Don't Panic About Puberty (Special) Operation Ouch!

-Welcome to...

-Operation Ouch!

This very special show is about something that happens to all of us.

Can you guess what it is?

Well, here's a clue.

-Spotty.

-Angry, emotional.

Don't worry about it, everyone goes through it.

Be happy, it's normal, it's not scary.

Erm...

THEY LAUGH

Now, did you guess what those people were talking about?

That's right, it's puberty.

Now, Xand, did you notice how

all those people didn't seem to want to talk about puberty at all?

I did, Chris.

-LAUGHING:

-There's a question!

-There IS a question, isn't there?

BOTH: Erm...

But don't panic,

because on "Operation Ouch!" there's NOTHING we're afraid to talk about.

-Well, apart from...

-Ssh!

Oh, yeah, sorry, right.

-So, puberty, get ready!

-We're taking you on.

Coming up on this special "Operation Ouch!",

we show you how puberty affects your voice...

Ow!

..why not to worry about acne...

I had it all over the face, the back, the neck.

..and we offer some serious survival tips.

But first, what is puberty?

Think of it like this.

You've been growing since the moment you were born,

and it's what turned you from a little baby into a child.

But pretty soon, you need to go from being a child

into being an adult, or else the world would be full of children.

And this is where puberty comes in.

It's basically just another phase of growing.

And it's completely normal.

You might have already noticed changes in your body,

or perhaps you haven't, because everyone is different.

Usually it begins any time from the age of eight,

carrying right through to the age of 18.

In this special "Operation Ouch!",

we've got loads to show you about what happens to your body.

On the inside and the outside!

One thing that changes when you hit puberty is your sweat,

and we're going to show you why.

Does anybody want to smell my armpits?

Do you want to smell my armpits?

Free sweat-smelling here.

Can I tempt you, a little whiff?

Anyone? Anyone?

I don't seem to be having much luck for some reason.

Sweat.

It might seem a bit yucky, but everybody does it.

Sweating is what your body does when you get too hot,

and when that sweat evaporates,

it takes heat away from your body and prevents your internal organs

from overheating, so it's actually pretty wonderful stuff.

I'm not sure why nobody wants to smell mine.

HE GROANS

There are two types of sweat glands,

eccrine and apocrine.

Eccrine are the most common.

You have over two million of them all over your body.

Apocrine glands are only in particular places

like your groin and under your arms.

They produce a different type of sweat that is rich in protein

and fatty acids.

They only become active during, you guessed it,

puberty.

When your apocrine glands start working,

it changes how you sweat.

And this lot are going to help me show you what that means.

First, we're going to need a sample.

In fact, two samples.

One sample is made up of a group of eight-year-olds

who haven't started puberty yet.

The other sample is made up of 14-year-olds,

who are slap-bang in the middle of it.

And what I need from all of you now is sweat.

Are you ready?

-ALL: Yeah!

-Right, let's go.

For the next half hour,

I'm getting both squads to train as hard as they can,

and sweat as much as possible.

What we're looking for here is real work.

It's not a race between the two teams.

We want quality, cos quality means sweat.

Ben, you sweating yet?

-Yeah.

-Yeah? That's good.

After 30 minutes, I'm satisfied that both teams will have sweated enough.

It's time to collect all the sweaty shirts into separate bags.

Now we've got our samples.

The squads don't know which shirts are in which bag,

so let's see which smells worst.

One at a time,

you're going to smell each bag,

and tell me which you think smells worst.

Bag A is from the younger team

and Bag B is from the teenagers.

Which one do you think will smell worse?

-Get right in there.

-That one.

Is it really disgusting? Huh.

That one.

What does this one smell of?

Like off vinegar.

I'll say this one.

You think that one smells worst?

This one.

And what do you think this one smells of?

-Rotten cheese.

-Rotten cheese?

-Oh, that one.

-Do you think this is your team?

-No.

-You think the eight-year-olds are smellier than you?

-Yeah.

Big breath in, Ben.

-This one.

-XAND LAUGHS

-That one.

-Really?

