Doctor's advice

 

Q I am a woman in my early 20s. A couple of months ago, I started to see some bumps on the outside of my vagina.

I went to my doctor, and he gave me medication. He also told me to do a blood test. I did that, and the following week he told me that everything was OK with my blood.

The bumps eventually went away. But a month or so later, they came back. So I returned to the doc, and he gave me some more medication. Once again, the bumps went away.

But now they have come back again! Can you tell me what is wrong with me?

A. You did the right thing by going to the doc in the first place. Any woman who develops bumps on the vulva, which is the outside of the vagina, should consult a doc so that the problem can be examined.

However, I am glad to tell you that in a young woman, most bumps on the vulva have no serious cause. The most common reason for bumps in that area is a mild infection of the follicles of the pubic hair. Follicles are the tiny pits out of which the hairs grow, and they are very easily infected by germs. That causes small swellings. The same thing often happens on the beard of young men.

There are a few serious causes of bumps on the vulva, but when your doctor examined you, I imagine he or she ruled out anything dangerous.

The fact that your condition responded well to the doc's medication makes me feel that this probably was just a mild infection. Don't fret.

What you should do now is treat your pubic area with a mild application which will discourage germs. To begin with, I suggest that each evening you make a solution, consisting of one pint of comfortably warm water, into which you have dissolved a tablespoonful of salt. Bathe your pubic area thoroughly with it. But do not put it inside.

If these salty applications don't cure the problem after a week, you should go to a pharmacy and purchase a mild disinfectant solution, specifying that it must be suitable for putting on the intimate areas of the body. Use this nightly for another two weeks.

If at the end of that time you are not completely better, you should see that doctor again.

Finally, I would suggest that you not have sex until the problem has completely cleared up.

Q I am a 17-year-old guy and I have noticed that there is a lot of white creamy stuff under my foreskin each morning.

Is that serious, Doc?

A. No. This stuff is called smegma, and all young men produce it, to a greater or lesser extent. It comes from small glands in the skin.

Unfortunately, germs do tend to thrive in it, so you should wash it away carefully each morning. Indeed, all uncircumcised males ought to wash under the foreskin at least once a day to keep themselves clean and hygienic.

Q. At what age does a woman become unable to have children?

A. Females mostly become fertile about the age of 12 or 13, and they usually remain fertile until around the age of 50.

There have been very rare cases in which women became pregnant, without the aid of fertility drugs, at the age of 55 or 56.

However, female fertility does tend to fall off quite markedly from the age of 34 onwards. So pregnancies after the age of 40 are fairly uncommon.

There are now tests available which can tell you whether you are still producing ova (eggs). Women in their late 30s who want to become pregnant are increasingly asking for these tests.

Q. I am a 16-year-old boy, and I have realised that one of my testicles is not in my scrotum. I can feel it, and it seems like it is stuck a few inches higher, just inside my body.

Help!

A. Sounds like you have a partially undescended testicle. Well before a guy is born, his testicles are located deep inside his body.

But as the pregnancy continues, the testicles gradually make their way down into the scrotum. By the time the baby is born, that's where they should be.

However, in quite a lot of boys, a testicle gets stuck in the channel that leads down to the scrotum. It seems that is the case with you.

Have a doctor examine you. Almost certainly, he will refer you to a surgeon who can decide whether you should undergo minor surgery, which is intended to bring the testicle down into the scrotum and anchor it there.

Q I am 16, and last week I had sex with a boy for the very first time in my life. I did not enjoy it at all.

Am I abnormal?

A. No, you are not. Like many young women, you have discovered that 'first sex' is often a rather overrated experience.

Indeed, research has shown that a lot of girls report that their first time was disappointing, uncomfortable or unenjoyable. Very often, it is some months or years before they really start to find intercourse enjoyable.

Incidentally, I hope you took some safe-sex precautions. Be on the alert to see whether your next menses arrive on time.

Q. I have some white things on my pubic hair. What is the cause of this?

A. That is impossible for me to say, as I have not examined you. If you are experiencing itching, as well as seeing the 'white things', that would strongly suggest that you have pubic lice ('crabs').

There are no other serious causes of 'white things' in the pubic hair. But it would be wise to ask a doc to examine you.

Q. Doc, I have very small breasts but I would like to get them a bit bigger. Would Perfect Woman Cream help me?

A. I have to tell you that medical science has not yet come up with a cream that will genuinely make the breasts bigger. That is why you are unlikely to find a doc who prescribes breast-enlarging creams.

Perfect Woman is the trademark name of a cream, derived from herbs and other plants, which has proved very popular in the United States and on the Internet. However, I have been unable to find any scientific trials which prove, unequivocally, that it makes breasts larger.

Importantly, the American Food and Drug Administration has not, so far, given its approval to any method of breast enlargement, except for breast-augmentation surgery.

Want advice on medical matters relating to you? Email questions for Doc to saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com. Also, read Doctor's Advice in Outlook magazine in The Sunday Gleaner.