Adolescent Resources
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Resources for Adolescents
Johnston Ziegler Youth Leadership Award
Dr. John Gardner Johnston, Teen Health Connection's founding Medical Director, is known for his efforts to empower adolescents to be healthy, safe and successful. Barbara Ziegler, Teen Health Connection's founding Executive Director, is known for her outstanding commitment to improving adolescent health. The Johnston Ziegler Youth Leadership Award is a merit-based scholarship that recognizes a local teenager who, like Dr. Johnston and Barbara Ziegler, has demonstrated outstanding leadership, advocacy or service for adolescents. Please visit the Johnston Ziegler Youth Leadership Award page on our website for more information about this scholarship.
Teen Help Card
Please review the Teen Help Card for community resource contact information.
Resources Available on Adolescent Health Topics
Education, clinical care, research and healthcare information for female adolescents at www.youngwomenshealth.org
Education, clinical care, research and healthcare information for male adolescents at www.youngmenshealthsite.org
Customized and timely pediatric health information at www.healthychildren.org
Nutrition and physical activity information from the USDA's MyPlate project at www.choosemyplate.gov
Information about birth control methods at www.bedsider.org
Information about Vaccines
Vaccines are very important because they decrease the chances of getting certain diseases. It is very important to vaccinate adolescents as well as young children.
Listed below you will find information about vaccines that are available to adolescents, information about what the vaccines prevent and why they are important. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) provided this information.
Tdap (Tetanus, Diptheria and Acellular Pertussis) Vaccine
It is recommended that teens ages 11-18 years old receive a Tdap booster. In the state of North Carolina, all students entering the 6th grade must receive a Tdap vaccine to attend school. This vaccine is one shot that lasts 10 years.
1. Tetanus (also known as lock jaw): causes painful muscle spasms all over the body and it can prevent you from opening your mouth. You can get tetanus through types of cuts and wounds, from animal bites, tattoos, body piercings, rusty nails, etc.
2. Diptheria: caused by a bacteria that causes a thick covering in the back of the throat. It can cause breathing problems, paralysis, heart failure and death. Diptheria is spread person to person.
3. Pertussis (also known as whooping cough): caused by bacteria that can cause severe coughing spells, weight loss, pneumonia and sometimes death. It is spread person to person and is highly contagious.
Meningococcal Vaccine
It is recommended that teens ages 11-18 years old receive a meningococcal vaccine. This vaccine is also known as Menactra. This vaccine prevents against four types of meningococcal disease. The disease is a serious illness that infects the fluid around your brain and spinal cord. Meningitis can be spread through coughing, kissing or sharing drinks. Even when people diagnosed with meningitis are treated with antibiotics, 1 in 10 of these people die. For the people that survive, up to 1 in 5 of them may experience brain damage, become mentally retarded, become deaf, suffer seizures, suffer a stroke and/or lose their arms or legs. This vaccine is one shot only.
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine
It is recommended that girls and boys ages 9-26 years old receive the HPV vaccine. This vaccine is also known as Gardasil and it is most effective if received at an earlier age. HPV is a virus that can cause abnormal pap smears and cervical cancer in females and genital warts in males and females. This vaccine is a series of three shots.
Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) Vaccine
The MMR vaccine is recommended for all teens who have not received the vaccine as a child. The vaccine is a series of two shots.
1. Measles: causes high fever and rash over the body and is highly contagious.
2. Mumps: causes swollen glands, fever, headaches and can lead to meningitis, deafness and sometimes death. It is highly contagious.
3. Rubella: causes rash, fever and arthritis.
Hepatitis B (Hep B) Vaccine
It is recommended that all teens receive the Hepatitis B vaccine if they did not receive this vaccine as a child. Hepatitis B is a serious disease that affects the liver and can spread through contact with infected blood or bodily fluids. It can cause liver damage, liver cancer and death. This vaccine is a series of three shots.
Hepatitis A (Hep A) Vaccine
It is recommended that all teens receive the Hepatitis A vaccine. This vaccine protects against Hepatitis A which is a serious liver disease. Hepatitis A can be spread from person to person or by eating or drinking contaminated food or water. The vaccine is a series of two shots.
Varicella (Chickenpox) Vaccine
It is recommended for all teens that have not had the chickenpox to receive this vaccine. Chickenpox is a common disease spread by person to person contact that causes rash, itching, fever and tiredness. This vaccine is a series of two shots.
Influenza (Flu) Vaccine
The flu vaccine is recommended for all teens every year. The flu is a contagious disease spread by coughing or sneezing. The flu can cause fever, headache, body aches, sore throat, cough, fatigue and chills.