Cos, like, I smelt my own armpits and they stink more.

So which of you thought

that Bag B was the smelliest?

Yeah, all except two.

That's 12-2 to Bag B.

Now, THIS was the bag from the older ones.

So I think you're absolutely right,

this definitely should have been the smelliest one.

Now, do you know why?

-Because they're older.

-Cos they're older, that's right.

And when you get older, you get different kinds of sweat glands,

they're called apocrine glands,

and make different sorts of sweat, and it's got more chemicals in,

which gets broken down by bacteria.

So what you're really smelling in here is bacteria poo.

ALL GROAN

There you go, you're the ones smelling it.

Not me, I haven't smelled it.

CHANTING: Smell it, smell it, smell it...

Oh, God, no! Oh!

-LAUGHING:

-Eurgh!

Remember, all sweat is completely normal,

even the smelly variety.

And you could make sure you don't stay smelly

by washing yourself and your clothes regularly.

Speaking of washing, guys,

you better not forget to wash all your kits. Guys?

Guys!

Get ready to change shape.

Er... Not like that!

We're talking growth spurts.

Hormones kick in, telling your body to get taller.

Boys get broader,

girls get breasts,

and it can all be a bit annoying,

if you grow out of your favourite outfit too quickly.

But don't panic, it's exciting too.

You also get stronger...

Maybe not that strong!

Nice bus though.

But remember, it's all completely normal.

And it could be a whole lot worse.

If you were a baboon,

puberty would suddenly give you a giant red bottom.

As part of today's special show, we're looking at hormones.

Just don't try anything you see here at home.

-PHONE BEEPS

-It's Chris.

PHONE BEEPS

OK, fair enough.

PHONE BEEPS

Well, I don't know where he keeps his custard creams,

-he hides them from me.

-PHONE BEEPS

Oh, yeah, here they are.

PHONE BEEPS

Chris, why are you sending me all these ridiculous text messages?

I'm trying to work.

Well, I'm glad you asked me that, Xand,

it's not just because I want those custard creams,

although I do want them and you've written them in the logbook now.

It's because today's lab is all about hormones,

and like texts, hormones are messages

but they're chemical ones sent around your body.

You can't control them any more than Xand could control

the number of texts I was sending him.

You have hormones from the moment you're born,

telling the different cells in your body what to do.

Your pancreas makes the hormone insulin

to control sugar levels in your blood.

WHISTLE BLOWS

And your adrenal glands produce the hormone adrenaline

when you're excited or scared,

preparing your body for immediate action.

GORILLA GRUNTS

SHE ZOOMS

And then there's your pituitary gland in your brain,

and to show you what that looks like,

I've actually got a real sheep's brain in my hand.

Now the first thing you'll notice is

it's much smaller than a human brain.

And that's probably why sheep are less intelligent than human beings.

-Chris, there might be sheep watching!

-Doesn't matter.

-They're sheep, they won't understand what I said.

-All right.

Well, I've cut it in half

so you can see right here at the base of the brain

is the pituitary gland.

Now, take a look at this MRI scan of my actual brain.

And there's my pituitary gland right there.

Now it may be small, but it has a big job to do,

because it's the pituitary gland that controls

most of the hormones in your body.

But when you reach puberty, your hormones go into super charge mode.

They spring into action like never before,

and they're responsible for all the changes that take place

during puberty.

And one of these changes occurs in the voice box,

the organ which allows you to speak.

And we're going to show you what it looks like.

Now this is the larynx,

or the voice box of a young pig.

Your voice box is in your throat,

it's the tough rubbery bit here on your neck.

Now, I also have...

..a pig's larynx,

except that mine is bigger than Chris's,

and that's because it's from an adult pig.

Now one of these two larynxes

will have a deeper sound

than the other, but which one do you think it's going to be?

The bellows are acting like your lungs,

sending air past the vocal cords

which you can see here.

And they make a sound when they vibrate.

LARYNX SQUEAKS

Compare the sound of this smaller larynx...

LARYNX SQUEAKS

..to the sound of the larger one.

