What do the words ‘HIV’ and ‘STD’ mean? Also why does one need to take tests for them after three and five months?

Please take the trouble to visit Google and learn. The test is carried out twice to check the antibodies which have been created against the HIV infection, for it takes three to five months to show a significant number of antibodies. This period is termed as the window period as the disease will be there but tests will not show it.

I am 60 and my partner is 55. Till last year we had a normal sex life. But for a while now, my partner seems to have lost interest with reasons saying she gets a burning sensation during and after intercourse and that her urge for sex, too, is low. I still feel fit and get sexual urges as well, although my erections have become weaker. Could you please recommend some cream against this burning sensation and perhaps some ayurvedic medicine for me to get better erections and for her to get sexual urges?

Use a lubricant like any oil. Ask her to visit her gynaecologist who will prescribe a treatment. She could try consuming the Vivadona capsule (charak), twice a day for six weeks. You could try Tentex Royal — two capsules daily for 15 days, then two capsules one hour before sex.

I am a 26-year-old single man. I masturbate a couple of times in a week. Recently my erections have been causing a slight pain, which vanishes when the erection subsides. Also, when my penis is erect, it bends at the middle and the diameter there is slightly less when erect. I am very scared. Is it fractured?

It’s best that you check first with your family doctor. There is no reason for a penile fracture.

I am 24 years old and recently married. My penis is U shaped, and I am unable to penetrate my wife. I heard about an operation that can rectify the penis. What would the surgery cost? How long would the results last?

Visit the urology department of hospitals. Experts will be able to answer your questions.

Pune Mirror, Times of  India Bldg, F.C. Road, Pune 411004 or e-mail us at  mahinder.watsa@gmail.com. You can contact Dr Watsa for an appointment on mcwatsa@hotmail.com