Q I am a 23-year-old guy. At times I get a bump in my pubic region - with blood and a little bit of pus.

Is this caused by a problem with the pubic hair?

A It sounds like you are getting infected hair follicles. The follicles are the tiny 'pits' out of which the pubic hairs grow. They often become infected in young people. The result is a small, tender swelling. Sometimes it bursts, releasing pus and perhaps a little blood.

This is no big deal, and will not affect your long-term health. But you should go to a pharmacy and buy some antiseptic cream. Apply a little of this to your skin in the pubic area, twice per day. If by any chance that does not clear up your problem, please ask a doc to inspect the area.

QI am 22 and recently I think I might have forgotten to remove a tampon from inside me. I have never been good at getting these things in and out and I just don't seem to have the ability to remove this one. Does it matter? Or would it be OK if I just left it there?

ATampons should NEVER be 'just left there'. If they stay in the vagina for a few days, they are highly likely to cause an infection. The result will be a vaginal discharge, probably with an offensive smell. And there could be serious long-term consequences for your health. So you must get it out.

This is usually possible by using the middle and the index finger together. However, if you can't manage it, you must find a nurse, midwife or doc who can extract it for you.

QMy new boyfriend, who is 23, tells me he is sterile. So he says that there is no need for us to use contraception. Can I believe him?

AHis story seems most unlikely to me. How would a 23-year-old man know that he was 'a mule'? Most men only find out that they are sterile when they and their wives have been investigated for infertility because they have not succeeded in having a baby.

It is possible that your new boyfriend genuinely does believe that he cannot become a babyfather. But I have several times seen cases in which a guy pretended to be sterile just to persuade girls to let him have sex without a condom.

Beware!

QI am male, aged 30, and I just don't seem to be able to get a girlfriend because of my spotty complexion. I have tried everything that they have on sale at the pharmacy, but my skin is no better. Please help me.

ASounds like you have a long-lasting type of acne. This is unlikely to be cured by anything you can buy over the counter at a pharmacy. Instead, you need to see a doc and get some more powerful medication from her.

I would suggest that you could start off by taking a twice-daily antibiotic continuously for three months. That often helps a lot.

QI had sex with my boyfriend on the day after my period ended. We did not use any contraception. One week later, another period arrived, and it lasted five days. I am worried that I might be pregnant because I don't know if this second bleeding was really menstruation or not.

A Probably it was. The odds are that you are NOT pregnant, but I am sure that you should do a pregnancy test right away, just to make sure.

You have put yourself through a lot of worry and stress as a result of having sex without any contraception. I think that in the future you should avoid all this anxiety by using a safe form of family planning, like the Pill, the condom or the coil.

QI am female, 32. Recently, I have noticed a brown discharge staining the inside of the right cup of my brassiere. Why?

A This may well be blood, coming from the inside of the breast. While there are some benign (harmless) causes of bleeding from the nipple, this symptom can also be due to breast cancer. So I urge you to see a doc right away. This breast must be medically examined !

QI was fitted with a coil six months ago and everything has gone fine. But now my fiancé is complaining that he can feel something hard, like plastic, whenever time we have sex. Does this matter, Doc?

A Yes. It sounds like the device is coming out. While it is normal to be able to feel a thin thread which comes down into the vagina from the lower end of the coil, the guy should NOT be able to feel any hard plastic.

My guess is that the thing has descended through your cervix, and is sticking out into the top of your vagina. That means that it is NOT protecting you against pregnancy. Also, you could possibly get a womb infection. So please go to a doc for an examination this week. Until this problem has been sorted out, please do not have sex.

Want advice from Doc? Email questions to saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com; fax 922-6223; or post to Doctor's Advice, c/o The Gleaner Company, 7 North Street, Kingston.