LARYNX BLOWS

Can you hear the sound of the larger larynx is deeper

than the smaller one?

LARYNX SQUEAKS

This change in sound is known as your voice breaking,

and it happens to both boys and girls.

Now, when YOU go through puberty, those hormones,

controlled by your pituitary gland,

tell your larynx to grow bigger,

and that makes your voice get deeper.

So, we've shown you that hormones

are messages

telling your body what to do.

When you start puberty,

your hormones become more active,

telling you to grow into an adult.

And remember, hormones are what make your voice break,

only nothing's breaking at all.

Your larynx actually gets bigger,

and that makes your voice deeper.

But whether you're a boy or a girl,

don't panic, because it doesn't hurt at all.

It's all completely normal.

It's definitely more obvious for us boys

because our larynxes grow more than girls',

and so it pushes this bit out.

It's called your Adam's apple.

Ouch, why don't you poke your own Adam's apple?

-It's more fun poking yours.

-Stop it, it's really annoying.

Really annoying, like sending somebody loads of text messages?

PHONE BEEPS

How did he do that?

Get ready to get hairy.

OK, not that hairy, and don't worry, it's all completely normal.

It happens to every mammal on the planet.

Boys, you'll get hair on your face,

and everyone gets new hair on their legs

and armpits,

and between their legs.

That's called pubic hair.

In the animal world, getting hairy is the best way to attract a mate

because it holds on to smelly sweat, which is apparently very enticing.

But us humans have moved on a bit since we were apes,

so we don't need it.

Some people keep it, some remove it.

It's up to you.

Wherever you are in the UK, you can be sure that

the emergency services are on standby, ready to take on...

What? What?

What does this have to do with puberty?

I mean, I love the emergency services,

but how do they fit into this special episode?

They will, Xand, they will.

We're on call with the UK emergency services,

and today, Xand might get a few surprises.

Ooh!

On call with me is paramedic Jan Vann.

This is a rapid response vehicle,

and it's on standby 24/7 to respond

to whatever medical emergency calls come in.

-BEEPS HORN

-Oh, sorry, Jan.

Bit embarrassing.

A new case is just in.

So we've had a 999 call to see a male with a problem with his head.

We know he's over 16,

we don't have any other details than that at the moment,

so this could be a huge range of things

and we need to get there as quickly as possible.

Oh, thank goodness you're here.

Chris?

Yeah, my hair is just SO greasy,

it's just like someone's dipped my head in a bucket of lard.

Dr Chris, you only call 999 in a real emergency.

Sorry, Jan.

It's not on!

That's what's known as a Jan Vann telling-off.

But since we're here, let's see what we can do for the, er...

CLEARS THROAT ..patient.

Tell me what's going on.

Oh, my hair's just really greasy,

and it's all lifeless and it feels oily,

so I just feel a bit embarrassed to go out with it.

And how long has this been going on for?

I don't know, like not just today, it's been going on for ages.

Let's have a quick look at it.

When you go through puberty,

the hormone changes that your body's going through

that are helping you grow up

stimulate your skin to produce more oil.

That oil's called sebum,

and it can make your hair really greasy.

Though to be honest,

I've never seen anyone with hair quite as greasy as Chris's.

What you need to do is wash your hair more frequently.

-Can you help?

-Yeah.

-Great.

OK, relax your head back.

-Is that nice, Chris?

-Oh, it's really good.

Ah...

I suppose I could do this myself.

Well, you should be able to wash your own hair, really,

on a regular basis.

Oh, marvellous.

So, Jan, same time tomorrow?

No. This is definitely something that you can do for yourself

from now on.

Sorry.

If you've got greasy hair,

there are lots of things you can do.

There are special shampoos for greasy hair,

you can actually get water-free shampoos

which, for some people, work very well,

and you can get hair products which make your hair look less greasy.

The one thing you shouldn't do is call an ambulance.

And now, we're heading out and about for our puberty special.

At the clinic, Chris is open for business.

Next patient, please.

First in is ten-year-old Samantha, with some mystery marks.

