Q. Doctor, I am feeling a little confused about the two men in my life. I am a 44 year-old woman. I suppose I have always been a pretty sexy person and people tell me that I am still good-looking. But I have been on my own for some years, since my husband died.

Since Christmas, two men have been in my life. The first is a very handsome and fit young man of 22. I don't know why he is interested in me, but he is. He is fun to be with, and extremely virile in bed. I like him a lot.

The second guy is a few years older than me - around 46 or so, I think. He is not too specific about his age. He is a charming 'man of the world' who has travelled widely, and lived in America for sometime. He has been taking me out to nice restaurants and generally 'showing me a good time'.

He has just announced that he loves me and wants to marry me. This has come as something of a surprise to me. But I am really fond of him. I have slept with him around four times. He does not have all the urgency and drive of the younger man and one evening we just went to sleep in each other's arms and nothing happened at all that night.

However, he is quite skilled and obviously has lots of experience. He knows precisely how to please me orally - unlike my younger boyfriend who seems to have never heard of such an activity.

So as you can see, I have had a crazy couple of months! And now I am quite confused about these two nice men.

What do you think I should do, Doc? Could I continue seeing both of them for a while, and see what happens? Or would that expose me to any risks?

I do not want to become pregnant. Could that happen at my age?

A. Well, you most certainly could get pregnant at age 44. And if you conceived at the moment, you simply would not know who the father is.

So whatever you do, I would urge you to use some contraception until this situation is resolved.

The other thing you should bear in mind is that it is quite possible that one or both of these men has other sex partners. That is particularly likely in the case of the virile younger man.

So there is a real danger that your current lifestyle will expose you to chlamydia, or some other sexually transmitted infection (STI). Take extreme care!

As far as your sexual satisfaction is concerned, it is clear that the man who is half your age is more 'active' in bed than the older one. So at the moment, he is obviously going to make love to you more than the other man could.

However, my clinical experience has been that young men often get tired of their older women friends - and 'move on.' Admittedly, some of them do not follow this pattern - but a lot do.

Now, I am not in a position to tell you which of these two men you should choose. That is a matter for your own heart.

What I do feel is that you should not continue having sex with both men hoping that everything will somehow work itself out. That could be dangerous.

Apart from the risks of pregnancy and STIs, there is the possibility of you getting in big trouble if they find out about each other. Alas, in such situations I have sometimes seen violence done.

Finally, if you keep on seeing them both, this tends to confuse you. Sometimes you will think that one of them is 'Mr Right' - and sometimes you will favour the other.

What you need to do now is to let your emotions have a little peace and quiet. I recommend that you not see either men for a couple of months. If possible, try to avoid any contact - including phone, text or email.

Q. Doctor, is it really possible to catch a VD from a toilet seat, as my husband claims?

A. People often claim to have picked up an STI in that way. Frankly, in my entire professional life, I have never seen any man or woman who genuinely did acquire an infection from a toilet.

However, I have to admit that it is technically just about possible, even if unlikely.

Q. Doc, I am a 33-year-old man, and I am in love with a 'controlling' woman who has a bad temper. I think things would be better if she and I could have sex, Doc.

But whenever I go to bed with her, I find that I cannot 'make it'.

Am I losing my nature? Could it be some serious illness?

A. Very unlikely. Many guys find themselves unable to 'perform' when faced with a very controlling or dominant woman. This is generally a psychological problem - not a physical one.

However, it would do no harm if you went to see a doc and had a thorough examination. I am sure he will be able to reassure you that you do not have a physical problem.

What I am wondering is, is this really the right relationship for you?

Q. I am delighted to tell you that I have just conceived, after many months of trying! But how do I work out when the baby will be due?

A.Congratulations. Your midwife or doc will give you the best estimate of the date.

But in general, what you can do is to add nine months and a week to the date of the first day of your last period.

Thus, a woman whose last period began on the first of March, could expect to have her baby near the eighth of December.

Q. I am a guy who has been losing a bit of weight, and also I am constantly thirsty. Why?

A. It is likely that it is diabetes. Please get a health professional to test your urine for diabetes immediately.

Q. Is having sex bad for the 'pressure', Doc? And what about exercise?

I like to go running, but I wonder if that would affect my blood pressure?

A. Both sexual intercourse and physical exercise do push the blood pressure (BP) up very briefly (a few minutes), but then it goes down again.

Regular exertion is good for the heart, circulation and pressure. Running is fine and so is swimming, aerobics and working out at the gym.