However, I suppose it is true that making love several times a week with the same guy, week after week, year after year can get just a little 'stale'. Although my husband is quite happy, I do feel just slightly bored at times. Recently, my answer to this problem has been to fantasise. But I am not sure whether what I am doing is OK.

You see, doc, when my husband is having intercourse with me, I have been letting my mind drift into ideas of 'What if?'

In other words, I think 'What if a big Hollywood star was doing it to me?' Or I might dream about a real handsome guy who lives in our town. Or maybe about a muscular sportsman, like the famous ...

Much to my surprise, I have occasionally fantasised that it is some beautiful girl having sex with me - though I am not quite sure how she would do it.

Could all this harm my health? And could it bring an end to my marriage?

A. No, it cannot harm your health. What you do not realise is that many surveys have shown that around 60 per cent of women who are married (or in relationships) do fantasise while they are having sex.

One very large piece of research in the USA showed that what women generally fantasise about are:

Male film stars

It is easy to disapprove of these fantasies, but fantasising is what more than half of all women do. And in the great majority of cases, it causes no harm at all. Indeed, it often helps the woman to discharge.

However, there are two drawbacks to indulging in mental fantasies. They are:

So really, your use of sexual fantasies while making love with your husband is OK. But you should not get too 'carried away' with them. And my advice to you is NOT to tell him about them!

In the long term, I feel you should try and think up some other ways of putting the 'zing' back into your sex life with your man. For instance, you could attempt lots of different positions, make love in many different places, and maybe read books about exciting things you could do together. Finally, introducing a vibrator into your mutual sex play might be helpful.

Q. My wife has a varicose vein problem for some time now, and despite putting a medication on it, it has turned into an ulcer near the ankle. What can we do?

A. This must be dealt with urgently. I suggest that she goes to see a 'vascular surgeon' at the University Hospital, with a view to seeing whether a vein operation would help.

Meantime, keep her leg elevated whenever possible. Good luck to your wife.

A. Well, like 'regular' sex, it can transmit various infections - for instance, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhoea ('clap') and syphilis.

So if you are going to do it, the best thing is just to keep to one partner. There are protective devices which you can use during oral sex, and they are called 'dams'. But they are not infallible in preventing infection.

A. This is a common problem when a woman who has passed the menopause tries to resume sex after a long spell of abstinence. It is probable that because your levels of female hormone are now rather low, there has been some shrinking and wasting of the walls of your vagina - made worse by the fact that you have not been 'using' the vagina.

This shrinkage and wasting makes intercourse difficult and painful. Fortunately, it can - in most cases - be easily treated with a vaginal hormone cream. Such a cream will often restore everything to normal within a few weeks. So, you must see a doc, and have an examination to confirm that what you need is a hormone cream. I forecast that the doctor will prescribe it for you, and that all will be well!

A. Many women do the same thing. There is nothing wrong with 'finishing yourself off' in this way. And it certainly won't harm your health.

But why not try and encourage your husband to give you a reasonable amount of love play before he nods off? He could do this before or after he climaxes - or both.

A. Well, your erection difficulties may well be partly due to your recent anxieties about your health.

However, the combination of raised blood pressure, raised cholesterol, and some erectile dysfunction suggest that maybe your arteries (the tubes that carry blood from the heart to the rest of the body) are not in great shape. So it is vital that you take steps to improve your physical condition. Subject to your own doc's approval, I would suggest that you:

These measures may cure your erection difficulty rapidly. If not, your doctor will probably agree to prescribe Viagra for a while, until you recover your 'nature'.