Dear Rabbi…
A woman in Israel approached us for help regarding a problem she is having with getting clean for her husband. She gave birth over 7 months ago and keeps staining, unable to go to the mikva. It is becoming a nightmare for both her and her husband and she begged me to look into anyone who might know what to do about such a situation
She has been to blood tests and ultra-sounds. The doctors did not find anything.
She did have Mono for a while and they thought maybe it was happening because her body is weak, but the mono has passed and it is still not clearing up.
She has been ready to go to the mikva a number of times, only to stain on the last day again....
Would the Rav have any advice?
GYE’s initial response:
I spoke to a Gadol about you and he said you should speak with a Rav who is an expert in this field, Rav Yitzchak Melner: 052-763-9185. (You may reach his helper). If you want me to call him, let me know.
I also sent the question out to some other experts, see below for their reply:
Rabbi Simcha Feuerman:
There are some herbal remedies and other ways to stabilize bleeding if it's menstrual. That's why I think it is important for her to see a competent medical professional because who knows what the source of blood is.
Coriander seed 20mg in 2 cups of water boiled until down to a half cup. Drink cold every day after the period stops.
Also foods rich in magnesium such as watermelon seeds , pumpkin and squash.
Also, see this article from the NY Times where they do say that emotional stress can lead to excessive bleeding
Also the Gemara Niddah סו, א might be also understood as emotional stress being a causative factor, depending on whether Ayin Hara is an umbrella term for any number of non-physical psychic causes or it is restricted literally to Ayin hara:
ההיא דאתאי לקמיה דרבי יוחנן דכל אימת דהות סלקא מטבילת מצוה הות קחזיא דמא א''ל שמא דימת עיריך עלתה ביך לכי והבעלי לו ע''ג הנהר איכא דאמר אמר לה תגלי לחברותיך כי היכי דתהוו עליך להך גיסא נתהוו עלך להך גיסא ואיכא דאמר אמר לה גלי לחברותיך כי היכי דלבעו עליך רחמים דתניא {ויקרא יג-מה} וטמא טמא יקרא צריך להודיע צערו לרבים ורבים מבקשים עליו רחמים
רש״י: דימת עיריך. בנות עיריך שהיו מתקנאות ביך בחיבה שביניך לבעליך דימת לשון ליעוז פרליר''ץ כמו (יבמות דף נב.) מידם דיימא וכמו (סוטה דף כז.) לא ישא אדם דומה: כי היכי דתהוו עליך. עד השתא להאי גיסא על חיבה יתירה שביניכם: נתהוו עליך לאידך גיסא. ויאמרו כמה שנואה זו ותשוב קנאה ממך:
(Editor: The gemara basically says that her friends were jealous of the special love between her and her husband and it caused an aiyin hara)
Rabbi Dovid Morgenstern:
Make sure that she had an U/S since she gave birth, because sometimes continual bleeding is a sign of retained placental parts which could turn cancerous if not removed.
If she had an U/S and all is clean, it would be worthwhile to find out what was the thickness of her endometrial stripe. It is common during nursing to have a thinned out uterine lining and then she should take a short course of estrogen to slightly thicken it (as long as not history of clotting and regular blood pressure and no know history of Factor V Leiden mutation for clotting).
Check and make sure she is not on birth control because the IUD or progestin only birth control can cause bleeding problems.
It might be more effective to speak to her directly. My home phone is 972 (0)2-5711944
- She spoke to him and when I asked her what he said, she said: "he told me to remove the IUD and get another form of Birth Control"