Slideshow: What happens in the boy body during puberty?

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Puberty is the period where the human body develops from the body of a child to the body of an adult. It varies from person to person when puberty begins. It is not something that you can influence or have control over.

Puberty is set in motion by hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers that are produced by the body. The body’s hormones influence how the body functions in a variety of different ways. For example, through controlling your sleep, your blood pressure and your moods.

Knowing that you are coming into puberty can lead to different emotions. Some people can not wait for puberty and think it is fun and exciting. Other people might think that it feels confusing or difficult.

Illustration av en kille som inte har kommit i puberteten och en pil mot samma kille som har kommit i puberteten. Han till höger har bredare axlar, hårväxt på kroppen och större penis.

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Puberty generally begins at some point between the ages of 9-14 years. Puberty as a process usually takes between five to six years.

Once puberty is over, you will have a more adult body and appearance. You will also have finished growing and will not get any taller.

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During puberty, you may get oiler skin. It is common to get blackheads and pimples.

Tre ansikten, med olika humör. Illustration.

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Your thoughts and feelings will change.

Your mood might change more quickly than it did before. You might also become irritated about things that never irritated you before.

You might sometimes feel sad, or begin thinking about things in more depth.

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You might become more interested in sex. Perhaps you think about sex on a regular basis and become aroused when you do so.You might become more interested in sex. Perhaps you think about sex on a regular basis and become aroused when you do so.

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You might begin to get facial hair - a moustache and beard. Your moustache and beard will be thin at first, but will become thicker over time.

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Your voice will change. This is because the different parts of your throat are growing.

In the beginning, it is common for the pitch of your voice to fluctuate. After a while, your voice will become deeper.

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You might get broader shoulders and more muscles.

When your body grows fast, you can get stretch marks across your skin, as your skin tries to keep up with your growth. These stretch marks can look like stretch lines or stripes. They usually fade over time.

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You will get more hair on your body, for example under your arms. You might also get hair on places like your chest and back.

During puberty, you may also notice that you begin to sweat more.

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Your breasts may grow and feel tender. Your breasts will become smaller again when puberty is over.

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You will get pubic hair. Your penis and scrotum will become bigger and your scrotum will become darker and more wrinkly. You might also see that spots and bumps begin appearing on your penis and scrotum.

It is common that a white fluid forms on the tip of the penis, this acts to keeps the glans wet.

During puberty, the testicles located in the scrotum begin producing sperm. This means that from this point in time, you can make someone else pregnant.

Your penis and scrotum may begin to smell different during puberty. This is due to sweat and fluid which is formed in and around your genitals.

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Talk to someone if you have any questions, or if puberty in any way feels difficult to deal with. For instance, you can talk to the school nurse, the school counsellor, or someone at a Youth Guidance Centre (ungdomsmottagning).

Contact the school nurse, a Youth Guidance Centre or a health clinic (vårdcentral) if you can not see any signs of puberty by the age of 14 years. You can do this with someone you know, or you might like to do this by yourself. If necessary, it is possible for puberty to be started or delayed with the help of medication.

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