So Sam, what brings you to the Ouch-mobile today?

I have some interesting stretch marks on my leg.

What's the diagnosis, doc?

Sounds like a case of

"I've got some interesting stretch marks on my legs-itis"

but don't panic.

So, Sam, open the eyelid.

So why don't you stand up and see if you can show us the stretch marks?

Oh, yeah, OK. You've got some streaks here,

and they're a little bit darker, aren't they?

The reason you get them is when you reach puberty,

a lot of people start to grow very, very quickly.

That dark bit is where you've pulled the skin fibres apart,

so where the skin is a bit thinner,

you can see through to the darker skin underneath.

So it's nothing to worry about.

EVERYONE has stretch marks.

I have them, and I have them in almost exactly the same place.

And it's very, very common.

Is there anything I can do to get rid of them?

There are some creams that you can get,

so there's a Vitamin E cream.

It doesn't work for everyone,

but putting some Vitamin E on them may help a bit.

But as you get older,

they may well just get lighter,

and you might not notice them.

Thank you very much for bringing your interesting stretch marks

-in to see me.

-Thank you, Dr Chris, for helping me.

Away from the clinic, Xand is in the park,

taking questions about growing up.

Why am I getting clumsier as I get older?

What sort of things do you get wrong?

I always trip over my own feet.

As you get bigger,

your arms and legs are getting longer

and it's hard to know where they are,

cos you're used to them being a bit shorter.

Once you stop growing, you kind of get used to it,

but I'm still quite clumsy.

Dr Chris is really clumsy.

THEY GIGGLE

So the next time you get told off for knocking things over,

you've got the perfect excuse.

"It's just puberty."

Back at the Ouch-mobile, there's a new case in the waiting room.

Next patient, please.

It's double trouble! Cousins Rhea and Syrus.

So, guys, what brings you to the Ouch-mobile today?

Me and Syrus are both the same age,

so, 12, but I am a lot taller than him.

What's the diagnosis, doc?

This sounds like a serious case of

"me and Syrus are exactly the same age, 12,

"but I'm a lot taller than him-itis."

But don't panic.

Now let's see how much taller you are. Can you stand up?

Syrus, do you want to stand up next to Rhea?

So this is how tall Rhea is, and this is how tall Syrus is.

You're about a head shorter,

-and you're exactly the same age?

-Yeah.

-Have a seat.

So, what do you want to know about this?

I want to know why boys have their growth spurts later than girls.

We don't know why boys start later,

but girls can start kind of aged ten to 12,

and boys tend to start more like 12 to 14, 15.

So that's because your body starts releasing a hormone

called testosterone.

It's testosterone that makes both boys and girls

have this sudden growth spurt.

What's it like being shorter than your 12-year-old female cousin?

-Um... Annoying!

-I just beat him up all the time.

-Oh, man!

THEY LAUGH

I remember that, I remember getting beaten up by girls at age 12.

-Thank you very much, Dr Chris.

-Thank you.

-It's a real pleasure.

If you haven't had your growth spurt yet, don't panic,

everyone's different.

It will come.

Clinic closed.

Boys, this one's for you.

Get ready for your testicles dropping.

Don't panic, they don't literally drop off.

They just drop lower inside your scrotum as they grow a bit,

and it's totally normal.

It happens because your testicles start to make sperm.

Sperm are one of the things used to make a baby

when you're an adult, and they like to stay cool.

So your testicles need to hang lower outside your body

to be at just the right temperature.

Hey, what are you doing?

Just chilling.

And one testicle is usually lower than the other.

If it wasn't, you'd crush them between your legs.

But that doesn't mean it's cool to walk like an ape.

Remember, if you're worried about anything,

speak to an adult you trust.

Still to come on today's puberty special,

Chris and Jan are called out to a moody teenager...

What?

..there's more top puberty survival tips

and Chris finds out why puberty

can make getting up in the morning really tricky.

CHRIS, GET UP!

Now, did you know 80% of teenagers get spots

to some degree, and boys are more likely to get them than girls?

But remember, don't squeeze them.

