamin C (some specifically recommend lemon juice, although pill form likely works as well) once the bleeding begins, as well as alfalfa (leaves/sprouts/seeds). There are herbal remedies that claim to reduce the bleeding (such as shepherd's purse) but we only recommend their use after consulting with a healthcare professional (conventional or alternative).
Please feel free to get back to us with any further questions.
B'Hatzlacha!
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.