SEXUAL HEALTH…….PART 2
OK, so it's a funny word . . . but what is puberty, anyway?
Puberty is the name for when your body begins to develop and change. During puberty, your body will grow faster than any other time in your life, except for when you were an infant. Back then, your body was growing rapidly and you were learning new things — you'll be doing these things and much more during puberty. Except this time, you won't have diapers or a rattle and you'll have to dress yourself!
It's good to know about the changes that come along with puberty before they happen, and it's really important to remember that everybody goes through it. No matter where you live, whether you're a guy or a girl, or whether you like hip-hop or country music, you will experience the changes that occur during puberty. No two people are exactly alike. But one thing all adults have in common is they made it through puberty.
When your body reaches a certain age, your brain releases a special hormone that starts the changes of puberty. It's called gonadotropin-releasing hormone, or GnRH for short. When GnRH reaches the pituitary gland (a pea-shaped gland that sits just under the brain), this gland releases into the bloodstream two more puberty hormones: luteinizing hormone (LH for short) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH for short). Guys and girls have both of these hormones in their bodies. And depending on whether you're a guy or a girl, these hormones go to work on different parts of the body.
For guys, these hormones travel through the blood and give the testes the signal to begin the production of testosterone and sperm. Testosterone is the hormone that causes most of the changes in a guy's body during puberty. Sperm cells must be produced for men to reproduce.
In girls, FSH and LH target the ovaries, which contain eggs that have been there since birth. The hormones stimulate the ovaries to begin producing another hormone called estrogen. Estrogen, along with FSH and LH, causes a girl's body to mature and prepares her for pregnancy.
So that's what's really happening during puberty — it's all these new chemicals moving around inside your body, turning you from a teen into an adult with adult levels of hormones.
Puberty usually starts some time between age 8 and 13 in girls and 10 and 15 in guys. Some people start puberty a bit earlier or later, though. Each person is a little different, so everyone starts and goes through puberty on his or her body's own schedule. This is one of the reasons why some of your friends might still look like kids, whereas others look more like adults.
"Spurt" is the word used to describe a short burst of activity, something that happens in a hurry. And a growth spurt is just that: Your body is growing, and it's happening really fast! When you enter puberty, it might seem like your sleeves are always getting shorter and your pants always look like you're ready for a flood — that's because you're experiencing a major growth spurt. It lasts for about 2 to 3 years. When that growth spurt is at its peak, some people grow 4 or more inches in a year.
This growth during puberty will be the last time your body grows taller. After that, you will be at your adult height. But your height isn't the only thing that will be changing.
As your body grows taller, it will change in other ways, too. You will gain weight, and as your body becomes heavier, you'll start to notice changes in its overall shape. Guys' shoulders will grow wider, and their bodies will become more muscular. Their voices will become deeper. For some guys, the breasts may grow a bit, but for most of them this growth goes away by the end of puberty.
Guys will notice other changes, too, like the lengthening and widening of the penis and the enlargement of the testes. All of these changes mean that their bodies are developing as expected during puberty.
Girls' bodies usually become curvier. They gain weight on their hips, and their breasts develop, starting with just a little swelling under the nipple. Sometimes one breast might develop more quickly than the other, but most of the time they soon even out. With all this growing and developing going on, girls will notice an increase in body fat and occasional soreness under the nipples as the breasts start to enlarge — and that's normal.
Gaining some weight is part of developing into a woman, and it's unhealthy for girls to go on a diet to try to stop this normal weight gain. If you ever have questions or concerns about your weight, talk it over with your doctor.
Usually about 2 to 2 1/2 years after girls' breasts start to develop, they get their first menstrual period. This is one more thing that lets a girl know puberty is progressing and the puberty hormones have been doing their job. Girls have two ovaries, and each ovary holds thousands of eggs. During the menstrual cycle, one of the eggs comes out of an ovary and begins a trip through the fallopian tube, ending up in the uterus (the uterus is also called the womb).
Before the egg is released from the ovary, the uterus has been building up its lining with extra blood and tissue. If the egg is fertilized by a sperm cell, it stays in the uterus and grows into a baby, using that extra blood and tissue to keep it healthy and protected as it's developing.
Most of the time, though, the egg is only passing through. When the egg doesn't get fertilized, the uterus no longer needs the extra blood and tissue, so it leaves the body through the vagina as a menstrual period. A period usually lasts from 5 to 7 days, and about 2 weeks after the start of the period a new egg is released, which marks the middle of each cycle.
