Jamaica Gleaner
Published: Saturday | October 17, 2009
Home : Let's Talk Life
Doctor's advice - She hates fruit!

  • Q. Doc, I really dislike the taste of fruit! Would it do me any harm if I never had any more for the rest of my life?

    A. Yes, it would. Fruit is good for the health. This is because it contains plenty of vitamin C and also gives you lots of fibre, which is excellent for the bowels.

    Indeed, there is some evidence that people who eat a lot of fruit live longer than those who don't. It is fortunate that healthy fruits like bananas, oranges, limes, star apples and the rest are so readily available. Even if you don't like the taste of fruit all that much, do eat it!

  • Q. Is it true, as I have heard, that oral sex gives a girl lots of calories and, therefore, makes it very difficult to be slim?

    A. There is a persistent myth among young women which says that male sex fluid is full of calories and is, therefore, fattening. But this is just not true. There are very few calories in seminal fluid, so swallowing it is not going to make you obese, or prevent you from slimming down.

    Incidentally, I don't know the circumstances in which you are giving someone oral sex (fellatio). If it is with your regular, faithful partner, that is OK. But if you are practising any kind of casual fellatio, that would put you at risk of a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

  • Q. I am about to marry a real sweet but rather shy and nervous young woman of 23. She knows almost nothing about sex. Our problem is that whenever I approach her genitals, she gets really frightened and tends to roll up into a ball. We have tried to have sexual intercourse but so far penetration has been impossible because it seems to pain her so much. On one occasion, I think I got about half an inch in, but by then she was screaming so much that I had to stop. Do you think that all this is connected with the fact that she was raised in a conservative and strict family and was never told anything about sex? Will things improve when we get married?

    A. I very much doubt it. This young woman needs urgent medical or psychological help. Without that, I doubt if she can get over her issues.

    You are absolutely right in suggesting that your girlfriend's problem is linked to the fact that she was told very little about sex. Unfortunately, when girls are reared with a conservative attitude to sexual matters, knowing little about their bodies, they often get a completely wrong idea about intercourse.

    Frequently, they become convinced that the vagina must be a very small and tight place, and that sexual intercourse must, therefore, be very painful.

    As a result, they grow up with a condition called vaginismus. In this well-known disorder, the woman panics if any approach is made to her sex organs. Typical features include:

  • A sort of muscle contraction if anyone attempts intercourse;

  • Inability to cope with internal examinations by a doc;

  • Being unable to insert tampons.

    These symptoms are often quite disabling and they tend to lead to sexual incompatibility and often divorce. I would suggest that you take her to see two experts:

  • A female gynaecologist or family-planning doctor who is proficient in helping patients to relax the vaginal muscles;

  • A psychologist or therapist who is proficient at helping people to relax and to talk about their inner sexual fears.

    I wish you both well.

  • Q. I have a boyfriend, from another part of the island, who visits me occasionally. Now he has sent me a text message that I have given him a sexually transmitted infection! I am really upset about this. Is what he says possible, bearing in mind that I have NO symptoms?

    A. Yes, that is certainly possible. You see, it is a medical fact that a woman can acquire a sexually transmitted infection but have no symptoms of it.

    Therefore, I strongly advise you to undergo a test for STIs, including labor-atory swabs.

    However, it's possible that your 'occasional' boyfriend is mistaken in thinking that he has an STI. Alternatively, he may be right that he has such an infection, but he may really have caught it from another woman. Whatever is going on, I advise you to have those tests!

  • Q. I only started having my menses a short time ago and I have no mother to advise me. I am confused by the fact that they keep arriving on different days of the month. For instance, Doc, in one month the period may come on the 23rd, and then during the next month on the 20th. After that, it can arrive on the 16th. What is going on? Is this serious?

    A. No, it isn't. Like some other very young women, you have forgotten to allow for the fact that the months of the calendar are of different lengths. As you know, the calendar months range from 28-31 days. Therefore, you cannot expect the menses to appear on the same day of every month.

    A young girl whose menses were 'dead regular' at 28 days apart might have one which started on October 1. I would expect the next few periods to arrive on October 29, November 26 and December 24.

    Every young woman should get herself a diary or calendar and then mark the dates on which she bleeds. It is then very easy to see if the menses are regular or not. Incidentally, it is possible to make a similar arrangement with your mobile phone.

  • Q. I am a guy who is a little concerned that my male organ is not long enough. Now I have seen an ad for a surgical clinic near Miami which does an operation called 'making the penis longer'. They do this by 'cutting a ligament' under the pubic hair and that is said to be almost painless and very effective. However, I don't really understand the ad. What is a 'ligament'? And should I go ahead?

    A .A ligament is a broad band of tissue, like a string or a belt. You often see ligaments in meat when it is being prepared for cooking.

    In this case, the ligament that the clinic is talking about is a broad strip of tissue at the base of the penis, just where it meets the pubic hair. You may be able to feel it when you have an erection. Just run your fingertip down through your pubic hair till you reach the lower end of the penis. At this point, there is a ligament that helps to hold the penis pretty upright.

    The operation cuts through this ligament. That will make the tip of your penis 'hang lower'. This means that the organ looks slightly longer, but only when you are non-erect.

    It will definitely not look longer when you are erect! Also, it will probably not point quite so steeply up as it did. For those reasons, I cannot really see much reason for undergoing the operation.

    Email questions for Doc to saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com.

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