Womens Issues Made Simple

Istihadha

Istihadha is a type of blood seen by women where the discharge is irregular. In order to better understand the rules of istihadha and the different types of istihadha let us follow the eight simple guidelines below:

Verification of what kind of blood it is

If the blood seen has the following conditions, then it is istihadha.

If the blood seen is not part of the regular menstrual cycle
If the blood seen is not Nifas (blood seen after childbirth)
If the blood seen is not from a boil or from surgery

Signs of Istihadha

Blood seen at the time of istihadha usually has its own distinctive features. It:

Is usually yellowish in color
Is not thick
Is cold
Comes out without force and without burning

However, there are always some exceptions. A woman may see istihadha blood that is red or dark, thick; warm or that comes out with force and burning.

Types of Istihadha

After following steps 1 and 2, that is after one verifies that the blood seen is istihadha, the next step is to know what type of istihadha it is, as the rules differ for each type. To determine what type of istihadha it is, one must place cotton on the surface of the vagina and see how much blood soaks the cotton. Below are the three different types of istihadha one will determine after the test:

Qaleelah (Little flow): when tested on a piece of cotton, blood is on the surface and does not show on the reverse side.

Mutawasittah (Medium flow): when tested on a piece of cotton, blood seeps in and maybe seen on the reverse side. Blood does not stain the underwear.

Katheera (Excessive flow): when tested on a piece of cotton, blood flows out from the cotton and leaves a stain on the underwear.

Note: The best way to examine the type of istihadha is on a piece of cotton, because on a sanitary pad the blood is absorbed and usually a sanitary pad has a plastic base to avoid leakage. Hence to determine the type of istihadha cotton should be used.