Q. I am a 16-year-old male. I have rashes on my genital area, and I get white discharges! What is it? Should I go to a doctor? Or tell my parents? Please, I am scared! What should I do?
A. I am going to use your question to address some general issues regarding genital symptoms and sexually transmitted diseases. For most medical complaints in the genital region, there can be a sexually transmitted cause as well as a cause not related to sex. For example, in women, vaginal itching can be caused by trichomonas, which is sexually transmitted, or by Candida (yeast), which is typically not sexually transmitted.