Spots.

I used to get them,

I still do get them,

you're probably going to get them,

and nobody likes them.

But for some teenagers,

puberty can make spots a lot worse.

Clear.

So, why does puberty make spots worse?

Well, imagine this is your skin

and there is a hair follicle with a hair growing out of it.

Now every hair follicle has

a sebaceous gland,

which makes a special kind of oil called sebum,

and sebum's good normally,

it keeps your skin moist.

But, during puberty,

sebum levels can skyrocket,

can block up the hair follicle...

..and cause a spot.

Everyone has to put up with the odd spot now and then,

but if it gets really bad, it's called acne.

And if you have acne, there are special clinics on standby to help.

'I'm visiting a special acne clinic

'at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust.

'In charge today,

'consultant dermatologist, Tess McPherson.'

What kind of things cause acne?

I think there's lots of myths associated with acne.

It doesn't mean you've got dirty skin.

Other things which people always ask me about is diet,

and there's not much evidence that diet plays a clear role.

If you've had bad acne in the family,

you're more likely to get bad acne yourself,

so, certainly, genetics play a role.

But the main cause is hormones.

This is 15-year-old Josh.

Hard to believe he had bad acne for a couple of years.

I had it all over the face,

the back, the neck,

up the back of the neck, a bit on the chest as well,

it wasn't very nice.

But after seven months of treatment at the clinic

with a tablet that stops the production of sebum,

Josh is doing much better.

Although he does have some left-over scarring on his back.

So was your back probably the most severely affected area?

Oh, yeah, definitely.

So although that scarring does look quite dramatic at the moment,

over time that will fade, and those will end up going.

Some of these ones which are a little bit bumpy

will flatten out over time.

And now I've had the treatment, I'm a lot happier.

As long as it cleared up on my face, I was pretty much happy with that.

So don't worry, scars can fade.

But remember, don't pick.

If you're worried about getting spots when you're a teenager,

then don't panic.

In severe cases like Josh,

doctors can prescribe creams and tablets to help,

but everyone gets some spots,

and here's some tips.

Apart from creams and medicines,

you can help yourself by shampooing your hair regularly,

and avoid letting it fall across your face.

Don't wash affected areas of skin more than twice a day,

and don't pick them.

Now we go back on call, and it's Chris's turn.

Jan, let's go.

Chris, shall we use the car?

So, a call has just come in and it's another mysterious sounding case.

All we know is it's an adult male,

so it literally could be anyone.

A fast response time can be crucial,

especially when you're dealing with...

medical emergencies?

This all looks a bit familiar to me.

He's upstairs.

We better go see him.

HEAVY BASS BOOMS

Let's go see what's going on.

What's that noise?

-MUSIC STOPS

-What?

Chris? Jan?

Xand? What's going on?

Well, one minute I feel fine,

and then the next minute I just feel so frustrated and angry

and I just don't...

I'm just in a bad mood.

So you called an ambulance because you're having mood swings?

-Yeah.

-Xand, this is not on, you don't call an ambulance

-just because you're having a mood swing.

-Sorry, Jan.

Oh, dear, it looks like Dr Xand got a Jan Vann telling-off.

Now, you don't want to be on the receiving end of one of them,

I can tell you.

OK, so, what's been going on?

You know, I don't know whether I'm coming or going,

I mean, one minute I feel fine and then the next minute,

just everything gets me down, like this strawberry milkshake,

I can't get the lid off and they've just put it on really tight

and I can't get it off.

OK, give it here.

There you go.

Thank you.

So what Xand's got is really, really normal during puberty,

he's having a mood swing.

Now, lots and lots of different stuff can set off a mood swing,

but the underlying reason is the same for all of them.

It's to do with changes in hormone levels

that are happening in your body as you grow up.

You need to try and do some sport,

maybe read some books and try and occupy yourself.

-I like sport, I could do some sport, yeah.

-You do like sport?

-OK, so do some sport and make yourself feel better. Yeah?

-OK.

There are a few different things you can try

if you're having difficulty with your moods.