Hair, Hair, Everywhere:
Well, maybe not everywhere. But one of the first signs of puberty is hair growing where it didn't grow before. Guys and girls both begin to grow hair under their arms and in their pubic areas (on and around the genitals). It starts out looking light and sparse. Then as you go through puberty, it becomes longer, thicker, heavier, and darker. Eventually, guys also start to grow hair on their faces.
Another thing that comes with puberty is acne, or pimples. Acne is triggered by puberty hormones. Pimples usually start around the beginning of puberty and can stick around during adolescence (the teen years). You may notice pimples on your face, your upper back, or your upper chest. It helps to keep your skin clean, and your doctor will be able to offer some suggestions for clearing up acne. The good news about acne is that it usually gets better or disappears by the end of adolescence.
A lot of teens notice that they have a new smell under their arms and elsewhere on their bodies when they enter puberty, and it's not a pretty one. That smell is body odor, and everyone gets it. As you enter puberty, the puberty hormones affect glands in your skin, and the glands make chemicals that smell bad. These chemicals put the scent in adolescent!
So what can you do to feel less stinky? Well, keeping clean is a good way to lessen the smell. You might want to take a shower every day, either in the morning before school, or the night before. Using deodorant (or deodorant with antiperspirant) every day can help keep body odor in check, too.
Guys and girls will also notice other body changes as they enter puberty, and they're all normal changes. Girls might see and feel a white, mucous-like discharge from the vagina. This doesn't mean anything is wrong — it is just another sign of your changing body and hormones.
Guys will begin to get erections (this is when the penis fills with blood and becomes hard) sometimes. Erections happen when guys fantasize and think about sexual things or sometimes for no reason at all. They may experience something called nocturnal emissions (or wet dreams). This is when the penis becomes erect while a guy is sleeping, and he ejaculates. When a guy ejaculates, semen comes out of the penis — semen is a fluid that contains sperm. That's why they're called wet dreams — they happen when you're sleeping and your underwear or the bed might be a little wet when you wake up. Wet dreams become less frequent as guys progress through puberty, and they eventually stop. Guys will also notice that their voices may "crack" and eventually get deeper.
Change Can Feel Kind of Strange
Just as those hormones create changes in the way your body looks on the outside, they also create changes on the inside. While your body is adjusting to all the new hormones, so is your mind. During puberty, you might feel confused or have strong emotions that you've never experienced before. You may feel anxious about how your changing body looks.
You might feel overly sensitive or become easily upset. Some teens lose their tempers more than usual and get angry at their friends or families.
Sometimes it can be difficult to deal with all of these new emotions. Usually people aren't trying to hurt your feelings or upset you on purpose. It might not be your family or friends making you angry — it might be your new "puberty brain" trying to adjust. And while the adjustment can feel difficult in the beginning, it will gradually become easier. It can help to talk to someone and share the burden of how you're feeling — a friend or, even better, a parent, older sibling, or adult who's gone through it all before.
You might have new, confusing feelings about sex — and lot of questions. The adult hormones estrogen and testosterone are signals that your body is giving you new responsibilities, like the ability to create a child. That's why it's important to get all your questions answered.
It's easy to feel embarrassed or anxious when talking about sex, but you need to be sure you have all the right information. Some teens can talk to their parents about sex and get all their questions answered. But if you feel funny talking to your parents about sex, there are many other people to talk to, like your doctor, a school nurse, a teacher, a school counselor, or another adult you feel comfortable talking with.
Developing Differently:
People are all a little different from one another, so it makes sense that they don't all develop in the same way. No two people are at exactly the same stage as they go through puberty, and everyone changes at his or her own pace. Some of your friends may be getting curves, whereas you don't have any yet. Maybe your best friend's voice has changed, and you think you still sound like a kid with a high, squeaky voice. Or maybe you're sick of being the tallest girl in your class or the only boy who has to shave.
But eventually everyone catches up, and the differences between you and your friends will even out. It's also good to keep in mind that there is no right or wrong way to look. That's what makes us human — we all have qualities that make us unique, on the inside and the outside.
What Is the Male Reproductive System?
Most species have two sexes: male and female. Each sex has its own unique reproductive system. They are different in shape and structure, but both are specifically designed to produce, nourish, and transport either the egg or sperm.
