Doctor's Advice: Should she SWAP on V-Day?

Q. My fiancé is suggesting that to celebrate Valentine's Day, we should have a sex foursome with my best friend and her guy. In other words, he wants us to swap partners for the night. But I am not so sure about this. Surely, there must be some health dangers. Right, Doc?

A. Of course there are. All of you would be running some risk of chlamydia, an infection which is common among the young. You could catch other sexually transmitted infections too.

And, what if one of you two young women got pregnant? Also, these crazy foursomes do sometimes lead to serious psychological problems, particularly for the females involved. To me it seems extraordinary that your fiancé wants you to kind of 'wife swap' before you are even married! Are you really sure that this young man is the right person for you?

Q. I am on the Pill, Doc. Sometimes I swallow it down without any water. Is it OK to do this with tablets and pills?

A. No, it is not! Although the contraceptive Pill usually slips down pretty easily, it is safer to have a good swig of water when you are swallowing any kind of capsule, tablet or pill. This is because of the fact that these things can sometimes get 'stuck' in the throat, or lower down.

Indeed, a physician friend of mine recently disregarded this rule, and swallowed down an antibiotic without using any water. The capsule stuck in his gullet, and made him quite seriously ill. So, please, always use water.

Q. I am male, aged 19. My friends and I usually get pretty drunk on a Friday night. I have always believed that this could not harm our health.

But my mother says that young folks can damage their livers like that. Is she correct?

A. She is absolutely correct. Unfortunately, a lot of young men and some young women are doing great damage to their livers by drinking too much alcohol. This damage can last for life. So please cut down - now!

Q. I am a guy of 18, and I recently had sex for the very first time. Now it seem like my foreskin is splitting off! Please help me, Doc. Is this very serious? Do I need to take a circumcision operation?

A. Please do not panic. I very much doubt if your foreskin is really coming away.

What I suspect has happened is this. In a lot of teenage males, part of the foreskin has been stuck to the head of the organ all their lives. But when they start having sexual activity, the 'stuck-down' foreskin starts peeling away from the tip of the penis.

That is nothing to fret about at all, and is just a normal part of growing up. However, I would like you to ask a doc to check out your organ, just to make sure that I am right about what is happening to you. You should not need to take an op.

Q. I am 22. My father has just had a real bad heart attack at age 53. A friend told me that this means I should get myself a medical check-up. Is that correct, Doc?

A. Yes, indeed, People whose parents have heart attacks at quite an early age should always consult a doctor or a check-up because there is a considerable danger that the condition may turn out to be hereditary.

In particular, the doc will want to do your blood pressure. And you should have your blood cholesterol measured.

Q. Is tiredness real bad for the mind, as I have heard? Doc, I am a busy young woman! Because I am so short of money, I have been doing two jobs, one in the day and the other in the evening.

The evening job goes on so late that often I do not get to bed till 2 a.m., and then I have to get up at 6 o'clock. I am still exhausted when I wake up.

Over the last couple of months, I have become more tired. Also, all my friends say that I have become irritable and snappy. I have had several very bad arguments with people, mostly over nothing.

And my mother is saying that my behaviour has become what she calls neurotic. She is a nurse, by the way. So what is happening to me? Is all this caused from lack of sleep?

A. Almost certainly, yes. If people do not get enough sleep, they often do begin to show signs of what used to be called neurosis. In other words, they start finding it difficult to get on with other folks, they get annoyed about silly things, and they are badly upset by unexpected noises.

Also, they may become obsessed about certain matters, which means that they feel distressed if everything is not in strict order and carefully lined up.

I do appreciate that you are short of money, and therefore have to do two jobs and work very long hours. But for the sake of your mental health, you really must try to ensure that you get at least seven hours sleep per night. All teenagers and young adults need that amount of sleep.

Q. I am a guy of 18, and I have a wonderful new girlfriend. We have not had full sex yet. But we 'fool around' a lot together. In other words, we do what they call petting.

Well doc, last night she actually made me discharge. And my fluid went all over the front of her pants.

What is worrying me is this. Could the sperms get through the material of her panties and make her pregnant?

A. I am quite often asked this question by young people. In fact, there is little need for you to fret. It would be real difficult for the sperms to get through the material of the young lady's clothing, find their way into her vagina, and then fertilise an ovum. It could happen, but so far I have never seen such a case.

However, I must say to you that my clinical experience has been that when young couples get an intimate as you two have done, intercourse is usually not long delayed.

Therefore, I urge you to seek advice about contraception, as soon as possible.

Q. Doctor, I am female, aged 19, and last night, for the first time in my life, I let a boy penetrate me with his organ, but just to a depth of about half an inch.

Does this mean that I am no longer a virgin, Doc?

A. Well, legally you are no longer a virgin because in legal terms any degree of penetration, no matter how small, counts as intercourse.

However, if the boy really did penetrate only half an inch, then your hymen is probably still intact. (The hymen is the thin membrane located not far inside the opening of the vagina.)

Therefore, in purely medical terms, it is probable that you are still a virgin.

Got any questions for Doc? Send feedback to him at saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com.