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

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Postmenopausal bleeding: Attributing to dryness or tearing?

19 October, 2023
Question:

I am 73 years old, and when I used the bathroom after relations with my husband, saw some blood on the toilet paper. I have had some problems with vaginal dryness in the past, and tearing, but did not specifically feel that this time. What should I do?


Answer:

Thank you for reaching out to us.

There are a number of factors that go into determining whether blood on toilet paper makes a woman niddah. Learn more here.

Since you are menopausal and have had bleeding from vaginal tearing in the past, there are extra grounds for leniency here. So, for example, as long as you did not wipe immediately after urinating (even if the pause was only a few seconds), this would not have made you niddah.

Please follow up with us if you have any remaining question about your niddah status.

Assuming that what you saw did not make you niddah, no further halachic steps need to be taken. Medically, we encourage you to check in with your physician about vaginal dryness and potential treatments for it, as well as to rule out more definitively any other cause of bleeding.

Please be in touch with any further questions.

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