You can take some time out, you can listen to some music,

you can just do some deep breathing,

but the number one thing is make sure

you ask for help from someone you trust.

So don't worry if you're having mood swings.

The main thing to remember is that there are really some simple

things that you can do about it...

..but calling 999 isn't one of them.

This one's for the girls.

Growing up is fun.

you get to do stuff you've not been allowed to do before.

Whoopee!

Everyone gets a tummy ache occasionally,

but there's another type of tummy ache girls get one day,

when you get your period.

Don't panic, it's completely normal,

and your period will only last a few days each month.

Inside girls' bodies are two organs called ovaries,

which produce eggs.

Eggs are one of the things needed to make a baby when you're an adult.

And in your womb, where a baby grows,

a nice cosy lining gets made each month.

But when there's no baby,

the lining isn't needed and comes out as a bit of blood.

When it happens, tell an adult you can trust.

And if you feel a bit moody, that's normal too.

Just be careful who you bare your teeth to.

Are you finding it hard to sleep?

Finding it even harder to get up?

Are your parents constantly having to nag you to either go to bed

or wake up in the morning?

CHRIS, GET UP!

Well, you've come to the right place.

This is Dr Chris's

one-stop-sleep-shop-clinic-place

for all your sleep-related needs.

Terms and conditions apply.

Monsters under the bed will not be dealt with as a cause of lost sleep.

Offer only applies to die-hard "Operation Ouch!" fans.

Going to bed late and not getting up on time are things

we all do occasionally.

But if you're hitting puberty,

there's actually a scientific explanation.

It's not just laziness,

or not most of the time,

it's all part of becoming an adult.

Now to show you why, I'm going to need some spit,

and some more sleep. Now leave me alone.

These volunteers are going to demonstrate how puberty

changes how you sleep.

Meet Ashleigh and Emma.

They're eight years old

and they're our young sleepers.

This is Thomas, Megan and Alannah.

They're all 13,

they're our teen sleepers.

I'm asking them to collect samples of their saliva every hour

between 4.00pm and when they go to bed.

So, does everyone understand?

ALL: Yes.

We need to spit in these pots.

Yay!

The samples our two groups are taking

will allow me to monitor levels

of a hormone called melatonin.

It's 6.00pm, so I need to spit now.

Melatonin is a hormone your body releases to make you fall asleep

and get some rest.

Goodnight.

I've come to meet neuroscientist Dr Paul Gringras.

He's been analysing our saliva samples for levels of melatonin.

What are the results then, doc?

The younger children,

their melatonin was starting to

be produced about 7.30,

or eight o'clock at the latest.

So that's why if you're younger,

you get tired around this time,

but it changes as you reach puberty.

For the teenage group,

their melatonin was not even being produced till about ten or 11.

And that's why they don't feel tired until much later on.

But you have to be careful because

some things can stop the melatonin doing its job.

We've actually got a body clock that's sensitive to light.

If you start doing things with bright lights,

you are managing to switch off your own melatonin,

which is one of the problems.

So screens like iPads and electronic hi tech stuff

have a lovely bright blue light which keeps us alert,

and in the evening it's about the very worst thing you could do.

So the best thing to do before bed

is to stay away from computer screens.

But because you're going to bed much later than you were before puberty,

and still having to get up at the same time,

that can take some adjusting to.

If you yourself are finding it difficult to wake up,

well, now, you know.

There's a biological reason for it.

You're not just being lazy.

Goodnight.

Although we've not been able to include everything in this puberty

special, hopefully we've covered most of what you wanted to know.

And remember, puberty is totally normal.

It may start earlier for some of you than for others,

-but it happens to everyone in the end.

-What?

It's just another phase of growing up.

And preparing you for being an adult.

Which is pretty exciting, really.

And if there is anything you want to know, remember,

you can always ask a parent or a teacher,

they've been through it, too.

Most importantly...

-BOTH:

-Don't panic!

ALARM BLARES

Chris, there's an emergency case

of greasy hair in A & E!

Panic stations!

I thought we just agreed not to panic?

You just need that.