Doctor's Advice - Student who gave in twice

Q. Doctor, I am a female college student and I have done something real unwise - TWICE. Last month, I had sex with a much older guy, on the morning of the day my menses started. And then, for some crazy reason I went to bed with a male student on the day the period finished. And guess what, Doc? Now I find I am pregnant. I do not know what I am going to do. But what I would like to know from you is, which of these two men is the father?

A. Well, I am sorry to hear you are in this fix. Your story is an illustration of the fact that a woman can get pregnant at any time of the month. But in general, preg-nancy is not so likely just before and just after a period. So you have been unlucky. Summing things up, you had sex with two guys, leaving an interval of perhaps a week in-between them. In that interval, you had your menses. Well, that means that it is almost certain that the older man is NOT the father. The fact that you experienced a period means that it is very unlikely that he could have impregnated you. So it looks like the younger guy is the father. And I think that you had better tell him that right away. He might ask for a DNA test when the baby is born. I wish you well.

Q. I am a guy of 19, and I have had several girlfriends. During the last few weeks, I have noticed a little pink thing which is just poking out of the hole in my male organ. This has frightened me, Doc. It does not pain me, but there are times when the tip of it breaks off and bleeds. This has happened several times during sex with girls. So the bleeding is quite embarrassing. I would like to know the cause of this.

A.  Almost certainly, you have a little genital wart. Lots of young men and young women get them. In males, they are usually located on the folds of the skin of the penis. But in your case, the wart has developed just inside the urinary pipe. That sometimes happens.

What you should do now is to go to a doctor to have this diagnosis confirmed. The doctor may be able to get rid of the wart for you, by treating it with a special paint. But as so much of it is located inside, it could be that you will have to see a specialist at the hospital. The specialist would remove it by putting a slim surgical instrument into the urinary opening.

Don't fret. That shouldn't really hurt. But it is possible that the specialist might want to do it while you are briefly under general anaesthesia. Finally, let me point out that genital warts are caused from a virus. This virus is passed on during sex. So doubtless you acquired it from a girl. You should NOT have sex until the doctors tell you that it is safe to do so. And when you resume, in order to avoid re-infection it would be wise to avoid 'sleeping around'. Also, always use a condom.

Q. I'm 24 and female. For a few years now I've been having a serious problem. Every couple of months, a painful swelling appears at the opening of my vagina. At times, I can't even walk because of the pain. What could be the cause of this, Doc? And will I be able to have a normal sex life one day? Or have children? I'm not sexually active at the moment.

A. There are several diagnostic possibilities. But I strongly suspect that you have a common condition called 'Bartholin's cyst'. You can look this up on the Internet if you like, because there are many articles about it.

It is simply a collection of fluid which occurs in the little gungo pea-sized glands at the 'mouth' of the vagina. These cysts swell up, become very painful, then go down for a while. But they nearly always return. Often, the cyst becomes infected and filled with pus, a condition which is known as 'Bartholin's abscess'. It may be that your cyst gets infected from time to time. As it relates to treatment, you must go as soon as possible to a doctor who spe-cialises in these matters. That could be a 'gyno', or it could be a doctor who treats genito-urinary diseases. The doctor will examine you to confirm the diagnosis. If she confirms that you do have a Bartholin's cyst or abscess, then she will almost certainly 'puncture' the swelling, to let the fluid out. She will probably then put you on antibiotics.

However, there is a real risk that the swelling will come back. So what experts often do is a little operation which cuts away a small patch of tissue. That leaves a tiny 'pouch' where the cyst was. The 'op' is called 'marsupialisation'. The pouch should not be very visible or noticeable to a future partner.

Now, as it relates to sex: yes, you should be able to have a perfectly normal sex life once you have been cured. And yes, you WILL be able to have children. Good luck.

Q. Hello, doctor. I had sex with a young lady recently. I used a condom. But when I was finished, I noticed that the condom broke. So there was some 'spillage'. One week after, she told me she felt like she was pregnant. She said she went to the doctor, and he did a pregnancy test, and the doctor said it was positive. Doctor, can a woman really know that she is pregnant, only one week after having sex? Please help.

A. Your story does illustrate the important point that young people should take care with condoms, and not treat them roughly. These 'sheathes' are real thin, and they are easily torn. The results of a tear can be disastrous!

As it relates to this young lady's claim that she is pregnant by you, I feel that there is something funny going on here. It is quite impossible to diagnose pregnancy when only seven days have passed since the relevant act of intercourse.

Regarding the alleged 'pregnancy test' done by the doctor, it could not possibly have been positive as a result of the sex you had together only a week before. So if the facts really are as you have presented them to me, I fear that there is a real possibility that this young lady actually got pregnant (presumably by someone else) a couple of weeks or so before you had intercourse with her. So you should have a real serious discussion with her, as soon as possible!