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

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Stain on finger

9 July, 2019

Question:

I had a baby 8 months ago, and have been on the mini pill since then. I switched pills at one point for a couple of months and got my period at that time, but ever since switching back to the mini pill, I have not had my period.

Today I saw staining on my black underwear. I knew that this was okay, but then I took a shower and wanted to check if there was blood, so I put my finger in that area to check and I did see a little bit of blood on my finger. I now realize that I may have made a huge mistake by doing that, and wanted to check if I am now in niddah or not since I saw a little bit of blood on my finger. I know that it was not the size of a gris, since it was only a tiny little bit, but I did put it in my vaginal area so I know that it came from there.


Answer:

Mazal tov on the recent birth of your baby!

If you inserted your finger internally (inside the opening of your vagina), even a small amount of reddish blood found on your finger would render you niddah, since it is treated as if it were a bedikah. If you only touched the vaginal area externally, and the stain on your finger was less than a gris, then you were not rendered niddah since it is governed by the usual rules of ketamim (stains).

For the future, if you want to check for staining, you may wipe externally with a tissue/toilet paper (not after urinating) to see if there is any staining. Even if the tissue is stained you will not be rendered niddah from it, since the tissue is a surface not susceptible to tumah.

Please feel free to get back to us with any further questions.

B’hatzlacha!


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