A Sorry to hear you have been fretting. Mumps used to be a common disease, particularly among university students and teenagers. That might be because many people in these groups kiss each other a lot.

Anyway, it is caused from a virus which is very easily spread from person to person, especially during talking or coughing.

The virus mainly affects the salivary glands, particularly the pair of glands which lie in the cheeks, just in front of the ears. The main symptom is a painful swelling of those glands, which results in the patient getting a swollen face, like someone who has a lot of food inside the cheek!

Unfortunately, mumps can sometimes spread to the sex glands. In females, it can cause inflammation of the ovaries. In guys, it can make the testicles swollen and sore.

As you suggested, inflammation of the testicles can sometimes make a guy sterile.

You did not specify exactly what happened to you. Presumably, you got a painful, swollen face from mumps. But you did not say whether you actually got any testicular pain or swelling.

If you did, we must assume that your testicles were affected by the virus, a condition known as orchitis.

However, if you have had no pain or swelling in the testicles, you have absolutely nothing to worry about and you should not be sterile.

But if you did have testicular inflammation, I am afraid that sterility has to be a possibility, though it is certainly not inevitable.

It's a good sign you were able to orgasm. That strongly suggests that your testicles are working pretty well.

However, are they producing good, healthy sperms? That I cannot tell you. The apparent change in colour of your fluid is not of much help as a guide.

So what I would suggest is that, even if you had no testicular pain, you now take a sperm-count test.

Most important, sperm counts have to be examined at the laboratory when the specimen is fresh. So it is no good posting the fluid off to the lab or leaving it at your doc's office overnight.

To be blunt, you have to produce the specimen by masturbating into the jar, shortly before handing it over to the lab.

But sperm counts must NOT be collected in a condom, as the rubber will adversely affect the spermatozoa.

So your next move should be to find a doc who can arrange the sperm count for you. If the result is OK, I think you should have nothing to fret about. Good luck.

Q I am a young woman and I would like to know about bleeding after first sex. After I give up my virginity, how much blood would I lose? Would it be a lot, Doc?

A Well, quite a few females do not bleed at all when they lose their virginity. In particular, if a girl has been using tampons, these will have already broken her hymen (the 'virgin's veil'), so there would be no bleeding.

Also, if a woman has been fooling around with a partner, and engaged in the sort of petting in which she lets him put his finger inside her, that would very likely have broken the hymen already. Therefore, there would be no bleeding at the first sexual intercourse.

Lastly, some young women do masturbate by using a finger or dildo. Again, that would almost certainly break the hymen. The result would be no blood loss during first intercourse.

However, if you do bleed when you first have vaginal intercourse, I would not expect the loss to be more than 10ml (10cc), which is only a couple of spoonfuls.

It should be no big deal. I don't think I have ever seen a woman who needed to be taken to hospital because of blood loss at first intercourse.

In the very unlikely event that you do lose more than around 10ml, just press a sanitary pad firmly on to the vulva till bleeding stops. Do not attempt any further sexual activity till the area has healed, which might take 10 days or so.

Finally, I hope that when you do eventually embark on sex, you will remember the dangers of pregnancy and of sexually transmitted infections.

Q Is it true that there is a an invention that can restore a girl's virginity?

A No, there has been a lot of misunderstanding about this. There is no device which can restore virginity. But someone in the Middle East has recently invented a device which the young woman can conceal in her vagina, and which releases a few spots of fake blood.

The main idea of this invention is that it could be used by young women who live in societies where it is vital to appear to be a virgin on one's wedding night. Apparently, the device will ensure that the sheets will be slightly stained with the bogus blood, which supposedly appeases any anxieties the bridegroom and his family may have.

Clearly, this is a total deception.

Q If I have unprotected sex with my girlfriend just once, what would be the risks of pregnancy, Doc?

A About one in 20.

Q Can a guy make himself ill by having sex too many times in a day?

A No, he can't. In practice, what happens is that after having sex a number of times, the man's genital organs just refuse to respond any more, because they need a rest. He should recover full capacity the following day.

If it helps to reassure you, I have never seen any patient (male or female) who has done himself or herself harm by having sex a lot of times at night.

The minor exception is the fact that if you are sexually stimulated for hours and hours, parts of your sex organs may get a bit 'puffy'. That applies particularly to the male's foreskin and the female's clitoris. But the puffiness does go away with rest.

However, whatever you do, please practise safe sex!

Email feedback and questions for Doc to saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com.