From premature ejaculation to a swollen toe – Dr Jeff answers your health questions

DR JEFF FOSTER is The Sun on Sunday’s new resident doctor and is here to help YOU.

Dr Jeff, 43, splits his time between working as a GP in Leamington Spa, Warks, and running his clinic, H3 Health, which is the first of its kind in the UK to look at hormonal issues for both men and women. See h3health.co.uk.

Q) I HAVE been seeing my boyfriend for a year. He’s 27, handsome, kind and funny. 

But he has premature ejaculation issues and he’s embarrassed about it. When we do try to have sex, it’s game over before it’s even started. He doesn’t want to talk about it.

 What can I do? Is there anything I can buy to stop it happening or any advice you can give me for him? I really want us to have a good sex life.

 Olivia, Preston

A) An estimated one in three men experience premature ejaculation at some point. They often feel inadequate as a result.

 Premature ejaculation is defined as when a male ejaculates too quickly during sex. But that is subjective. The average time for intercourse in the UK is five to six minutes, so for many men, what they perceive as premature is actually normal. 

For those men who still feel they have a problem, last even less time, or cannot achieve penetration at all, many therapies and treatments are available. 

The first thing to do is to try to talk to your partner about it. By working together, almost all treatments are more successful. Non-medical therapies include slowing down or stopping during sex, or taking a break from penetration.

When masturbating, the “squeeze” technique (where you reach near climax then squeeze the end of the penis to prevent ejaculation), can help retrain your orgasmic processes. 

If this fails, there are medical therapies available including topical gels, creams and tablets. 

 Q) I AM a 35-year-old travel consultant and one of my big toes is enormous. I dropped a jar of pickled eggs on it during lockdown and I guessed it was broken, but I didn’t want to go to A&E during Covid.

More than two years later, it’s still swollen and painful. It looks awful. I’m due to go on holiday in August. Any suggestions?

 Jade Ralph, Swansea

A) Missed breaks or fractures in toes and fingers are relatively common.

Sometimes it can be more complicated than a simple fracture and without appropriate specialist input, may fail to heal properly.

This can result in chronic pain, swelling and arthritis that can last for many years. 

After two years, the only way to know what damage has been done is to get an X-ray and see if there is a fracture that has failed to heal.

 If this is the case, you may require an operation to pin the bits of broken bone back in place, or would at least benefit from seeing an orthopaedic surgeon (bone doctor) to look at options.