Unlike the female, whose sex organs are located entirely within the pelvis, the male has reproductive organs, or genitals (pronounced: jeh-nuh-tulz), that are both inside and outside the pelvis. The male genitals include:
the testicles
the duct system, which is made up of the epididymis and the vas deferens
the accessory glands, which include the seminal vesicles and prostate gland
the penis
In a guy who's reached sexual maturity, the two testicles (pronounced: tes-tih-kulz), or testes (pronounced: tes-teez), produce and store millions of tiny sperm cells. The testicles are oval-shaped and grow to be about 2 inches (5 centimeters) in length and 1 inch (3 centimeters) in diameter. The testicles are also part of the endocrine system because they produce hormones, including testosterone (pronounced: teh-stass-tuh-rone). Testosterone is a major part of puberty in guys, and as a guy makes his way through puberty, his testicles produce more and more of it. Testosterone is the hormone that causes guys to develop deeper voices, bigger muscles, and body and facial hair, and it also stimulates the production of sperm.
Alongside the testicles are the epididymis (pronounced: eh-puh-dih-duh-mus) and the vas deferens (pronounced: vass de-fuh-runz), which make up the duct system of the male reproductive organs. The vas deferens is a muscular tube that passes upward alongside the testicles and transports the sperm-containing fluid called semen (pronounced: see-mun). The epididymis is a set of coiled tubes (one for each testicle) that connects to the vas deferens.
The epididymis and the testicles hang in a pouch-like structure outside the pelvis called the scrotum. This bag of skin helps to regulate the temperature of testicles, which need to be kept cooler than body temperature to produce sperm. The scrotum changes size to maintain the right temperature. When the body is cold, the scrotum shrinks and becomes tighter to hold in body heat. When it's warm, the scrotum becomes larger and more floppy to get rid of extra heat. This happens without a guy ever having to think about it. The brain and the nervous system give the scrotum the cue to change size.
The accessory glands, including the seminal vesicles and the prostate gland, provide fluids that lubricate the duct system and nourish the sperm. The seminal vesicles (pronounced: seh-muh-nul veh-sih-kulz) are sac-like structures attached to the vas deferens to the side of the bladder. The prostate gland, which produces some of the parts of semen, surrounds the ejaculatory ducts at the base of the urethra (pronounced: yoo-ree-thruh), just below the bladder. The urethra is the channel that carries the semen to the outside of the body through the penis. The urethra is also part of the urinary system because it is also the channel through which urine passes as it leaves the bladder and exits the body.
The penis is actually made up of two parts: the shaft and the glans (pronounced: glanz). The shaft is the main part of the penis and the glans is the tip (sometimes called the head). At the end of the glans is a small slit or opening, which is where semen and urine exit the body through the urethra. The inside of the penis is made of a spongy tissue that can expand and contract.
All boys are born with a foreskin, a fold of skin at the end of the penis covering the glans. Some boys have a circumcision (pronounced: sur-kum-sih-zhun), which means that a doctor or clergy member cuts away the foreskin. Circumcision is usually performed during a baby boy's first few days of life. Although circumcision is not medically necessary, parents who choose to have their children circumcised often do so based on religious beliefs, concerns about hygiene, or cultural or social reasons. Boys who have circumcised penises and those who don't are no different: All penises work and feel the same, regardless of whether the foreskin has been removed.
What Does the Male Reproductive System Do?
The male sex organs work together to produce and release semen into the reproductive system of the female during sexual intercourse. The male reproductive system also produces sex hormones, which help a boy develop into a sexually mature man during puberty (pronounced: pyoo-bur-tee).
When a baby boy is born, he has all the parts of his reproductive system in place, but it isn't until puberty that he is able to reproduce. When puberty begins, usually between the ages of 10 and 14, the pituitary (pronounced: puh-too-uh-ter-ee) gland - which is located in the brain - secretes hormones that stimulate the testicles to produce testosterone. The production of testosterone brings about many physical changes. Although the timing of these changes is different for every guy, the stages of puberty generally follow a set sequence.
During the first stage of male puberty, the scrotum and testes grow larger.
Next, the penis becomes longer, and the seminal vesicles and prostate gland grow.
Hair begins to appear in the pubic area and later it grows on the face and underarms. During this time, a male's voice also deepens.
Boys also undergo a growth spurt during puberty as they reach their adult height and weight.
