Brown stains from old blood
11 February, 2016
Question:Hi there – thank you for taking the time to look over my niddah question. I was in the second day of my sheva niki'im, and had medium or light brown discharge that I know for sure is from old blood. (I guess it didn't come out of my system right away, but I am on the pill and am positive it's not from anything new.) The stain was on white cotton. I am inclined to think that it should be just fine and that I can continue with my sheva neki'im, but I want to make sure. Many, many thanks.
Answer:If the stain was found externally (i.e., not on a bedikah), and was smaller than a gris (the size of a US dime or Israeli shekel), it may be disregarded and did not invalidate your clean days.
If it was found on a bedikah, or if it was larger than a gris and found on a white fabric, it may have invalidated the clean days depending on the shade of brown. Light browns (the color of coffee with milk) with no reddish hue may be disregarded. Any other shade of brown needs to be evaluated by a halachic authority. The fact that it was likely old blood and that you are on the pill does not allow you to disregard a potentially problematic stain.
Please read our article on stains for more details, and feel free to get back to us with any further questions.
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