Being a Teen by Jane Fonda Read Free Book Online

if you have been sweating a lot, it can smell a little musky until you bathe.
    Leukorrhea is your body’s way of cleaning your vagina, the surface of which develops cells during puberty that are flushed away each day. In fact, your vagina is one of the cleanest places in your body because it cleanses itself constantly. Like the tears that you always have in your eyes, this fluid moistens your vagina and helps protect it against infections.
    Vaginal Infections
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    At any age you can develop a vaginal infection that will cause a different kind of discharge. An infection can cause one or more of these symptoms:
• a discharge that is thick, chunky white, or any discharge that is green or dark yellow or brown
• a discharge that is intensely itchy
• a strong smell from your vagina even after you have washed
• unusual redness on your vaginal opening or your inner labia
• burning or pain when you wash or urinate
    These infections are very common and familiar to doctors, and they’re usually easy to treat.
    Bladder and Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
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    If you have to urinate often, feel burning when you do, or see blood in your urine, you need to take antibiotics. See your doctor or visit a health clinic. You can help prevent more infections by always drinking plenty of water and also by drinking cranberry juice and eating plain yogurt that contains “live active cultures.” If you are sexually active, doctors advise urinating immediately after intercourse.
    Maintaining Healthy Genitals
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    You may have heard about douching. 3 This is generally not a good idea for a lot of reasons:
• Like washing your eyes, it’s just not necessary.
• Your vagina produces natural fluids that help protect it from infections.
    The thing you have to keep in mind is to gently wash the vaginal opening, the labia, and all of the folds.
    Dry yourself thoroughly before putting on clean cotton underpants. Cotton underwear is best; synthetic fabric can cause irritation by trapping bacteria in the genital area. Cotton lets your body breathe.
    Remember that it’s very important to always wipe yourself with toilet paper from front to back. Urine or vaginal discharge will not harm the anus.
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    1    areola (uh- ree -uh-luh)
    2    leukorrhea (leu-kor- rhe -a)
    3    douching (dooshing): using a container, tubing, and a nozzle to rinse the vagina.

9.
    Having Your Period
    Many girls feel that the most important change to occur during puberty is getting your period. A girl or woman menstruates, or has her period, about once a month as part of her menstrual cycle.
    Starting menstruation 1 is a big deal because it means that you’re now capable of becoming pregnant.
    Some important things to remember about menstruation:
• All girls and women menstruate until they are in their mid- to late forties or early fifties.
• Menstruation won’t hurt you or make you sick.
• Other people can’t tell if you’ve gotten your period yet, or when you have it.
•While menstruating you can do anything that you would normally do, such as bathe, shampoo your hair, and exercise (even swim).
    How Menstruation Happens
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    Most girls begin menstruating at around age eleven or twelve, but periods can start as early as nine or as late as seventeen. You can probably expect your first menstrual period about two years after you see breast buds, or a year or so after you’ve developed pubic hair.
    I described the hormonal process that leads to menstruation in Chapter 5 . But to recap: Once each month, your brain sends a hormone to your ovaries that causes the ova (eggs) inside to grow ripe. As this is happening, another hormone, estrogen, begins to build up inside the small sac that contains the ovum.
    One of the ova will get larger than the others because it has more estrogen. When it is fully mature, it will burst out of its sac and be swept up into the Fallopian tube, through which it travels to your uterus, or womb. This is called ovulation.