Doctor's Advice - Could I get an infection from a hand job?

• Could I get an infection from a hand job?

Q.  Doc, I would like your fatherly advice. I am a guy of 17 and I know very little about sex. But I know that there is a thing called venereal disease (VD), and that you have to be really careful of it. nLast Saturday night, I found myself talking to an attractive girl. She is several years older than me. To my surprise, she kissed me, and encouraged me to feel her breasts. I had never had an experience like this.

Well doctor, towards the end of the evening we went off to a quiet room, and there she unzipped me. She put her hand on my organ and rubbed me briskly. Within around 10 seconds, I discharged. Obviously, I enjoyed this, Doc. But, to be frank, I am fretting. Is there any danger that what she did to me could give me VD?

A. You obviously know very little about girls and about sexual matters. I strongly recommend that you seek out a wise older person, such as a teacher or minister of religion, and ask him to explain some of the facts of life to you.

Now, what this older girl did to you is what is commonly called a hand job. It is a petting or love-play technique that is often used among young people. One good thing about it is that, unlike sexual intercourse, it is not likely to get anyone pregnant.

What about VD, which you are fretting about? Well, fortunately it is very nearly impossible to pass on a sexually transmitted infection (STI) from one person to another through this practice.

There are some very rare exceptions to that. For instance, if a woman had a lesion (that is, a sore place) caused by syphilis on her finger, she could give the infection to the man by handling his penis. However, that would be incredibly unusual. To give you an idea of how rare it is, I have never seen such a case in my professional life.

So, I don't think any harm has been done to you, or indeed to the young lady. But, before you attempt any further adventures with females, please do take advice from a reliable and well-informed older person.

• Why am I sore?

Q.  I am a female aged 20 and earlier this week I lost my virginity. Fortunately, we used a condom. However, Doc, since that night I have had quite a bit of soreness in my clitoris. Could this be due to any kind of infection?

A.  No, that is most unlikely. It is normal for young women to experience soreness of the clitoris after vigorous lovemaking.

• Itchy and swollen after sex

Q.  When I am having sex with my fiancée, I always use a condom. But a few minutes after taking it off, I notice that the skin of my organ has become itchy and swollen. Why?

A. You almost certainly have an allergy to some ingredient in the condoms. That is quite common. What you should do now is to get yourself some low-allergy condoms. These are easily available through the Internet.

• Am I pregnant?

Q.  Do you think I am pregnant, Doc? I let a guy have sex with me last night. This was exactly a week before my menses are due. They are usually around 30 days apart.

A. If your calculations are correct, sounds like you had sex on the 23rd day of your cycle. That is risky. However, the odds are that you will be OK, since it is likely that your ovulation day is somewhere around the 16th day of the cycle. So, you will just have to see whether your period arrives. Please try to avoid this kind of Russian roulette in future!

• Cancer of the testicle?

Q . My girlfriend thinks that I have a small lump near my testicle. I cannot feel it myself, Doc. But, could it be cancer?

A,  Cancer of the testicle is quite rare in Jamaica. However, there is a good medical rule which says that any lump, anywhere in the body, should always be checked out by a doctor. So, get yourself examined by a doctor. He may possibly decide that you need an ultrasound scan on the testicle.

• Penetration difficulty

Q.  I am a virgin female student, aged 21. Last month, I let a guy try to have sex with me. But he just could not get in. Does this mean that there is something anatomically wrong with me, doctor?

A.  No, I don't think so. It is really common for initial attempts at intercourse to be unsuccessful. Possible reasons why the guy could not enter you include:

1. He may have had difficulty with his erection;
   
2. He may have been 'pushing' in the wrong place;
   
3. You may have been tense;
   
4. You may perhaps have vaginismus - a condition in which the muscles around the vagina contract when any approach is made to that area;
   
5. Just possibly, you may have a thick hymen.

It would be a good idea if you consult an experienced female doctor and have a good check-up to make sure that all is well.

• Hot action, hot day

Q .  made love with a guy on an extremely hot day, and we were perspiring a lot. Six days later, I developed a cream-coloured, itchy discharge, which the doctor has now treated. Do you think that I got this because it was such a hot day?

A. No. The temperature of the day cannot possibly give you a discharge. Sounds like you have had some vaginal infection, possibly thrush - which, in Jamaica, is often referred to as yeast. I hope your doctor has now cured it.

• Mysterious pains

Q.  I am a guy of 20 and I have been having some sharp pains in my belly bottom. Also, I noticed that when I pass my urine, it burns. I visited my doctor, and she did all the STI tests, including a blood test. She told me that I do not have an STI. But I doubt her advice, because when I was younger I had sex with a girl who was later rumoured to have gonorrhoea.  Doctor, I am worried. Will I be able to have a family in the future?

A. There is no need to doubt your doctor's advice. If she has done tests for STIs and says you are clear, then I guess she is right. I think you should forget about the girl who was rumoured to have gonorrhoea. Sounds like your doctor has ruled out that disease.

The impression I get is that you have probably had a urinary infection. The usual symptoms of this are pain in passing urine, plus frequency of urination and often some aching in the lower part of the belly. So I feel that you should ask your doctor to send what they call a midstream urine specimen to the hospital lab for testing. If the lab reports that there is a germ in the specimen, your doctor will give you the appropriate antibiotic. Be of good cheer! There is no reason to think that you will not be able to become a babyfather.

Email questions to Doc at saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com and read more in the Outlook Magazine tomorrow.