Doctor's Advice; Is my girlfriend normal?

Q. Hello Doc. Is there something wrong with my girlfriend? She is 17, and so am I.

Last week, we had sex for the very first time. We did not use a condom. I thought it was good. But to my surprise, she did not discharge. Does this mean she has some physical problem?

A. No, it does not. I am afraid that, like a lot of young guys, you have little idea of how girls' bodies and minds work.

If your girlfriend had orgasmed on the first occasion you had intercourse, that would have been pretty surprising. Many young women do not climax until they have been having sex for two years or more.

Furthermore, surprisingly few females can orgasm just through having intercourse. Most women need intense and skilled stimulation of the clitoris if they are going to come. It is a little improbable that at age 17, you are capable of providing that kind of skillful clitoral love play.

I am a little concerned that two people as young as yourselves are having sex, but without using any form of protection. If you are going to continue having intercourse, I urge you to use condoms. Or your girlfriend may wish to try some other method, like going on the Pill.

Q. I am a female. Doc, I am having a problem with the belly. Last week, I went to pass faeces, and it was very loose. After that, I felt a sharp pain at the right side of my pelvic area. I still feel the pain sometimes when I go to the bathroom. Could this be cancer?

A. In view of the fact that you have indicated to me that you are pretty young, cancer is most unlikely. Among young people, bowel disturbances and bellyache are much more likely to be due to one of the following:

A bowel infection;

Irritable bowel syndrome;

Diverticultis - an inflammation of 'pouches' in the bowel.

You should see a doctor to find out which of these diagnoses is the likeliest. She will need to examine your belly, and also put an examining finger into the anus.

Q. I am a guy of 16, and I am pretty sure that I can only feel one testicle. But I think there is also a swelling under the skin of my right groin. Help!

A. It is very likely that you have an 'undescended testicle'. That is real common in boys.

What happens is that one of the testicles gets stuck in the little 'tube' which runs downwards from the lower part of the belly into the scrotum. The usual result of that is that the guy notices a bulge in the groin.

If the testicle is undescended, and, therefore, stuck in your groin, it is extremely vulnerable to injury. Also, it can cause serious medical troubles. Therefore, it usually needs operating on. Often, the surgeon can bring it down into the scrotum, where it is supposed to be.

So you should see a doctor right away and have your sex organs checked out.

Q. I am an 18-year-old female, and do not have much experience with sex away from masturbation. A friend of mine suggested that I could intensify my pleasure by putting something into my urinary opening.

Is that a good idea, Doc? And is it safe?

A. No, it certainly is not safe. And I do not think it will give you pleasure. Please do not do it!

A small proportion of young women get the idea that it might be good to introduce something slim into the urinary pipe (the urethra). But it is a foolish thing to do. It can cause bleeding or urinary infection.

Also, the implement which the female uses can slip inside and get lost in the urinary bladder. When that happens, the woman has to take an operation to have the object removed.

So my message to young women is clear: do not put anything in or near the urinary pipe!

Q. I am a guy of 20, and I have recently started my first sexual relationship. It is with a much older lady. In fact, she is 29.

I think I love her. But I am concerned about one thing. Whenever we are having sex, I notice that she strokes her own breasts with her hands, sometimes quite frantically.

Is this OK, Doc? Or is she odd in some way?

A. No, she is not odd. During sex, a lot of experienced women stroke their own bodies, often concentrating on the breasts. This helps them to get more excited, and also to reach orgasm. Mostly, they do it unconsciously.

When you think about, it is not surprising that an experienced woman should have learned to do this. After all, her male partner (i.e you) has only two hands. So there are always going to be parts of her body which are unstimulated, unless she strokes them herself. This is all perfectly natural.

Q. I am 20. Should I go on the pill, or is it very dangerous?

A. If the pill really were very dangerous, then there would not be millions of women taking it throughout the world.

True, the pill can occasionally have real serious side effects, like thrombosis (clotting). But such mishaps are rare in young women, and mainly occur in the over 30 age group.

In addition, a good doctor will not prescribe the Pill to a young woman who has special risk factors for thrombosis. These risk factors include heavy smoking, or a bad family history of heart attacks or strokes.

Q. Doc, I have to admit to you that I had sex with two girls last week. One of them told me that she was on the last day of her menses. The other one said that the period had finished seven days previously.

Do you think I have got either one of them pregnant? I did not have any condoms.

A. I must say that you are playing a dangerous game. To have bareback sex with two girls in the course of a week is asking for trouble.

The first young lady said she was on the last day of her menses when you went with her. Conception can occur on that day, but is not too likely.

As it relates to the second girl, you made love to her a week after the menses ended, much depends on how long her period lasted. But if it was a seven-day period, then you probably had intercourse with her on about the 14th day of her cycle. That is a very dangerous time indeed!

So if this girl was ovulating (releasing an egg) when you had sex, there is a high chance that she is pregnant. Unfortunately, it is much too late to give the post-coital pill (morning-after pill).

You will just have to wait and see if these two girls' menses arrive. Let us hope that you have not got both of them pregnant.

My advice: keep to one girlfriend. And practise safe sex with her.

Email questions for Doc to saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com. You may also read Doctor's Advice every Sunday in Outlook magazine.