The Sunday News
Hi Sis Noe
I AM a woman aged 23. I am having a baby in a month’s time. The problem is that I have vaginal warts, is it safe to remove them in my condition? — Please help.
Reply
Genital warts are a result of a disease known as Human Papillomavirus (HPV). The majority of pregnant women with genital warts have healthy pregnancies and birthing experiences. However, genital warts can be transmitted both before and, possibly, during birth in women who have an active case of genital warts. Moreover, genital warts can hinder a woman’s ability to have a vaginal birth. It is not unusual for pregnant women to have genital warts so large that they block the birth canal making a vaginal birth impossible.
There is also the risk that the warts may begin to bleed as the baby passes through the birth canal. In some instances, it may be necessary for a woman to have a Caesarean section either if the warts completely block the birth canal or are at risk of bleeding excessively during birth. Having a c-section has not been known to reduce the risk of HPV transmission to a child, though. I hope that helps but go and see a doctor.
Hi Sis Noe
My live-in girlfriend of three years has gone wild. I don’t know her any more. She is now so sexually liberated ever since she returned from a year-long study in America. She wants us to have a threesome with my friend otherwise she will break up with me. Is she still worth it or I should dump her? — Worried.
Reply
If I was you I would dump this one. Not only is a threesome wrong, but the fact that she wants to have it with your friend before you have given her idea a blessing raises alarm bells. In fact it leads me to believe your relationship is more of a phase than you realise. There are no merits whatsoever in sharing your girlfriend with your friend. You didn’t sign up for a non-monogamous relationship, so for her to assume you would be willing to jump on board her newly spun idea is ridiculous. Really this is your girlfriend’s thinly veiled attempt at justifying the crush she has on your friend? And by giving the ultimatum, she is really saying, “I am in love with your friend, if you don’t like it go hang!” So take her up on the ultimatum and walk away. Don’t let details about her contact with your friend being “only physical but with you its love” slow you down.
You can have all clothes packed and in a moving truck faster than you can say “gonorrhoea”. And if these mutual friends are in fact friends, they’ll stick around. It’s jarring to watch the person you have loved for years suddenly launch an assault on your relationship, but trying to change the course of what is already in motion would be futile. It is obvious that she had plenty of threesomes in America without your consent (as if you would have given it anyway). You are better off without her.
Hi Sis Noe
I am 21 and seriously stressed as I am producing yellow pus. I have never had sex before, just oral sex. I am still a virgin, please help. — Worried.
Reply
Before addressing the matter of yellow vaginal discharge and its causes, first stop panicking, until the cause is determined.
The colour of it is no reason to panic. See a doctor and she or he will use the vaginal discharge to make an accurate diagnosis of what ails you. I urge you not to panic because women at some point will have a discharge, which is a secretion the vagina releases. There is absolutely nothing abnormal about this, however, if accompanied with pain, vaginal itching or burning then it’s not deemed normal and should be checked out. But you should know that it’s normal for the vagina to produce a clear to whitish discharge throughout the menstrual cycle. It can vary in consistency from thick and gooey to thin slimy or creamy. A normal discharge is odourless. If there is a nasty smell this could signify a problem.
The amount of vaginal fluid can greatly increase at times of stress and ovulation. If your discharge is deemed normal you can make it clear by drinking plenty of water and reducing your intake of beverages, tea and coffee. Cut down on sugar and sweet substances. If you drink alcohol or you misuse drugs then that could be the cause of the yellow discharge. Abstaining from all this helps and you should also know that oral sex is not safe, you are at risk as the person who indulges in sexual intercourse.
Oral sex can lead to oral herpes and it can also result in you having both strains of herpes in your mouth – the herpes of the sexual organs and oral herpes. Other STDs like chlamydia and gonorrhoea can also be passed during oral sex. While risk of HIV infection through oral sex is extremely low compared with unprotected penetrative sex, it is still dangerous. HIV-infected semen or vaginal fluid can enter through an open wound in the mouth. If I was you I would stop doing it.
Hi Sis Noe
Whenever I sleep with my husband I don’t enjoy the sex, instead I feel pain. What is wrong with me? — Worried.
Reply
Two-thirds of women sometimes experience pain during or after sexual intercourse. Although sex might not always lead to a climax for you, repeated painful episodes are not something you must endure. Intercourse-related discomfort, or dyspareunia, can have physical and emotional origins. Successful treatment depends on tackling the cause. Pain is not always located in the vagina itself: It can occur near the entrance to the vagina (the vulva) or deep inside the pelvis. Vaginal and pelvic conditions can both trigger physically induced pain from sex.
This pain can be caused by lack of lubrication; during arousal your vagina should produce natural lubrication that prepares them for male penetration. You should not have sex when you are dry because that will induce pain. If you recently gave your birth hormonal fluctuations are preventing sufficient lubrication from being created. This can also occur at various points during the normal menstrual cycle, and it can make sex painful. Go to a pharmacy near you and get water-based lubricants. If that’s not the case then you need to go for checkups maybe you have vaginal infections and as long as the infection is not treated you will continue to suffer.
If you are not infected then you should know that about 90% of intercourse-related discomforts have a physical cause, but emotions can be responsible, too. If it’s emotional then it’s known as vaginismus. It’s a contraction of the vaginal muscles, caused mainly by fear of being hurt. This spasm is often so painful that intercourse is impossible — sometimes for years. Some women with vaginismus have never been able to have full sex or even use tampons.
They also tend to be very fearful of vaginal examinations and so may never have had a smear test. Vaginismus arouses strong emotions, and women who have it are often very angry with partners, doctors and themselves. But the condition is no one’s fault. Common causes include a restrictive upbringing, in which the woman was brought up to view sex as nasty or dirty. An upbringing in which the woman was given the idea that the vagina is very narrow and so sex must be very painful, an uneasiness with their partner — perhaps at an unconscious level. A background where rape or childhood sexual abuse has taken place — experiences like these understandably make women fearful of sex and of being hurt. Tackle these and you will enjoy the joys of sex.
