Adolescents Resources

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. The scholarship opens in October and high school seniors can apply until the first week of December. You can learn more about this award here.

Resources Available on Adolescent Health Topics

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.com

Information about Vaccines

Vaccines are very important because they decrease the chances of getting certain disease. 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 vaccines prevent and why they are important. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the Centers for Disease Control provided this information.

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 from person to person.

3. Pertussis (also known as whopping cough): caused by bacteria that can cause severe coughing spells, weight loss, pneumonia and sometimes death. It is spread from person to person and is highly contagious.

It is recommended that teens ages 11-18 years old receive a meningococcal vaccine. This vaccine is also known as Menactra. The vaccine prevents against 4 types of disease that can lead to serious illness infecting fluid around your brain and spinal cord. Meningitis can be spread through coughing, kissing or sharing drinks. Even when people with meningitis are treated with antibiotics, 1 in 10 of these people will still die. For the people that survive, up to 1 in 5 of them may experience brain damage, may become mentally retarded, become deaf, suffer seizures, suffer a stroke or lose their arms or legs.

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 early age. The HPV virus 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.

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 all over the body and it 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.

It is recommended that all teens receive the Hepatitis B vaccine if they did not receive the 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 or death. This vaccine is a series of three shots.

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 and drinking contaminated food or water. The vaccine is a series of two shots.

It is recommended for all teens that have not had the chickenpox or did not receive the vaccine as a child to receive this vaccine. Chickenpox is a common disease that is spread from person to person contact and causes a rash, itching, fever, and tiredness. This vaccine is a series of two shots.

The flu vaccine is recommended for all teens every year. The flu is a contagious disease that is spread from coughing or sneezing. The flu can cause fever, headache, body ahes, sore throat, cough, fatugue and chills.

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