Puberty

The Puberty reaches humans in early puberty. Physically, boys and girls are then able to have children themselves. Sexual maturity focuses on physical, but not on emotional, maturity.

What is puberty?

The attainment of sexual maturity manifests itself differently in boys and girls and is usually reached between the ages of 11 and 13. In some cases, it can happen sooner or later.

In boys, sexual maturity is reached when the first ejaculation has taken place. This often happens during sleep. In girls, the first menstrual period is crucial for reaching sexual maturity. After that, it can take months and years to achieve a regular cycle, but girls are physically able to have a child from then on.

When boys and girls reach sexual maturity, they are only physically able to reproduce; physical sexual maturity does not provide any information about mental maturity. In most cases, the body of a girl who has just reached sexual maturity would not be able to carry a healthy child to term without medical help, without the young mother suffering as a result.

Function & task

Sexual maturity occurs far too early for boys and girls in our society today, because becoming a parent is socially structured for a later point in time. Biologically, however, sexual maturity occurs shortly before the "right" time for reproduction.

The younger the parents of a child, the less likely the child's congenital diseases are. These increase as the mother and father get older. From a biological point of view, therefore, it is consistent that human sexual maturity occurs shortly before the prime age for reproduction.

Sexual maturity occurs in a boy in a rather unspectacular manner, after which he is immediately fertile. Sexual maturity in girls develops a little more long-term. After menarche (the first menstruation), it takes many girls several months to develop a regular cycle. The risk of getting pregnant is always very high for young girls, but it can only be planned with the regular cycle. During this time, it is common to experience period pain.

Sexual maturity is not exclusively related to human reproduction. As soon as boys and girls have basically become fertile, their hormonal balance changes permanently. Both begin to develop the secondary sexual characteristics more strongly than before sexual maturity, but this process can also have been initiated shortly beforehand.

Girls develop recognizable feminine breasts and a feminine waist as well as pubic and armpit hair, and they can also be prone to blemished skin. The mucous membrane of the vagina becomes more moist due to the white flow that now sets in and enables sexual intercourse.

In boys, the penis and testicles continue to develop, the body hair begins to grow and it does not take long for the first whiskers to appear. The testosterone balance increases and can have a lasting effect on the boy's behavior.

Illnesses & ailments

Reaching sexual maturity, with all of its hormonal changes, is one of the biggest hurdles teenagers face during puberty. In boys, the first ejaculation can be embarrassing - especially if it occurs repeatedly during sleep.

Girls experience their first menstrual period and, above all, the following bleeding as unusual; menstrual pain is a normal phenomenon. These often only improve after years, but are among others Treatable with appropriate herbal remedies or chemical pain relievers. Exercises to open the pelvis and relax the internal muscles can also relieve cramps.

A medical complication in girls is that the hymen is closed at the first menarche (it is still sometimes referred to as a hymen, although only a few girls tore from defloration). In this case, the menstrual blood will not be able to drain and the membrane will have to be cut by the doctor. However, this is only very rarely the case, as the hymen opens at an early age and is not a closed skin in the vaginal entrance.

The hormonal changes can be serious. While girls usually have fewer difficulties with this, but become more moody, the increasing testosterone balance increases the potential for aggression in boys. Although children fight earlier, in puberty this can sometimes be problematic for boys after they have reached sexual maturity.

Due to the many hormonal developments before, during and after reaching sexual maturity, teenagers develop a variety of other small problems, such as blemished skin or even acne. Depending on the severity, this may require treatment, but these normal effects of sexual maturity can usually be treated well with cosmetic products.

There are usually no serious problems caused by sexual maturity. In rare cases puberty does not occur at all, too early or too late. Due to illnesses, puberty can be halted, sexual maturity is not reached or not fully reached.

These cases must be monitored by a doctor so that hormonal treatment can be used if necessary. However, these are often predictable complications that can be dealt with in good time to allow sexual maturity and puberty to be as normal as possible.