Did she give me gonorrhoea?
Q Doc, I am a bewildered guy! Can you help me? Last week, I got a discharge from the tip of my penis, so I went to see a doc.
She did some tests and told me that I had gonorrhoea, which I think is ‘the clap’. She is giving me treatment and says I will get better.
But what is making me fret is this. I have never had sex with anyone away from my girlfriend. I am only 18.
So, presumably, I must have caught this infection from her. Or could I have got it from a toilet seat or from using somebody else’s towel?
Should I ask my girlfriend if she has cheated on me?
A Contrary to what many people believe, it is almost impossible to catch gonorrhoea (‘the clap’) from a toilet seat or some other inanimate object. It is acquired through sexual contact – vaginal, oral or anal.
As you say that you have never been with anyone except your girlfriend, then you must have picked it up from her. I am afraid that this strongly suggests that she has cheated on you and has caught the germ from another guy. You had better ask her about this.
The only other possible explanation is that she caught the gonorrhoea ‘bug’, before she met you, by having sex with someone. It is conceivable that the germs have been inside her since then. She might not have had any symptoms.
What is certain now is that she has gonorrhoea, so she must get treatment! Please urge her to go and see that doc who is treating you.
Most important is that neither of you should have sex with anyone until you are completely cured. The doc will tell you when.
Whether your relationship with your girlfriend will survive this episode, I do not know. Whatever happens, I hope that both of you will realise the vital importance of only practising safe sex.
I am female, age 19. For two years, I have had the most terrible period pain. Would going on the Pill help it, Doc?
A Probably, but first, you should go and see a doctor and have an examination.
She may just recommend strong painkillers or she might well suggest the Pill.
Pills do vary in their ability to remove menstrual pain, but it is likely that there is a brand that will help you. Good luck.
Q Doc, I am a male university student, age 19. To be honest with you, I have tried sex with both a girl and with a boy. I definitely preferred ‘doing it’ with a female.
Do you think there is any chance that I am gay?
A I rather doubt it since you clearly preferred going with a female, rather than a male. But there may well be a little bisexuality in your character at the moment.
Quite a few guys who are in their late teens go through a bisexual phase, but most of them become ‘straight’ (i.e. heterosexual) as time goes by.
My advice to you is not to have sex with anybody until your sexual orientation is clearer. That way, you will certainly avoid quite a bit of trouble!
Q Doctor, do I have a vaginal discharge or not? I thought I had because my pants are often damp underneath. Sometimes I have to change them during the day.
When I went to a doc for checkup, she told me that nothing was wrong. Advice, please!
A What many young women do not realise is that it is normal for the vagina to produce a certain amount of fluid everyday. This may be clear or a little cloudy depending on the time on the ‘menstrual month’.
Also, the volume of this secretion will increase whenever the female gets a little romantic or sexually excited.
There are only certain circumstances in which a woman needs to worry about the fluid coming from the vagina.
These are:
If is coloured (like yellow or green);
If it is blood-stained;
If it is white and causing
ITCHING;
If it causes soreness.
In any of those cases, the young lady should see a doc for tests. But you have already checked with a doctor and she has told you that all is well. Believe her.
Q I was circumcised three years back, and now the scar is rather tender when I am having sex with a girl.
Doc, I have heard that it is possible to take an operation to remove the scar from the penis. Is this true?
A Yes, but there is a danger that the operation might cause another, and even bigger, scar.
My advice is that you just try the effect of applying plenty sex lubricant (such as K-Y Jelly) whenever you are having sex with your girlfriend. This would reduce the friction on your scar.
Q I love my boyfriend, but yesterday, I found him accessing porn on the net! Should I dump him?
A Well, it is a rather unfortunate fact that these days, the vast majority of young men (and some young women) do look at porn on the Internet.
The reason I say this is ‘unfortunate’ is that so much Internet porn is grossly misleading and gives young men quite the wrong ideas about women.
However, unless your boyfriend was accessing anything weird or cruel (like, for instance, sexual torture or child abuse), you might just accept the fact that he is not unusual among today’s male teenagers.
Q I am a male virgin. I am seriously considering the idea of going to Kingston and losing my virginity with a lady of the night.
What do you think, Doc?
A Bad idea. Sad to say, prostitutes often have sexually transmitted infections. So if you go with a lady of the night, there is a high chance that you will get the clap, or maybe chlamydia or even syphilis. There is also a chance of getting HIV.
Q I have really irregular menses, and my doctor thinks I may have polycystic ovary syndrome. Doc, does this mean that I won’t be able to have children?
A Polycystic ovary syndrome (POCS) is very common. Some experts say that six per cent of the female population has it. It does often lead to infertility, but if a woman gets good treatment, there is a reasonable chance that she can have babies. The first thing to do is to see if the diagnosis of POCS is correct, and for this, you really need to get the opinion of a gynaecologist. I wish you well.
Q Hey, Doc. Last week, I had sex for the first time. It was with an older woman. I guess she was around 28 or 30. Doctor, what puzzled me was this. Just as I discharged inside her, she let out a real loud shriek! I thought maybe I had hurt her. What do you think?
A I suspect this was just the lady’s orgasm (or sexual climax). Many women do this when they ‘discharge’.
If you go with her again, do please make sure that you practise safe sex – for instance, using a condom.