Once a guy has reached puberty, he will produce millions of sperm cells every day. Each sperm is extremely small: only 1/600 of an inch (0.05 millimeters long). Sperm develop in the testicles within a system of tiny tubes called the seminiferous tubules (pronounced: seh-muh-nih-fuh-rus too-byoolz). At birth, these tubules contain simple round cells, but during puberty, testosterone and other hormones cause these cells to transform into sperm cells. The cells divide and change until they have a head and short tail, like tadpoles. The head contains genetic material (genes). The sperm use their tails to push themselves into the epididymis, where they complete their development. It takes sperm about 4 to 6 weeks to travel through the epididymis.
The sperm then move to the vas deferens, or sperm duct. The seminal vesicles and prostate gland produce a whitish fluid called seminal fluid, which mixes with sperm to form semen when a male is sexually stimulated. The penis, which usually hangs limp, becomes hard when a male is sexually excited. Tissues in the penis fill with blood and it becomes stiff and erect (an erection). The rigidity of the erect penis makes it easier to insert into the female's vagina during sexual intercourse. When the erect penis is stimulated, muscles around the reproductive organs contract and force the semen through the duct system and urethra. Semen is pushed out of the male's body through his urethra - this process is called ejaculation (pronounced: ih-jah-kyuh-lay-shun). Each time a guy ejaculates, it can contain up to 500 million sperm.
When the male ejaculates during intercourse, semen is deposited into the female's vagina. From the vagina the sperm make their way up through the cervix and move through the uterus with help from uterine contractions. If a mature egg is in one of the female's fallopian tubes, a single sperm may penetrate it, and fertilization, or conception, occurs.
This fertilized egg is now called a zygote (pronounced: zy-goat) and contains 46 chromosomes - half from the egg and half from the sperm. The genetic material from the male and female has combined so that a new individual can be created. The zygote divides again and again as it grows in the female's uterus, maturing over the course of the pregnancy into an embryo, a fetus, and finally a newborn baby.
Things
That Can Go Wrong With the Male Reproductive System
Guys may sometimes experience reproductive system problems. Below are some examples of disorders that affect the male reproductive system:
Disorders of the Scrotum, Testicles, or Epididymis
Conditions affecting the scrotal contents may involve the testicles, epididymis, or the scrotum itself.
Testicular injury. Even a mild injury to the testicles can cause severe pain, bruising, or swelling. Most testicular injuries occur when the testicles are struck, hit, kicked, or crushed, usually during sports or due to other trauma. Testicular torsion (pronounced: tor-zhun), when one of the testicles twists around, cutting off the blood supply, is also a problem that some teen guys experience - although it's not common.
Varicocele (pronounced: var-uh-koh-seal). This is a varicose vein (an abnormally swollen vein) in the network of veins that run from the testicles. Varicoceles commonly develop while a guy is going through puberty. A varicocele is usually not harmful, although in some people it may damage the testicle or decrease sperm production, so it helps for a guy to see his doctor if he's concerned about changes in his testicles.
Testicular cancer. This is one of the most common cancers in men younger than 40. It occurs when cells in the testicle divide abnormally and form a tumor. Testicular cancer can spread to other parts of the body, but if it's detected early, the cure rate is excellent. All guys should perform testicular self-examinations regularly to help with early detection.
Epididymitis (pronounced: eh-puh-dih-duh-my-tus) is inflammation of the epididymis, the coiled tubes that connect the testes with the vas deferens. It is usually caused by an infection, such as the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia, and results in pain and swelling next to one of the testicles.
Hydrocele. A hydrocele (pronounced: high-druh-seel) occurs when fluid collects in the membranes surrounding the testes. Hydroceles may cause swelling of the testicle but are generally painless. In some cases, surgery may be needed to correct the condition.
Inguinal hernia. When a portion of the intestines pushes through an abnormal opening or weakening of the abdominal wall and into the groin or scrotum, it is known as an inguinal hernia (pronounced: in-gwuh-nul her-nee-uh). The hernia may look like a bulge or swelling in the groin area. It can be corrected with surgery.
Disorders of the Penis
Disorders affecting the penis include the following:
Inflammation of the penis. Symptoms of penile inflammation include redness, itching, swelling, and pain. Balanitis occurs when the glans (the head of the penis) becomes inflamed. Posthitis is foreskin inflammation, which is usually due to a yeast or bacterial infection.
