Doctor's Advice - Is waxing dangerous?

• Is waxing dangerous?

Q. Doc, are there health risks associated with waxing the vagina? If so, what are they? Before I do it, I would like to know if there are any physical dangers. Thank you.

A. Well, I can start by saying that no one waxes the vagina. The vagina is inside you. And there are definitely no hairs in it, so you wouldn't be waxing in there!  So what you are talking about is the area of the vulva, and also, presumably, the lower part of the belly and the thighs. In recent years, huge numbers of young women have decided that they want to remove the hair from the vulval region.

Most of the time, they do this without causing any health problems; however, there have been some concerns voiced by doctors in the last few months.  I must say that most of the 'waxed' young women who I have seen as patients have come to no harm whatever as a result of the procedure, but a few have developed minor infections of the hair follicles, which are the tiny 'pits' out of which the pubic hairs grow. That is not a very serious thing.

Nevertheless, I should draw your attention to some other risks:

• Recently, several women in America have developed cellulitis (serious skin inflammation) in the lower part of the belly after waxing.
• A French study found that women and men who had waxed that area were more liable to molluscum contagiosum, which is a common virus infection of the skin, producing pearly white lumps on it.
• The French have also found that waxed young people were also more likely to get warts and other skin infections.

Admittedly, the French research project was very small. And when one considers the vast number of people who wax these days, it is clear that the danger must be statistically tiny.

Nevertheless, you can see that there are a few risks. A dermatologist said recently that the function of this hair is to protect the genital area. If you get rid of it, then that protection is gone!

• Painful oral sex

Q I am a guy of 18, and most of my friends seem to be crazy about the idea of being given oral sex by girls, but I am not so sure. Doc, I have tried it twice, with different girls. On each occasion, I found it very painful because I got caught by the girl's teeth. I did not enjoy it.  So am I abnormal?

A. Oral sex given by a woman to a man is called fellatio. Many young guys imagine that fellatio must be truly wonderful, but in fact, it is not always very successful, especially if the woman is inexperienced. In particular, it is very easy for the guy to get cut, especially if his partner's teeth are sharp.

There is no doubt that many men do find fellatio very pleasant, but surveys have shown that the majority of males actually prefer vaginal intercourse. Summing up: You are not abnormal, so you should not fret.

• Where does the male fluid go?

Q. Good day, Doc. I am a girl of 17 and a virgin. I would like to know the answer to a question that is puzzling me and my friends. It is this: We understand that when a male and a female have sex, the man suddenly produces a lot of fluid, but where does this fluid go? We study biology, and in the diagrams in our textbooks, we cannot see any place in a woman's body where there is room for a lot of liquid to be stored.

A.  Well, you are quite right. There is no space inside the female body where a large volume of male sex fluid could go. But in fact, the man only produces between five ml and 10ml of liquid, which equals one to two teaspoonfuls. This is deposited at the top of the vagina near the woman's cervix.

What happens to it? Well, most of it simply flows out again during the next half-hour or so. Many women are surprised by that, but it is what happens.

However, the fluid contains tens of thousands of tiny sperm, and some of these will swim up through the female's cervix and into her womb. If one of them can get as high as the Fallopian tubes, which lead out of the top corner of the womb, it may meet an ovum (egg) and fertilise it. And the result of that is that you are pregnant!

I think it is a very good thing that at age 17, you are still a virgin. When you eventually decide to have sexual intercourse, please take very great care to ensure that no sperm finds its way deep inside your body and fertilises your ovum.

• Urinating too often

QI am a guy in my 20s, and I notice that I'm urinating too often, especially when I'm driving. I have to go every hour and a half. No matter how I try, I can't hold it any longer.  I was treated for haemorrhoids four years ago. Is it anything to do with that? Or is it my prostate?

A. Your problem is nothing to do with haemorrhoids (piles), which are in a different department of the body, and prostate trouble is unlikely at your age.

When a young man suffers from frequent urination, the likeliest cause is a urinary infection. You should, therefore, see a doctor right away so that you can have a specimen of your urine tested for infection. The doctor will also want to check you for diabetes since 'sugar' can very often cause a young person to urinate more often than normal. Good luck!

• Fluid from the breast

Q I am 25, and my girlfriend is 23. We have sex once a week. When we were in bed the other day, I sucked her breasts, and some liquid came into my mouth! This was alarming for both of us. Why did it happen?

A. Are you sure your girlfriend isn't pregnant? If she is not, then she should certainly have her breasts checked out by a doctor as soon as possible just in case there is some disorder in the nipple area.  However, it is a medical fact that regular sucking on the breast will occasionally make a small amount of liquid come out of it. So I expect that this is all that has happened here.

• Can you have a cycle and be pregnant?

Q. I had a short menstrual cycle last month, followed by pregnancy symptoms. Can you have a cycle and be pregnant, Doc?

A. I think you are asking me whether a girl who is pregnant can have a period. The answer is no. However, a pregnant woman can experience bleeding and think that she is menstruating. Could that be what has happened in your case?  If you are in the slightest doubt, please get a pregnancy test done.

• Can a man get pregnant?

Q. Is it possible for a man to become pregnant as I have heard?

A No, that is quite impossible, so please quit fretting.

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