Q: Good morning, Doctor. Please as the subject states its rather an emergency. For the first time in 23 years of my life I had unprotected sex. I lost my virginity in the process due to my inexperience with things like this. I did not know what next to do. When I felt a bit strange, I decided to go for series of tests: Pregnancy test, HIV and ulcer. Only the ulcer came out positive; the rest were negative. After 2 months, I had sex again and it was painful. I spotted blood. Also, I quickly took a contraceptive and after three days I started having serious abdominal cramps and I saw blood like I was on my menstrual period and I had already seen it this month, that is, making it 2 times in a month. These cramps hurt like hell and I am scared. Please, what is the cause and possible solution?

A: Hmmm, I’m not sure where to start from. From your panic and worries when you had sexual intercourse for the first time, it’s clear that you were not certain whether the person you had sexual intercourse with was infected with any sexually transmitted infection etc but you still had sex with the person :O

First, a pregnancy test cannot read positive, if indeed you’re pregnant, immediately after intercourse. It reads positive about 6 to 12 days after implantation has occurred. There are two types of pregnancy test (PT): the blood PT which is more sensitive and the urine PT. So, I suggest you go for a proper pregnancy test and indeed, after three months, please repeat the HIV screening.

Now, it also appears that you are making a habit of having unprotected sexual intercourse. There is a simple ABC that guides these affairs. The first is abstinence. Honestly, this is your safest bet. If you’re not ready to deal with the responsibilities of having a baby, please leave well alone. You can’t have an STI, HIV/AIDS, or otherwise if you don’t have sex. And of course, you can’t get pregnant. Now, if abstinence is a problem, be faithful to one partner…who hopefully is being faithful to you too. If you can’t swear on this, revert to plan A. Finally, if all else fails, ensure that you use a condom to prevent STIs and pregnancy.

As for contraceptives, I’m not sure what you took but the answer to proper contraception is not popping a pill in panic whenever you happen to have sexual intercourse. Emergency contraceptives have their place but they are not meant to take the place of regular contraceptives as they are less effective than the regular ones. Regular use of these emergency contraceptives may cause your periods to become irregular and unpredictable. I’m sure you don’t want to have this problem 🙂

Please see your gynaecologist as soon as possible to discuss this pain you have and indeed for a full/proper examination.

Have a good evening, people 🙂