Hypospadius is a disorder in which the urethra opens on the underside of the penis, not at the tip.
Sexually transmitted diseases. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that can affect guys include human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), human papilloma virus (HPV, or genital warts), syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes genitalis, and hepatitis B. They are spread from one person to another mainly through sexual intercourse.
If you think you have symptoms of a problem with your reproductive system or if you have questions about your growth and development, talk to your parent or doctor - many problems with the male reproductive system can be treated.
A minute ago your voice sounded normal. You could talk and laugh with no worries. But now when you open your mouth, it's a completely different story. The noise coming from your throat kind of sounds like you, but it's croaking, squeaking, honking, and peeping. You can barely get through a sentence without your voice sounding like it's out of control: high one minute, low the next, then high again. You don't have a cold or a sore throat. In fact, everything feels normal — but nothing sounds right.
Your voice is changing! It's one of the many developments that happen to both girls and guys when they reach puberty. A guy's voice gets way deeper than a girl's, though.
At puberty, guys' bodies begin producing a lot of the hormone testosterone (pronounced: tes-tass-tuh-rone), which causes changes in several parts of the body, including the voice. For starters, a guy's larynx (pronounced: lar-inks), also known as the voice box, grows bigger.
The larynx, which is located in the throat at the top of the trachea (pronounced: tray-kee-ah) or windpipe, is like a hollow tube about 2 inches (5 centimeters) high. The larynx is responsible for creating the sound of your voice.
Stretched across your larynx are two muscles, your vocal cords, which are kind of like rubber bands. When you breathe, your vocal cords relax against the walls of the larynx and completely open to allow air to get in and out of your lungs. When you speak, though, your vocal cords close together by stretching across the larynx. Air from your lungs is then forced out between your vocal cords, causing them to vibrate and produce the tone of your voice. When you lower your voice, your vocal cords are lengthened and relaxed. When you make your voice higher, your vocal cords become shortened and tightened. (You can notice this difference in how they feel as you adjust your speech.)
As your larynx grows, your vocal cords grow longer and thicker. Also, your facial bones begin to grow. Cavities in the sinuses, the nose, and the back of the throat grow bigger, creating more space in the face that gives your voice more room to echo. All of these factors cause your voice to get deeper.
Think of a guitar. When a thin string is plucked, it vibrates and produces a high-sounding tone. When a thicker string is plucked, it sounds much deeper when it vibrates. That's kind of what happens to your voice. Before your growth spurt, your larynx is relatively small and your vocal cords are relatively thin. So your voice is high and kid-like. But as bones, cartilage, and vocal cords grow, your voice starts to sound like an adult's.
Along with all the other changes in your body, you might notice that your throat area looks a little different. For guys, when the larynx grows bigger, it tilts to a different angle inside the neck. Part of it sticks out in the part of the neck at the front of the throat and forms the Adam's apple. For girls, the larynx also grows bigger but not as much as a guy's. That's why girls don't have Adam's apples.
While your body is getting used to these changes, your voice can be difficult to control. A guy's voice "cracks" or "breaks" because his body is getting used to the changing size of his larynx. Fortunately, the cracking and breaking is only temporary. It usually lasts no longer than a few months. And even during that time, your voice won't crack every time you speak.
Some guys' voices might drop gradually, whereas others' might drop quickly. You may feel concerned, stressed, or embarrassed about the sound of your voice, but people usually understand — especially friends or brothers who've gone through it, too. Everyone goes through it, and once it happens, it takes a while to adjust to your larger larynx and the new sound of your voice.
You may have noticed that some of your friends have cracking and breaking voices, some might already have deep voices, and some still have the same voice they've always had. Everyone's timetable is different, so some voices might start to change earlier and some might start a little later. Generally, a guy's voice will start to change somewhere between the ages of 11 and 15 — although it can be earlier or later for some people. It all depends on when a guy goes through puberty, and some normal guys enter puberty earlier or later than others.
How deep a guy's voice gets depends on his genes: The larger a guy's larynx, the thicker the vocal cords, and the bigger the resonating area, the deeper his voice will be.
Once your larynx has grown, your voice will be more stable and easier to control. But even then your voice hasn't finished developing! Even after the quick change that happens in your teens, your voice continues to develop. Although the squeaking and cracking stage doesn't last long, most guys' voices don't fully mature until they're in their twenties.
