Doctor's Advice - Condom collapse syndrome ruining my sex life!

Q. Doc, I have a problem  which I think no one else has. I am a guy of 20 and so far, I have been completely unable to have sex with any woman. I have been with my girlfriend for six months now, and she is beginning to get frustrated. You see, Doctor, whenever I try to put on a condom before sex, I immediately lose my erection. This is very embarrassing. I don't know if I am allergic to the rubber or something. I am beginning to wonder if we should just go ahead and have sex without the condom. Should I do that, Doc?

A.  Please do not do that as I am sure you realise having sex without a condom is risky!

So why is it that everything goes wrong whenever you try to use a condom? The answer is quite simple. Many young men have precisely the same difficulty as you. They get a good erection, then they try to put on the 'sheath' and suddenly, they lose their stiffness. This phenomenon is so common that it even has a name: Condom- Collapse Syndrome.

It is not caused from an allergy to rubber. No. It is simply caused from nerves.I expect you find that difficult to believe, but in fact, when a guy is young, putting on a 'French letter' can be quite a nerve-racking thing. The youth keeps thinking to himself: 'Will I be able to keep it hard for long enough to get this condom on me?' And while he is fretting, the erection disappears. This is because of stress hormones, which are released into the blood when a man gets nervous.

You may be interested to know that Condom-Collapse Syndrome does not often occur in older guys. The reason for this is that in general, they have got used to condoms and so are confident that everything will be OK.

Sexperts say that there is one simple and effective remedy for Condom-Collapse Syndrome. It is this: You just get your partner to put the condom on you instead of trying to do it yourself. As she unrolls it, the manual stimulus is usually quite sufficient to ensure that the erection is maintained.

Q. I am a teenage girl and I have really only had sex once in my life, but now I am troubled by a white, creamy discharge. Also, there is intense itching, which is nearly driving me crazy, Doc! Is it anything serious or cancerous?

A. It is certainly not cancerous. I am pretty sure that you have one of the most common of female infections called thrush or candida. In Jamaica, many people call it yeast. It is a fungus infection and does not often occur in virgins. This does not mean that you acquired it during the one and only occasion when you had sex. It may just have got into your vagina by chance.

The fungus really loves warm, moist places. That is why it occurs in women's vaginas. The other region where it gives trouble is in babies' mouths, where it produces soreness and white stuff. But in the vagina, it causes a thick, white 'cheesy' discharge, plus very distressing itching. Many women are greatly troubled by that symptom.

Fortunately, in most cases, it can be cured. There are two main types of treatment:

• Anti-fungal pessaries (that is, vaginal tablets) and cream;
  
• A capsule called Diflucan (or fluconazole), which you take by mouth.

In an ideal world, what you should do now is go to a doctor and tell her about your symptoms. She will examine you and determine whether this really is thrush. If so, she will prescribe one of the above treatments for you.

However, if you do not live near a doctor, or cannot afford to see one, then I think you should go to a pharmacy and ask them for an anti-thrush medication. Use it as they direct. Until you are cured, please do not even think about having sex! And in the next few months, try to keep the infection away by these means:

• Only have cool showers - because the fungus likes warm water.
  
• Wear cool cotton pants, which let the body 'breathe'.

If the infection comes back, look up a useful American site called www.recurrentthrush.com. I wish you well.

Q. I am very worried because I only produce around a teaspoonful of seminal fluid. Is this abnormal, Doc?

A. No. A teaspoonful (5ml) has been shown by research to be around average.

Q. I am a guy of 17 and I am sure that my organ is so big that no woman would ever want to have sex with it. Is that possible?

A. That is wildly unlikely. I have never seen a patient whose male organ was too big for intercourse. To get yourself some reassurance, have a doctor check out your penis.

Q. Hello, Doctor. I am a 20-year-old male. Unfortunately, several weeks ago I had unprotected sex, and I am now starting to see some yellow discharge on the head of my organ. Do you think this could be an STI?

A. That is pretty likely. You really must consult a doctor right away. And at all costs, do not have sex until this problem has been diagnosed and cured.

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