How Often Does a Girl Get Her Period?

Just as some girls begin puberty earlier or later than others, the same applies to periods. Some girls may start menstruating as early as age 10, but others may not get their first period until they are 15 years old.

The amount of time between a girl's periods is called her menstrual cycle (the cycle is counted from the start of one period to the start of the next). Some girls will find that their menstrual cycle lasts 28 days, whereas others might have a 24-day cycle, a 30-day cycle, or even longer. Following menarche, menstrual cycles last 21-45 days. After a couple of years, cycles shorten to an adult length of 21-34 days.

Irregular periods are common in girls who are just beginning to menstruate. It may take the body a while to sort out all the changes going on, so a girl may have a 28-day cycle for 2 months, then miss a month, for example. Usually, after a year or two, the menstrual cycle will become more regular. Some women continue to have irregular periods into adulthood, though.

As a girl gets older and her periods settle down — or she gets more used to her own unique cycle — she will probably find that she can predict when her period will come. In the meantime, it's a good idea to keep track of your menstrual cycle with a calendar.

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The Female Reproductive System

Baby girls are born with ovaries, fallopian tubes, and a uterus. The two ovaries are oval-shaped and sit on either side of the uterus (womb) in the lowest part of the abdomen called the pelvis. They contain thousands of eggs, or ova. The two fallopian tubes are long and thin. Each fallopian tube stretches from an ovary to the uterus, a pear-shaped organ that sits in the middle of the pelvis. The muscles in a female's uterus are powerful and are able to expand to allow the uterus to accommodate a growing fetus and then help push the baby out during labor.

As a girl matures and enters puberty, the pituitary gland releases hormones that stimulate the ovaries to produce other hormones called estrogen and progesterone. These hormones have many effects on a girl's body, including physical maturation, growth, and emotions.

About once a month, a tiny egg leaves one of the ovaries — a process called ovulation — and travels down one of the fallopian tubes toward the uterus. In the days before ovulation, the hormone estrogen stimulates the uterus to build up its lining with extra blood and tissue, making the walls of the uterus thick and cushioned. This happens to prepare the uterus for pregnancy: If the egg is fertilized by a sperm cell, it travels to the uterus and attaches to the cushiony wall of the uterus, where it slowly develops into a baby.

If the egg isn't fertilized, though — which is the case during most of a woman's monthly cycles — it doesn't attach to the wall of the uterus. When this happens, the uterus sheds the extra tissue lining. The blood, tissue, and unfertilized egg leave the uterus, going through the vagina on the way out of the body. This is a menstrual period.

This cycle happens almost every month for several more decades (except, of course, when a female is pregnant) until a woman reaches menopause and no longer releases eggs from her ovaries.

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Puberty and Periods

Menstruation (a period) is a major stage of puberty in girls; it's one of the many physical signs that a girl is turning into a woman. And like a lot of the other changes associated with puberty, menstruation can be confusing. Some girls can't wait to start their periods, whereas others may feel afraid or anxious. Many girls (and guys!) don't have a complete understanding of a woman's reproductive system or what actually happens during the menstrual cycle, making the process seem even more mysterious.

When girls begin to go through puberty (usually starting between the ages of 8 and 13), their bodies and minds change in many ways. The hormones in their bodies stimulate new physical development, such as growth and breast development. About 2 to 2½ years after a girl's breasts begin to develop, she usually gets her first menstrual period.

About 6 months or so before getting her first period, a girl might notice an increased amount of clear vaginal discharge. This discharge is common. There's no need for a girl to worry about discharge unless it has a strong odor or causes itchiness. The start of periods is known as menarche. Menarche doesn't happen until all the parts of a girl's reproductive system have matured and are working together.

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Wet Dream

"Wet Dream" — Something that can be embarrassing and confusing to teen guys, but is completely normal. A wet dream is also known as a nocturnal emission. Nocturnal means "at night" and emission means "discharge." This makes sense because a wet dream is when semen (the fluid containing sperm) is discharged from the penis during ejaculation while a guy's asleep. Usually wet dreams occur during dreams that have sexual images. Sometimes guys wake up from a wet dream, but sometimes they sleep through it.

Wet dreams begin during puberty when the body starts making more testosterone, the major male hormone. Although some guys may feel embarrassed or even guilty about having wet dreams, they can't be controlled and you can't stop them from happening — most guys experience them at some point during puberty and even sometimes as adults.

