Q I have only been with one guy in my life. That was recently, Doc. I went to a doctor in Montego Bay and he has just diagnosed chlamydia. But I have no idea what that is. Is it really serious? Is it caused from sex? And will I ever get rid of it? Help me, please.

A Sorry to hear you have been fretting. But there is no need to get too upset.

There are various kinds of chlamydia, but the one your doc has diagnosed is clearly sexually transmitted chlamydia. This is unbelievably common these days and, according to some estimates, around 10 per cent of young people have it.

It is transmitted during sexual intercourse and sometimes by other forms of sexual contact. It is pretty infectious.

In guys, it usually produces symptoms of urethritis, which include:

Pain while passing urine.

A little discharge from the tip of the penis.

If it is left untreated, it can give the male all sorts of serious problems, like inflammation of the testicle or nearby structures, or narrowing of the urinary tube.

In women, chlamydia usually produces no symptoms initially, though there might be a slight discharge or a spot or two of bleeding.

That is really one of the worst things about chlamydia - that women catch it but don't know they have it, because they feel OK.

Tragically, the chlamydia may be silently attacking their internal organs, doing things like blocking the tubes, which would cause infertility. And as the years go by, there may be bad pain in the lower part of the belly and fever.

Happily, chlamydia is easily treated! No one should attempt this on his own. Instead, one should go to a doc, who can take swabs to send to the lab, then prescribe the correct choice of antibiotics to be taken until there is a complete cure.

So I would urge any woman and, indeed, any man, who has taken a chance sexually to go to a doc and have that chlamydia test. It could save their life.

In your case, you have already done the right thing and gone to see a doctor and been diagnosed. Presumably, the doc has already put you on the correct antibiotics. So please make sure you take them.

Also, no sex till you have been pronounced cured.

Finally, you say that you have had sex with only one guy. It would be a good idea if you told the young man with whom you had sex that he needs to see a doc. Otherwise, he may also spread chlamydia.

In future, please try hard to be careful and practise only safe sex.

Q Doctor, I am deeply worried about the shape of my male organ. I am a 20-year-old guy and I fear that I may have Peyronie's disease, which I think you have mentioned. You see, when I am erect, my organ curves back towards me, in other words, towards my belly. Because of this, I have never dared to try to have sex with a girl for fear she would laugh at me. Is this Peyronie's?

A From what you say, I do not think so. Peyronie's disease is uncommon at age 20. More important, it generally causes a severe bend to the LEFT or RIGHT. I have seen a case in which the bend was forward. But I do not recall seeing one in which the bend was backwards.

What you may not have realised is that all normal men have a slight bend in the direction of the belly when they are erect. Admittedly, in some guys it is scarcely detectable.

It is obvious to me that what you must do now is see a doctor. The doc will need to know what it looks like when it is erect. And obviously, he will not be asking you to produce an erection in his consulting room.

So, as I have mentioned before on this page, the trick is for you to take photos of your erect penis on a mobile phone. Then you can show him the pictures and he can make a diagnosis. Please make sure that some of these photos are taken from a side angle, so that any curve is obvious.

I hope this does not turn out to be Peyronie's disease. But in the unlikely event that that is the diagnosis, remember that it can be treated by a specialist. The operation would remove the hard 'plaque' which causes the bend, thereby straightening everything up.

Q What exactly is a retroverted womb? A nurse told me I had one and said I would have great difficulty in getting pregnant.

A In most women, the womb bends forward. But in some females, it just happens to bend the other way, that is, towards your back.

This really does not matter. And I am afraid that the nurse is not correct about your future fertility. Huge numbers of retroverted women have no real difficulty in conceiving. So if you don't want to, please use contraception.

Q Doc, I am thinking of using a condom with my girlfriend. Can I assume that they are 100 per cent effective in preventing conception?

A No, nothing is quite 100 per cent effective. However, if you use the condom correctly, the chance of having an unwanted pregnancy is less than five per cent.

When I say "use it correctly", I mean:

Do NOT blow it up beforehand to 'test' it.

Do NOT damage it with rings or other jewellery.

Do put it on BEFORE intercourse starts, and not halfway through or indeed at the last moment before climax.

When you have orgasmed, pull out of your partner carefully, holding the condom on to the shaft of your organ with finger and thumb.

Dispose of it sensibly.

Do NOT then put your organ, which will have sperm on it, anywhere near the lady's vagina.

Q I am a 32-year-old woman. Recently, I have experienced bleeding every time after I have had sex with my husband. Why, Doc?

A I am not too happy about this. It could be some trivial condition of the cervix but it could also be something much more serious, like cancer of the cervix.

Go to a doc this week for a good internal check-up, including a Pap smear. Do not delay.

Q I am thinking of going to bed with a man who is 10 years older than me. But would I be right in thinking that if he had HIV, I would be able to tell by looking at him?

A No, you would not be right. The idea that people who have HIV always look sick is just a myth. Please exercise care.

Email questions for Doc to saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com.