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

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu

Can’t immerse after surgery

31 March, 2019

Question:

I recently had surgery. I will not be able to immerse in water for about a month and therefore not be able to go to the mikvah. What if anything can I do to not be in niddah?


Answer:

We hope you are well on your way to a refu’ah sheleimah!

A woman cannot exit the niddah status without immersing in a mikveh. The best course of action depends on your specific situation.

If you are not currently in niddah, please consult your physician about the possibility of using hormonal manipulation to delay your period as much as possible, so that you can avoid being niddah for an extended period of time.

If you are in niddah already, then please clarify the following with your physician:

  • When at earliest, could a single immersion, a few seconds in duration, be permitted? (In this case, even if you customarily dip more than once, it is fully permissible to dip only once. The bracha should be recited before the immersion.)
  • If it can be arranged for you to be the first to immerse in a given evening, and for the water to be changed/disinfected before your immersion, would that make a difference?
  • What, if any, precautions or adaptations would make it feasible for you to get to mikveh sooner?

 

Please get back to us with any follow up information.


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