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Early Detection For Prostate Cancer

Pemeriksaan disarankan bagi pria 50 tahun ke atas atau pria dengan riwayat prostat.

Pria yang memasuki usia lanjut berisiko tinggi mengidap kanker prostat. Jumlah kejadian kanker prostat dalam 10 tahun terakhir terus meningkat di Asia termasuk di Indonesia.

Data dari Rumah Sakit Cipto Mangunkusumo (RSCM) dan Rumah Sakit Dharmais menyebutkan, jumlah penderita penyakit ini meningkat hampir tiga kali lipat dalam 10 tahun terakhir. Sehingga, kanker prostat dijuluki kanker penyebab kematian pria terbesar ketiga.

Pada tahapan awal, kanker prostat tidak menunjukkan gejala khas. Namun, karena usia lanjut merupakan faktor risiko kanker prostat, maka pria usia lanjut dianjurkan untuk melakukan pemeriksaan colok dubur atau Digital Rectal Examination (DRE).

Pemeriksaan sebagai salah satu cara untuk mendeteksi adanya benjolan keras yang bentuknya tidak beraturan setiap tahun. Hal ini sebagai upaya dari deteksi dini keberadaan penyakit ini.

Anjuran ini, sangat disarankan bagi pria usia di atas 50 tahun. Atau, bisa juga dilakukan sejak usia 40 tahun, terutama bagi pria yang memiliki riwayat kanker prostat dalam keluarga.

Ada beberapa gejala kanker prostat. Diantaranya, kesulitan buang air kecil atau menahannya, aliran air seni lemah atau terganggu, terbangun malam hari untuk buang air kecil, perasaan nyeri atau terbakar saat buang air kecil. Adanya darah pada air seni atau air mani, sulit ereksi serta nyeri saat ejakulasi merupakan gejala lain gangguan prostat. Bila mengalaminya, dianjurkan segera memeriksakan diri ke dokter.

Apabila telanjur terkena kanker prostat, pengobatan disesuaikan dengan stadium yang diderita. Umumnya, operasi dilakukan bagi penderita dengan usia harapan hidup lebih dari 10 tahun.

Sementara penderita dengan usia harapan hidup 5- 10 tahun akan diberikan radioterapi. Pasien dengan harapan hidup kurang dari 5 tahun, atau bila terdapat kontraindikasi operasi maupun radioterapi, maka akan diberikan kemoterapi.

Tindakan kemoterapi pada pengobatan kanker prostat biasanya dilakukan apabila kanker tersebut telah resisten terhadap terapi pengobatan lainnya seperti misalnya terapi hormone.

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A Drink, Remember It Before You Go !

Berdiet sudah menjadi gaya hidup masyarakat modern, terutama wanita. Tak jarang, selama diet mereka mengurangi asupan air agar cepat memperoleh tubuh langsing.

Sebuah riset terbaru menemukan, kecenderungan depresi berhubungan dengan kekurangan air. Ini terutama ditemukan dalam diet yang dilakukan wanita. Para peneliti dari Universitas Tufts melakukan eksperimen dengan membatasi asupan air pada sekelompok responden. Sedangkan kelompok lainnya diberi asupan air sesuai yang direkomendasikan.

Dari situ diketahui, kelompok yang kekurangan cairan memiliki perubahan suasana hati yang cepat, cenderung depresi dan kelelahan. Mereka juga menunjukkan tanda-tanda amarah berlebih serta lebih sering gugup dan bingung. Kendati penyebab utamanya belum jelas, peneliti menduga hal tersebut akibat penurunan kemampuan berpikir.

Menurut para ahli, air merupakan komponen utama aliran darah yang membawa oksigen dan nutrisi ke otak. Jumlah air yang diperlukan masing-masing individu berbeda tergantung pada jenis aktivitas, berat fisik seseorang dan cuaca. Umumnya, tiap orang rata-rata membutuhkan 8-9 gelas air putih sehari.

Pada studi yang lain, Badan Kesehatan Dunia memprediksi, pada 2020 depresi akan menjadi penyakit nomor satu di dunia. Depresi akan menggantikan pembunuh saat ini, yakni penyakit menular dan kardiovaskular.

Lay Out by Ismail Afriant from several sources

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SMAN 1 Gunung Talang from Highway

Plang Indentitas SMAN 1 Gunung Talang, Sekolah yang berlokasi di Jalan Lintas Sumatera-Pasar Usang Cupak ini, merupakan sekolah favorit di Kabupaten Solok,

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