She said she only had sex with the guy for around two minutes. She said she greatly regretted it. I think that our marriage, with luck, will survive. But I am fretting about whether she could have given me a venereal disease when she got back.

Is that possible, bearing in mind that the duration of her sexual intercourse with this other man was so short?

A Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can be passed on by just a few seconds of intercourse.

So the fact that your wife's affair allegedly lasted only two minutes does not mean she is safe from infection. If she did pick up a germ, she could certainly have passed it on to you when she came back.

However, your email doesn't indicate that you have any symptoms. Guys who have got an STI usually have some very noticeable symptom. That is a big contrast with women, who often have no symptoms at all.

My guess is that you are probably OK. Nevertheless, I feel that it would probably be sensible for you and your wife to go to a doc and have a check-up.

Good luck with saving your marriage.

Q Can you tell me why my 15-year-old daughter has suddenly started experiencing severe menstrual pain?

When she first started having her menses, at the age of 12 or 13, she had no pain at all.

A What you describe is extremely common among young females. Their menses start and are completely painless in the early months. After a while, the girl begins to experience pain.

The reason is quite simple. Generally, menses do not cause pain until a girl starts ovulating (that is, producing an egg monthly). Often, ovulation does not occur until she has been having menses for quite a few months.

A doc could help your daughter to get rid of the distress, for instance, by using good painkillers. An alternative is to take Pill-type hormones. These STOP the young person from ovulating and, therefore, abolish the pain.

Q I am a 25-year-old man who cannot seem to discharge inside women. I can do it at other times, however.

What's wrong with me?

A You have a well-known condition called delayed ejaculation (DE) or retarded ejaculation. It used to be called ejaculatory incompetence.

It usually occurs in guys who find it difficult to relax and let go - especially when other people are around.

Men who have DE are usually able to discharge when they are on their own - through masturbation - but cannot do it while inside a female. Fortunately, psychologists and therapists have worked out a way of defeating the problem, though it takes quite a while.

I suggest you begin by typing the words 'delayed' and 'ejaculation' into Google or Wikipedia. This will give you a lot of information about the condition and then you should find yourself a good counsellor.

Q Is it true that smoking increases a girl's risk of getting cancer of the cervix?

A Yes, that is true. It provides yet another good reason for avoiding smoking!

Q I am a 27-year-old woman and I keep bleeding after sex. Is this OK?

A No! You must see a doc as soon as possible and have a proper internal check-up.

Q I am an 18-year-old woman. Lumps of my hair keep coming out. Why?

A There are several possible reasons, but in your age group, that kind of loss of lumps of hair is often due to the overly vigorous use of hair-straightening products or braiding.

Stop whatever you are doing to your hair at the moment. Have a doctor inspect your scalp. I am sure this problem can be cured.

Q I am a handsome 18-year-old guy and I have been doing some things lately that I think might be unsafe. To be specific, because I do not believe in sex before marriage, I have been masturbating.

Is this serious? I feel that it might harm me, especially if I ejaculate very often.

Also, can the number of sperm which I release affect my fathering a child in the future?

Finally, will it affect the structure of my penis?

A You poor young man. You have been worrying quite unnecessarily. Masturbation will NOT harm your health.

Also, your testicles produce so many millions of sperms that there is no reason to think that your ability to father a baby will be impaired.

Finally, what you have been doing will not 'affect the structure' of your penis. So quit fretting.

Q Every day when I look on my panties, I see what looks like clitoral discharge.

Is this OK? Or does it indicate that I have a disease of the clitoris?

A There is no such thing as a clitoral discharge. The clitoris does not produce any form of liquid.

What you are seeing on your underwear must be coming from inside the vagina. It may be a perfectly normal secretion, which all young women have. However, it could possibly be a sign of some vaginal infection.

Therefore, I think you should see a doc, who can organise a swab test which will show whether there are any germs present. If so, the condition would be easily treatable.

Q I am a young guy and I have developed a strange bulge on the right side of my groin. It is several inches from my scrotum.

Sometimes it gets bigger, particularly after I have been standing all day; sometimes it gets smaller. It hurts a little.

Is it connected with sex?

A I don't think so. The odds are that you have a common problem called a hernia, also known as a rupture.

This is a bulge through a weak point in the wall of the belly, usually located low down on either the right side or the left side, just above the top of the thigh. You must have this lump examined by a doc, since you will almost certainly need to take an operation to cure it. Do not delay.

Q A friend of mine has told me that it is OK to have sex during menstruation once I put something in to stop the flow of blood. Is this true?

A Yes, but you should be careful what you put inside because it is important to avoid an infection.

A doc who specialises in family planning could fit you with a 'cap' or 'diaphragm' that can be used to limit the flow for a couple of hours. Alternatively, there are now some sponge-like devices available on the net.

Email your questions for Doc to saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com