Common Health Issues

General Teenage Problems And Struggles

• By Rich Health Editorial Team
• March 04, 2025

SKIN TROUBLES DURING ADOLESCENCE

Always consult a doctor if an adolescent suffers from severe acne. The doctor may want to refer the young person to a dermatologist (a skin specialist) or to the skin diseases department of the nearest medical center or hospital.

 

 

Frequent boils may be a sign of diabetes. This diseases, which you may associate only with adults, frequently strikes young people.

 

Freckles can be a source of worry to adolescents. Although there is no safe way to remove them at home, they can be prevented from getting worse by reducing exposure to the sun or by using protective ointments or lotions.

 

SPECIAL PROBLEMS OF TEENAGE GIRLS

BREASTS

Some adolescent girls feel shy, or even ashamed, because of their breast development. Mothers should encourage them to be proud of their emerging womanhood. Mothers should not only emphasize the fact that breast development is a normal part of puberty, but should explain that shortly before or during menstruation, some tenderness and swelling of the breasts are apt to occur and should cause no concern.

 

 

The adolescent girl who despairs because of a relative absence of breast development can also suffer, and great care must be taken to ease her anxiety. Her mother should reassure her that small breasts in no way diminish her femininity or potential charm.

 

BODY HAIR

The adolescent girl may develop an excess of hair over the thighs and legs or under the arms. Facial hair can sometimes become disfiguring. Parents should take this condition seriously; it can be a source of great worry to a sensitive young girl.

Bleaching or shaving is usually a satisfactory solution. If applied carefully, a depilatory may be used—but never on the face. Wax preparation, which pull out the hair, are sometimes employed, but the treatment is usually painful.

 

Your daughter may want to have some of the hair permanently removed by electrolysis. This can be dangerous if it is attempted by anyone but an expert.

 

MENSTRUATION

Usually, menstruation begins at 12 to 14 years of age, but it may start as early as 10 or as late as 18. Maturing early or late often runs in a family. However, if a girl’s menstrual periods begin at 10 or earlier, or if they have not started by the time she is 17, a doctor should be consulted. 

See a doctor also if the characteristic changes of puberty—the development of the breasts and pubic hairs—occur unusually early or late.

 

All girls—and boys—should be told about menstruation, preferably by their mothers, before the youngsters and their friends reach the age of puberty. Tact and sensitivity are needed.

 

Parents should not give their children information which they cannot understand or in which they are not interested. The possibility of the child’s learning about menstruation from other sources, possibly poorly informed, must be considered in determining the age at which each child should be told. The attitude of the person giving the information is all-important.

 

Menstruation is not sickness, nor is it something to be ashamed of—it should not be called ‘the curse.’ Mothers should explain to their teenage daughters that many female experience some discomfort or crams in the lower abdomen, usually at the onset of a menstrual period, and that menstruation may be nuisance for the first few days, especially if the flow is profuse. However, it should cause no real difficulty.

Menstrual flow can be absorbed by either a pad or a tampon; both are safe from a health standpoint. If the flow is profuse, pads may be required to absorb it. Most virgins can use the small-size tampon.

 

FEMININE HYGIENE

Aside from ordinary washing and bathing, no other feminine hygiene measures, such as douching, are necessary. Baths or showers may be taken during menstruation, although extremely hot or cold water should be avoided.

Women and girls who prefer not to bathe during their periods should wash the outer genital parts with warm water and soap at least once or twice a day.

 

If strong odor persists or if there is a discharge from the vaginal passage between periods, be sure to see a doctor. These discharges and odors usually result from an infection that should be attended to.

 

SPECIAL PROBLEMS OF TEENAGE BOYS

On the average, boys arrive at puberty between the ages of 14 and 16, about two years later than girls. Some boys, however, mature as early as 12 and others as late as 20. If a boy matures at an exceptionally early age, a doctor should be consulted.

Medical advice is especially important if a boy is unusually late in maturing; there may be a glandular deficiency requiring treatment. Even if nothing is wrong, a doctor’s reassurance may be necessary to prevent emotional problems for the boy.

 

Boys grow rapidly during this period, and their appetites are often enormous. Hair appears on the face and the pubic region, the genitals become larger, and the boy is able to have erections and ejaculations.

 

NOCTURNAL EMMISSIONS

Nocturnal emissions (wet dreams) start in this period. It is nature’s way of reliving sexual tension. This fluid containing spermatozoa is discharged at night and is usually accompanied by a sexual dream.

This physiological event should not be a cause of shame, pride or concern; it is a natural part of adolescence, about which boys should be informed in advance. Parents should not comment upon finding seminal stains on the bedclothes or pajamas.

 

Young girls, especially if they have brothers, should also be told about nocturnal emissions so that they will not be shocked by accidentally discovering evidence of the phenomenon or by getting misinformation from other youngsters.

 

PROBLEMS OF BOTH TEENAGE BOYS AND GIRLS

 

MASTURBATION

Almost every individual, male and female, has been confronted with the urge to masturbate and must work out his or her own solution to this question. Masturbation is a problem in the sense that sexual desire is not purely physiological; the physical aspects are normally associated with the desire for intimacy with a member of the opposite sex.

 

During masturbation, this intimacy ends only in the form of fantasy.

 

In most instances, this is the only real problem of masturbation. Nearly all the others have been created out of whole cloth by misinformed adults, including parents, who have frightened children with old wives’ tales of the physical harm resulting from the practice, and shamed youngsters into believing it is an especially obnoxious perversion. Countless heartaches—and even tragedies—have resulted from such baseless fear and guilt.

 

If a boy or girl becomes addicted to masturbation, the problem is an emotional one and should be discussed with a doctor or counselor. Excessive preoccupation with masturbation is a sign, not a cause, of the emotional difficulty.

 

HOMOSEXUAL PRACTICES

Many boys and girls indulge in some form of homosexual play with companions. Here the parents should be on the alert. Usually, such practices are harmless and cease as the boy or girl matures. However, it is at this time that an older, confirmed homosexual may exert an unfortunate—and possibly lasting—influence. 

 

If such a situation arises, the parents must exercise a great deal of skill and tact. In many cases, they should discuss the situation with a psychologist.

 

TALKING IT OVER WITH YOUR CHILDREN

We do not propose that you lecture your children on these subjects under discussion. It is far better to make the points as the opportunities present themselves.

 

Some parents find it difficult to talk about these matters. Are you one of them? Do you feel embarrassed about discussing masturbation, nocturnal emissions, or any similar subject with your children?

 

If you do, you may wish to seek help from your doctor, a psychologist, or an expert in the field of child guidance. Such a talk will either increase your self-confidence or make you decide to let some professionally trained person discuss these topics with your children.