Ask the sexpertQ 1. What causes fungal
infection in the genital area? Is it infectious?A.1. The infection is caused by a fungus known as Taenia. One contracts this infection if the genitals are not kept clean. It is contagious and an be passed on from one to the other – the scratching passes the fungus on to the nail bed, which then passes it on to the skin of the other person. It is a persistent infection, so long therapy with anti-fungal ointment and/or special tablets have to be taken.Q 2. I am an 18-year-old unmarried girl. I get my periods regularly. Since the last couple of
months I have been getting vaginal
discharge throughout the monthly cycle. It makes me
feel uncomfortable. What should I do?A.2. Check if the vaginal discharge is white, curd-like, and odourless or yellowish, with an offensive odour. If it is the former then it might be normal as excess discharge can occur due the excess lubrication; or it can be a mild infection caused by a fungus. And if it is the latter, then it is an infection by bacteria. Both are very amenable to treatment, so consult your doctor.HEALTH TIPTo keep breath fresh throughout the day, try gargling with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon mixed in hot water.SIX SENSEYour doctor might say it’s OK to have sex six weeks after
childbirth but not too many couples are comfortable to hit the bedroom that soon. Here’s how you can get the zing back into your sex life.There’s no shortage of advice for new parents on nappy rash or sleep routines. But problems with sex after childbirth hardly rate a mention. For a start, no woman is dying for sex when she’s had about two hours sleep in the last six weeks. She’s sore from breastfeeding, teary and anxious from all the hormones racing around her body, coping with post-pregnancy blues, a not-even-near flat tummy… not to forget stretch marks. Hardly inspiring conditions.To assume that the man’s completely ready is a mistake too – even he’s in shock. Before, it was a couple, now it’s three. And this extra person needs his partner’s attention 24/7. Already, fantasies about those lazy Sunday mornings, reading the papers and sipping tea swim before his eyes. He’s slightly bewildered about where his old life went. What happened to the cosy dinner when you both got home from work and the chat about your day? Now, he walks in and she says, ‘Here’, hands over the baby, then races around madly, doing the million things she’d planned to do but couldn’t.Both the partners get less time together and are tired as well as irritable. And on the odd occasion when the opportunity does arise, the
baby seems to know. If you’ve been going through all this and your sex life has taken a back-seat, instead of going with the flow, you need to do something about it. Here’s an eight-point action plan for you to get your life back on track.TALK TO EACH OTHERTalk to each other about what you’re feeling. You need it now, more than ever. You need to share all those fears like: Will we ever have fun again? Will we ever have sex again? Will we ever feel as sexy as we did before?TAKE THE PRESSURE OFFJust because you’re not having sex now doesn’t mean you won’t have it in the future. Pretty well all new mums lose the desire for sex initially and lots of dads are freaked out after the birth. Is it any wonder that the man is not as intensely eager to dive under beneath the sheets as he used to be a few months back?DO YOUR PELVIC
FLOOR EXERCISESDuring childbirth both the cervix and vagina stretch. The cervix narrows and firms up again after seven days but the vagina needs pelvic floor exercises to tighten the muscle.AVOID INTERCOURSE FOR A WHILEAvoid intercourse initially and concentrate on gentle oral and manual stimulation. Keep up the massages and long baths together – even if you don’t feel like sex, you can get sensual.EXPERIMENT WITH NEW POSITIONSWhat you enjoyed previously may have altered because your body has. You might require lubricants due to hormonal changes.TURN YOUR ATTITUDEAROUNDYou’ve only got five minutes to make love? Great! Time for a quickie!TAKE A BREAKBook a weekend away, minus the baby, six months in and one year on. The first weekend, you’ll probably drop your bags on the floor and sleep for the whole for two days. One year in, gently re-explore what you enjoyed previously.PLAN TIME FOR SEXIf you can leave your baby with family or friends for an hour or two on weekends, do it! Be selfish about your sex life. Give it priority. Have sex even if you’re not exactly craving for it: once you start you’ll probably be glad you did. Even a three-minute quickie is better than not having sex at all because it keeps you connected as lovers as well as parents.Email: susheelsukhraj@rediffmail.com, susheel2000@rediffmail.com
This abstract was checked by WhiteSmoke Solution.
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