A growth on my forehead

I am a middle aged man with a large growth on my forehead. The growth has been there for the past three years and is very embarrassing. I have been asked to go to the hospital to remove it but I am afraid of surgery. Kindly advise me.
Ojo (by SMS)

There is nothing to be afraid of in the surgery. Depending on the extent of the growth, the surgery can be done under local or general anesthesia. Carried out by a competent doctor, the surgery is very safe. Apart from correcting the embarrassing appearance, the surgery will also enable a pathological examination to be carried out on the growth. That way, the real causes and the possibilities of any future development from the growth will be determined.

Grey hairs at 30 years

I am a 30-year-old bachelor. Despite my young age, I already have plenty of grey hairs on my head. This development has been scaring away young ladies who think I am an old man. My friends suggested that I dye my hair but I don’t want to do this. Kindly help me.
Bala (by SMS)

The main reason for the premature greying of hair is genetic i.e. the offspring is more prone to have grey hair earlier in life if its parent has the grey hair at early ages.
Vitamin and minerals, especially vitamin B12, zinc and copper are responsible for the proper nourishment of the hair that assists metabolic processes involved in giving hair its natural color and deficiency of these vitamins and minerals affect the hair color. If the body is suffering from the lacks of vitamin C and E, then the hair turns into gray very normally. Smoking is also one of the factors which is responsible for premature graying of hair while diet especially junk foods or processed food accelerate aging. The people who are highly addicted to junk foods rather than the nutritious (vitamin C and E) will lose their nice and silky black hair at a very young age. Dyeing your hair is just a temporary measure because hair grows on a daily basis. There is currently no solution to premature greying of hair and you may therefore have to live with the situation.

Blood in my urine

I used to go swimming with my friends and classmates in some streams and ponds in my village for the past few months. Just last week, I started passing blood anytime I urinated. My friends claim that I must have contracted a terrible disease from sex. Kindly help me.
Linus (by SMS)

With your history of swimming in streams and ponds, the cause of your bloody urine is most likely to be due to Schistosomiasis, a form of infection from the polluted streams where you have been swimming all this while. A confirmatory test for this infection can be done through the examination of your urine by your doctor. From this, the appropriate medications will be administered to you. In addition, the offending streams and ponds should be fumigated or in extreme cases, be drained off in order to avoid repeated infection to other swimmers.

My condom allergy

For some time now, I have noticed that each time my boyfriend and I use condom for sex, I always itch in my private part. Kindly help prescribe other forms of family planning that I can use apart from the condom. I am 25 years of age and not married.
Salome (by SMS)

Before switching to any other forms of contraceptives, it would be good if you can try a superior quality condom as the incidence of condom allergy is more rampant with poor quality condoms. If this does not work, then you could try either oral contraceptives or the injectable forms. Details of the use will be available from any Family Planning Clinic nearest to you.