Teenage health

Cold sores - Skin problems - Teenage health

What are cold sores? Cold sores are a very common illness caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). The disorder is characterised by groups of fluid-filled blisters which appear on red swollen areas of the skin or on the mucous membranes...

Pap (cervical) smear test - Sexual health - Teenage health

Why take a smear test? The cervical smear test is designed to detect pre-cancerous changes in the cervix (neck of the womb). Pre-cancerous changes (properly called cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia, or CIN for short) are common in all age...

Miscarriage - Sexual health - Teenage health

What is a miscarriage? Some women feel a strong sense of guilt, even though it is not their fault. These are natural reactions. A miscarriage is the loss of a pregnancy before 24 weeks. Unfortunately miscarriage is very common, o...

Large breasts - Growth and development - Teenage health

How do breasts change throughout your life? Breasts develop differently from woman to woman, and their shape and size changes throughout life. Each month, you may feel a tension and swelling in your breasts before your period is due. This sens...

Small breasts - Growth and development - Teenage health

Breasts continue to change shape and size throughout your life. Breasts not only develop differently from woman to woman, they continue to change shape and size throughout your life. The right breast may not even be the same size as the left. ...

Deliberate self-harm - Emotions and behaviour - Teenage health

Deliberate self-harm Don't bottle things up – talk to others to get help and support. Deliberate self-harm (DSH) patients are a mixed group, made up of those: who are attempting suicide who are uncertain about whether the...

5 ideas for dealing with teenagers - Emotions and behaviour - Teenage health

Many parents are desperate to be popular with their kids, and this confuses things. Sophie Radice asks five experts for their tips on surviving life with teenagers Acknowledge their anger If your teenager is flooded wi...

Teenagers and puberty - Emotions and behaviour - Teenage health

What is puberty? Puberty is a period of time during which the onset of sexual maturity occurs and the reproductive organs become functional. This is manifested in both sexes by the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics – g...

Tampons: cause for concern? - Periods and puberty - Teenage health

On National Tampon Alert Day, campaigners highlighted the alleged health and environmental risks of tampons. But are there really dangers, and is it time to ditch the tampon? Tampons are discreet and easy to use, but they can cau...

Puberty FAQ (girls) - Periods and puberty - Teenage health

Puberty is a period of time during which the onset of sexual maturity occurs and the reproductive organs become functional. The change from girl to woman starts with early puberty and culminates in the first period. With these changes, come q...

Pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS or PMT) - Periods and puberty - Teenage health

What is premenstrual syndrome? For some women, the days before the start of their period can be awful. Around 90 per cent of menstruating women get advance warning of an approaching period because of physical and/or psych...

Painful menstruation (dysmenorrhoea) - Periods and puberty - Teenage health

What are menstrual pains? For some women their monthly period is painful, problematic and in some cases disabling. Many women experience discomfort at the time of their periods. For most, this does not interfere with their daily l...

Menstrual cycle - Periods and puberty - Teenage health

What is menstruation? Menstruation - having periods - is part of the female reproductive cycle that starts when girls become sexually mature at the time of puberty. During a menstrual period, a woman bleeds from her uterus (womb) via ...

Heavy periods (menorrhagia) - Periods and puberty - Teenage health

What are heavy periods? The correct medical definition of heavy periods is the passage of more than 80ml of blood each period. It is seldom realistic or practical, however, to actually measure the blood loss and so doctors rely on the woma...

Irregular or infrequent periods (oligomenorrhoea) - Periods and puberty - Teenage health

It's common for periods to be light and widely spaced when you first start having periods. Periods also become more irregular as you get older and near the menopause. This is normal because you won't produce an egg every month as you start and end f...

Before your first period - Periods and puberty - Teenage health

What are periods? For the average woman the monthly period occurs every 28 days. When girls become sexually mature and their bodies become capable of carrying a baby, they begin to produce female sex hormones. These are natura...

Vaginitis - Periods and puberty - Teenage health

Vaginitis literally means an inflammation of the vagina. The commonest causes of vaginitis are infections, but sometimes allergies to products such as soap or perfume, or to the rubber in some condoms, can be responsible. What ...

Mycoplasma pneumonia - Your health - Teenage health

What is a mycoplasma pneumonia? The micro-organism Mycoplasma pneumoniae can cause pneumonia, though it's possible to be infected with Mycoplasma pneumoniae without necessarily developing pneumonia. What causes a mycoplasma pneumoni...

Inguinal hernia - Your health - Teenage health

What is an inguinal hernia? A hernia is a lump that results from a part of the intestine (bowel) slipping through a weakness in the abdominal wall. The most common hernias are inguinal hernias (groin hernias). There are three types of ing...

Fainting - Your health - Teenage health

What is fainting? Fainting typically occurs in connection with both physical and mental strain, and especially if a person does not feel well to start with. Fainting can be caused by a number of factors linked to a person's heart...

Epilepsy - what are the causes? - Your health - Teenage health

What causes epilepsy? Epilepsy is caused by abnormal electric impulses in groups of nerve cells (neurons) found in the brain. For diagnostic purposes, epilepsy is divided into three main groups Idiopathic epilepsy ...

Epilepsy - treatment - Your health - Teenage health

Treating epilepsy No matter how the patient feels, it's important to take the medicine on a regular basis to achieve satisfying results. Epilepsy is usually treated with medicines. In this way, it's possible for 60 to ...

What can I do about oily teenage skin? - Skin and hair - Teenage health

Other Qs & As My skin is greasy and gives me the appearance of looking 'shiny' Oily skin is getting me down Question I used to have very spotty skin on my face. When I went to the doctor and she prescribed antibiotics (Ziner...

Troublesome dandruff - Skin and hair - Teenage health

Other Qs & As Blocked hair glands Greasy hair one day after washing I get ingrowing hairs after I shave I still haven't developed facial hair Ingrowing hairs on the base of the spine Ingrowing hairs on the face...

Sunbeds - Skin and hair - Teenage health

Other Qs & As Are they any dangers to using a sunbed? Has the sun damaged my snowboarding son's skin? How can I get rid of these ugly sunspots? How can I stop myself from looking ghostly on the beach? I get spots after sun...

Love bite - Skin and hair - Teenage health

Other Qs & As Bed bugs Could this be an insect bite? Dealing with horse fly bites Flea bites I react so badly to insect bites Infected mosquito bite Insect bite Insect bites Insect bites make summer a ...

I still haven't developed facial hair - Skin and hair - Teenage health

Other Qs & As Blocked hair glands Greasy hair one day after washing I get ingrowing hairs after I shave Ingrowing hairs on the base of the spine Ingrowing hairs on the face Ingrown facial hair Mild dandruf...

I have bad body odour - Skin and hair - Teenage health

Other Qs & As Body odour Excessive sweating – how do I use Triple Dry? Excessive sweating from the head Hyperidrosis I sweat a lot I sweat in any weather Is there a cream I could use to get rid of my sweat cyst?...

I hate my skin - Skin and hair - Teenage health

Other Qs & As A blotch of dry skin on my leg Abscesses and folliculitis Bumpy skin Extremely dry skin How can I stop my lips getting dry and flaky? How can I stop this dry flaky skin from recurring? How can I t...

How can I get rid of spots? - Skin and hair - Teenage health

Question I'm 13 and I've had spots for about 10 months – I can't stand looking in the mirror. My dad had spots when he was younger. I would like to know if sunbeds or the sun can help them go away? Or if you know any solutions to he...