Dear Doc: A night in Kingston ...

I am a married guy from Savanna-la-Mar. Last week, I had to go to the Corporate Area for the night, and I am embarrassed to tell you that I met a girl at my hotel. Doc, I was determined not to have 'full sex' with her, as I knew that could be dangerous. But she did give me oral satisfaction.

Afterwards, she asked me for money. So I suppose she was a professional. I should have realised that earlier, I guess.

Well, today I have discovered that there is some kind of yellowish stuff staining my pants. Also, it pains me to pass urine. Fortunately, I have NOT had sex with my wife since I came back, so she is in no danger.

Doc, do you think I have picked up a sex infection from that girl in Kingston?

Almost certainly. Recent research has shown that some ladies of the night do harbour either chlamydia or gonorrhoea (the clap) in their throats. These germs are likely to be passed on to the guys to whom they give oral sex.

So you should go to a doc right away for tests and treatment. I am sure that the doctor will be able to cure you with a course of antibiotics. Please do NOT have sex with your wife until you have been pronounced totally cured.

I am a woman of 32 who has been experiencing a problem since childhood. I have been fighting a mouth odour.

Sometimes I can control it by chewing sugar-free gum, but otherwise, I have not been able to combat it.

Also, my gums tend to bleed, especially when I am asleep. If I wash my mouth out, the water that I spit would be all bloody. Help!

Sorry to hear about this. Occasionally, bad breath is due to some medical disorder, such as infection of the tonsils or lungs. But in the great majority of cases, it is due to problems with the teeth and gums.

The fact that you are spitting blood whenever time you wash out your mouth does strongly suggest that you have gingivitis, which is a real common inflammation of the gums.

Also, it may well be that you have some tooth decay, but have not realised it. That is a very frequent cause of odorous breath.

What all this adds up to is that your problem is almost certainly dental. So you should place yourself in the hands of a good dentist.

You need a complete check-up from her, together with treatment of your gingivitis, and restoration or removal of any diseased teeth. I hope that will clear up your problem, and I wish you well.

I am a 29-year-old male virgin. I have met a lady in her 30s, who says she loves me. I find her real attractive, Doc. We might even get married.

She has indicated that she is now willing to go to bed with me. But I am afraid that if we do that, she will realise how inexperienced I am, and realise that I am a virgin.

A friend has suggested that I should begin by going with a prostitute, who could teach me all there is to know about sex. He says that once I know what to do, I could then go ahead and sleep with the lady who loves me.

Would this work?

Frankly, I think that is a crazy idea. The idea that a prostitute could somehow teach you 'all there is to know about sex' is just not realistic.

I feel that your best move would be to sit down with your new girlfriend, and explain to her that you are totally inexperienced. Try not to be embarrassed. After all, being a virgin is nothing to be ashamed of!

I am pretty sure that this lady will be understanding and kind. When the time comes, I expect that she will help you and encourage you. Bear in mind that it is possible that she is a virgin herself.

I am a female who has noticed increased urinary frequency, which has become quite annoying for me. Sometimes I find myself going to urinate every two or three hours during the day, and at night I have to get up at least three times.

My first impression was that I might have diabetes, although I am not experiencing any diabetic symptoms, like excessive thirst, or excess desire for food. However, I DO have a strong family history of diabetes.

So I did a blood test, which showed that my glucose level was in fact quite normal. So I then carried out a urinary 'dipstick' test. This demonstrated that there was no sugar in my urine. However, it DID show some white cells.

I went to my doctor, who thought that the presence of the white cells in my urine might be due to an infection, which would explain my urinary frequency. So he put me on the antibiotic norfloxacin for a week. Unfortunately, my symptoms still continue!

So could you give me your advice as to what I may likely have?


From your email, I deduce that you obviously know a lot about medicine. I hope you will forgive me, but I have 'translated' the various medical terms in your question so that other readers will understand!

Now when a woman starts passing urine very frequently, the common possible causes are:

Diabetes ('sugar')

Urinary tract infection (UTI)

Nerves

Overactive bladder

Pregnancy

Presumably you know whether you are pregnant or not. As it relates to diabetes, you were quite right to check for that condition! But effectively, the tests which you have done have ruled out sugar.

Statistically, by far the likeliest cause of urinary frequency in a youngish woman like yourself is a urinary tract infection (UTI). As your own doc said, the finding of white cells in the urine makes it VERY likely that you have had such an infection.

But what you haven't told me is whether the urine specimen was sent to the lab for culture - in other words, to see which germs could be grown from it. While doing this culture test, a lab can also find out which antibiotic would be most likely to kill the germs.

Now it is possible that your doc sent a specimen to the laboratory for culture, and that they didn't grow anything. If so, that would be rather concerning. Why? Because the combination of white cells in the urine plus a failure to grow any 'ordinary' germs is a well-known 'marker' for tuberculosis (TB). However, TB of the urinary organs is rare these days.

I suspect that what has really happened is that you haven't had a urine specimen sent to the lab for culturing. My advice is that you should have that test done right away. With luck, it should reveal which germs are present in your urinary tract - and which antibiotic you now need to take. Good luck!