Doctor's Advice:Can't resist the urge

Hi Doc. We are a young couple, deeply in love. One of us is 19, the other one is 18. We plan to get married one day. The sexual impulse between us is overwhelming. We had no idea that the feelings would be so powerful. To be honest, Doc, we were completely unable to resist the strength of our desire for each other. We were swept away, and soon found that we could not help having sex. Neither of us had ever had sexual relations with anyone before. What we are concerned about is this. Could all this sex be doing us any harm, healthwise? You see, when our parents are not around, we usually have sex two or even three times for the day. We have discovered how to orgasm together. And one of us (the girl) sometimes has six orgasms in a single session. What do you think, Doc? Could we be doing ourselves any harm? Could all this sex give us blood pressure or something?

A: Well, it is nice to hear about a young couple who are so deeply in love. I hope your relationship will last, and that you will eventually be able to get married and have babies. However, I do feel that maybe you should soon tell your parents about your relationship - though you don't have to spell out the details.

As it relates to health, you are fretting quite unnecessarily. Having all this sex will not do you any harm medically. And it certainly won't give either of you pressure!

I would guess that you are both safe from sexually transmitted infections (STIs), since it appears that neither of you has ever been with anyone else.

The only thing that remains is the subject of children. Young couples who have all this much sex are highly likely to make a mistake - and, therefore, soon find themselves the proud parents of a child!

So if you don't want to start a family for a few years, I would urge you to use some reliable form of contraception. Among the many types that are available to you these days are: the male condom, the female condom, the Pill, the mini-Pill, the shot, the implant, the coil (IUD) and the vaginal ring. There must be something there to suit you. I wish health and happiness to you both.

I am a female graduate student, age 22. I have never been able to have sex with a guy because every time I try, I just sort of tighten up, and get intense pain. I think I must be small-made because I cannot get a tampon in either, Doc. Do you think that if I consulted a lady doctor, she could arrange some sort of operation to widen me up?

A: Look, I must tell you that the odds are that you just have a well-known condition called vaginismus.

This is a kind of muscle contract which affects women who are scared of being penetrated. It is very typical that you cannot use a tampon.

There is a small chance that you really have some obstruction down there, like a very tough hymen or a structural abnormality of the vagina. But you need an internal examination to find out if this is so. I must stress that it is unlikely.

Anyway, it is clear that you should go and see a doctor as soon as possible. It is interesting that you mention a female doctor because there is some evidence that women doctors are particularly good at diagnosing and treating vaginismus. Experts say that this is because they somehow take the place of the young woman's mother, and somehow give her permission to relax and open up her vagina.

Good luck in getting this trying problem sorted out.

Doc, I am a guy of 18, and I am very, very worried about the angle of my penis. I think there must be something wrong with me. When I am erect, I kind of 'stick out' straight in front of me, or a little higher. I thought this was OK, until I saw a porn movie, and in this the main man was sticking up towards the sky. I was very upset by this. So I asked a couple of my friends to tell me how things are with them. Both of them replied that they point 'upwards'. So what can I do, Doc? Is there an operation that would cure me?

A: Please quit fretting. This is yet another example of the modern phenomenon of young people being 'spooked' by blue movies.

Men often think that their erections don't point high enough. Fortunately, some useful research was done on this by the famous Dr Alfred Kinsey.

What he found was this:

The average angle of an erection is only just above the horizontal;

About 15 per cent to 20 per cent of guys have an erection which is 45 per cent above horizontal;

Only eight per cent to 10 per cent of males have a vertical erection, tight against the belly.

So you are normal. Relax.

Q I am a male of 19, and I find that I am really not as interested in sex as all the other guys are. I do like girls, and I did once have sex. It was good, but I did not desperately want to do it again next day. I am certainly not homosexual because I have no interest in other guys. But I don't masturbate very much, maybe just once a month, in fact. I know that some of my friends do it much more often than that. So am I abnormal? Should I get my hormones checked, Doc?

A: The fact is that quite a lot of the population (both male and female) are not all that interested in sex. They quite like it when it happens, but they don't mind if they don't have any for a while.

Sure, some young guys are real highly sexed. But a lot of others are like you, and what I would call 'lowly sexed'. There is nothing at all wrong with that. It's just like the fact that some people are fast runners, and others are slow runners.

I very much doubt if there is anything wrong with your male hormone levels. So I do not really think it would be worth your while asking for a blood test. If you are happy with your life, then you have no need to fret about your sex drive.

I keep getting a creamy discharge from my vagina, and it itches me very badly, Doc. Why does this happen?

A: The likeliest diagnosis is the little fungus called thrush or Candida albicans. Most people know it by its informal name of yeast.

At your local pharmacy, you can buy anti-yeast cream and other anti-yeast medication. If you are sexually active, your partner should use the cream too. But if these measures don't cure you, please see a doctor.

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