Mosquito bit me in an embarrassing place

Q: Doc, I am a guy with a most embarrassing complaint. Last night, while I was sleeping in the nude, a mosquito bit me on the penis.

It hurt a lot at the time, and now it hurts even more. It is itching and I am badly swollen.

I am in a panic, Doc! Is there any tablet or ointment that would help me?

Also, I am seeing my new girlfriend next week and I was hoping that she would let me have sex with her. In the meantime, is it OK for me to masturbate?

A: This was certainly bad luck. Mosquito bites on the penis are quite rare.

The itching and soreness will go away in a week or two, but as you probably know, any kind of friction makes the symptoms of these bites much, much worse. I think it would be very unwise for you to masturbate at the moment.

Additionally, I don't think that you should be trying to have sex with your new girlfriend until you are completely better. Why not just kiss her and leave it at that?

Finally, you ask about treatments. I do not believe that putting creams or ointments on a mosquito bite will help; however, you could get some benefit from taking a short course of

non-sedative antihistamine pills, which you can get from a pharmacy. You don't have to tell the pharmacist where your bite is.

The main thing is to let your penis recover from this vicious attack. Applying a piece of towel soaked in icy water may help, but do not do any scratching or rubbing.

Will his 'squirting' get me pregnant?

Q: I am female, age 17. Last night, I had a passionate series of 'clinches' with my new boyfriend. I am ashamed to admit this, Doc, but it all ended with him 'squirting' his

man-fluid over the gusset of my pants.

Is there any chance that this could make me pregnant?

A: It is a fact that many young couples do go in for mutual 'fingering' and so on - activities which often end up with the boy's seminal fluid being ejaculated onto the girl's underwear.

Fortunately, these occurrences don't often lead to pregnancy. It can happen, but usually the sperm don't manage to get into the young lady's vagina.

The probability is that you will be OK, but please note that couples who go in for that kind of petting do frequently progress before very long to having intercourse.

If you think that there is the slightest risk of that, then please get yourself some contraception quickly.

Could I be sterile?

Q: I am convinced that I could not possibly get a girl pregnant. I feel this because I know that I had mumps when I was around two years old.

Recently, I have had 'bare-back' sex with several girls, and none of them has become pregnant.

Could I get a sperm test to prove that I am infertile? Maybe I could show the written result to girls?

A: Mumps used to be common in Jamaica. It became much rarer when the childhood anti-mumps jab was introduced.

It mainly causes a swelling of the saliva glands around the face, but in young guys, it does sometimes attack the testicles. That is real painful - and can, indeed, lead to infertility.

It sounds, though, like you have no proof that the mumps ever attacked your testicles. My guess is that you are fertile, so it is crazy to go around having 'bare-back' sex with girls. You have been lucky so far, but there has to be a high chance that pretty soon you will get someone pregnant.

If you wish, you can get a 'sperm test' done, but it will cost you money. You need to ask a doctor to arrange it for you. What happens is that a fresh 'masturbation specimen' of seminal fluid is looked at (under the microscope) by the technicians at the lab.

When I say 'fresh', I mean that the lab guys must examine the specimen very soon after you have produced it, so do not send it by post. Ideally, you should do it just before you hand it in at the hospital.

Internet codes

Q: Doc, I'm 16 and female. I recently established an Internet friendship with another teenage girl in Canada. She can see me, but I can't see her.

She keeps sending me messages that contain abbreviations. I do not know what they mean, but I think they must be something to do with sex. They are: 'GNOC' and 'IWSN'.

I do not want to appear 'uncool', so I don't like to ask her what these codes mean. Have you any idea, Doc?

A: Yes. These teenage acronyms are extremely common nowadays, and the main idea of them is to prevent parents from realising what is going on.

This may come as a shock to you, but 'GNOC' means 'Get Naked On Camera', and 'IWSN' means 'I Want Sex Now'.

I very much doubt whether your new 'friend' really is a teenage girl! In many cases, messages like these are sent by a boy, who is pretending to be a girl and sometimes they are sent by older men who are eager to see images of naked young females.

Honestly, I would advise you to bring an end to this particular Internet 'friendship' and, whatever you do, please don't send that person naked pictures of you, or appear naked in front of a camera.

Will the shot make my bones weak?

Q: Because my boyfriend is pressing me for sex, I am thinking on going on 'the Shot', but is it true that it makes your bones weak and liable to break?

A: Don't let yourself be pressured into sex, but if you do decide to opt for 'the Jab', you will probably find it a pretty good method. Be warned, however, that it really can cause damage to the menses for a while.

With regard to its effect on the bones, it is a regrettable fact that the contraceptive injection can make women's bones less dense. That might perhaps make them more vulnerable to fractures (that is, breaks) in later life.

If you have any family tendency to brittle bones (like, if your mother or grandmother kept having fractures), then this would not be a good method for you.

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