DOCTOR'S ADVICE: While her husband was away ...

Q While my husband was away on business last month, I meet an old school friend. He was very charming, and he asked me out for a drink at his hotel in the Corporate Area.

I am ashamed of what happened, but I ended up kissing him. And just before he went home that night, I gave him oral sex until he climaxed.

I will never, never do such a thing again because I love my husband. I feel terrible when I think of what I did.

Can you please advise me? Is there any chance that I could have caught a sexually transmitted infection (STI) from this crazy episode?

A I am sure you must feel very repentant about what happened. At least you did not let matters go any further, and you did not have sexual intercourse with this man.

However, fellatio, which is the medical term for oral sex given by a woman to a man, can indeed transmit sexual infections. Recent research has shown that quite often a woman gets the germ called chlamydia in her throat.

Gonorrhoea can also be transmitted from the man's organ into the woman's throat. Syphilis too can be passed on by oral sex, although that is less common.

Therefore, I feel that you must go to a doctor right away, and ask for swabs to be taken from your throat and sent to the lab. The results should be back in a few days. And if they are positive, then I assure you that you can be treated quickly and effectively.

However, there remains the question of your husband. I presume you have had sex with him during the month since you met your old school friend. If so, then there is a chance that any germs in your throat or the rest of your body could have been passed to him.

Therefore, if your tests turns out to be positive, you are going to have to find some way for your husband to be tested too. That is not going to be easy.

Q I am a 31-year-old man and I often have a severe pain in my rectum, particularly after sex.

Is that some form of STI, Doctor?

A No. I think you have a condition called proctalgia fugax. That is just a sort of muscle contract in the musculature of the bottom. It is real painful, but usually lasts only a short time. It is not serious or life-threatening.

You should go and see a doctor, and let him examine your anus, just in case there is any other problem present. My guess is that he will prescribe some soothing suppositories, which are bullet-shaped medicaments for putting into the rectum.

Q This week, I learned with a shock that my grandfather, who was from Clarendon, had a disease called yaws. In the family, this was referred to as 'bad blood'.

Does this mean he had syphilis, Doctor? And if so, is there any danger to me?

A Yaws is a disease which used to be very common in rural Jamaica, including Clarendon. It is not a sexual infection.

The germ that causes it is rather like the one which causes syphilis. But yaws is not passed on through sex. It is mostly transferred through skin-to-skin contact, for instance from one child in a family to another.

Both syphilis and yaws were widely referred to in Jamaica as 'bad blood', even though they are quite separate diseases. This confusion probably arose because both conditions were detected by the same blood test.

Anyway, your grandfather did not have an STI. And you are in no danger, since the disease will not have been transmitted to you.

Q I am a 33-year-old woman, and so far I have managed to remain a virgin. I have recently become engaged to a clergyman, and he is very pleased that I have kept myself pure.

But one thing is making me worry, Doctor. Fifteen years ago, when I was a young woman, I fell briefly in love with a boy. We did not have sex. But on one occasion, I did let him insert a finger some distance into my vagina. I did not enjoy it much.

What I want to know is this. Am I still a virgin? And on our wedding night, will my husband be able to tell that I was penetrated all those years ago?

A Legally, you are still a virgin. It is possible that the young man's finger broke your hymen (the 'virgin's veil'), though that is by no means certain.

However, it would really take the skills of a gynaecologist to determine whether your hymen is still intact. And as your fiancé is presumably not a doctor, I feel it is most unlikely that he will be able to determine whether your hymen is intact or not.

Of course, you could talk to him about what happened when you were 18. But I am doubtful if anyone would gain a lot through that course of action.

Q Doctor, what pills are available for a man who has lost his nature? Unfortunately, this has happened to me.

A Well, there are three very effective tablets which are available at the moment. They are:

Viagra, also known as sildenafil;

Cialis, also known as tadalafil;

Levitra, also known as vardenafil.

There is not a lot to choose between these three pills, except that Cialis lasts a lot longer than the other two.

I should stress that there are other treatments for erectile dysfunction, such as penile rings and vacuum pumps, and also injections.

However, before going on any treatment, you should definitely consult a doctor. Talk things over with him, so he can try and find out why you are having problems with your nature. It may be possible to put everything right without the need for tablets.

Q Should I buy some of those 'memory improving' pills which are advertised on the Internet?

I have to take some very difficult business exams, and although I sit up late at night studying hard, I find it difficult to remember everything.

A Recently there has been an explosion of adverts for drugs which are described as 'memory improvers' or 'cognitive enhancers'. It is claimed that they speed up the activity of your brain, and make it very easy to remember things.

These pills are widely used by college students, particularly in the United States and in South America. Unfortunately, there is no convincing evidence that they work. Also, they nearly all have side effects.

Therefore, I would not advise you to spend your money on these drugs. What I notice is that you are sitting up really late, studying far into the night. That is not good and in fact makes it less easy for the brain to absorb facts.

Q I am breastfeeding my new baby. Would it be OK for me to take the Mini-Pill?

A Yes. Women who are feeding a child should not have the ordinary pill because it tends to stop the milk flow. But the Mini-Pill is OK.

Send questions to the doctor at: editor@gleanerjm.com and read more Doctor's Advice in the Saturday Gleaner.