Teen Health Check-ups
Teen Health > Teen Health Check-ups
Teen health check-up are very important to keep up with during your teenagers growing and developing years. Girls should have their first visit to the gynecologist (GYN) after they have had their first period. Boys and girls should have their first talk about sex and sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) not long after.
Teens having sex can make a huge impact on teen health and should require a check-up. A sexually active teen has a higher chance of contracting an STD than an adult, even though adults have the same chance of contracting one as well. Teenagers are usually careless and don't use protection. Some have lots of different partners which makes teen health even more compromised.
Latex condoms are the only form other than no sex at all that can help prevent your teen from contracting an STD. Birth control pills, diaphragms, spermicides, and other forms of birth control only protect your teen from getting pregnant and not from a devastating STD. There are teen health centers that will gladly give your teen condoms for free after a check-up so that they will not contract an STD.
You should also talk to your teen about sex and STD's. If they are too embarrassed to get condoms on their own and you know that they are sexually active, purchase the condoms yourself. Wouldn't you rather your child be protected even if they are doing something you don't want them to do? A sexually active teen should go in for a routine check-up at least every six months and get tested for any possible STD's.
Once your child reaches his or her teen years, check-up for teen health are greatly encouraged even if your teen is not sexually active. Once they reach puberty, check-up become mandatory to be sure that there are no problems that may have appeared in their reproduction organs or if they may have breast cancer?
For a teen that is sexually active, a check-up every six months is a very good option when dealing with teen health. HIV/AIDS sometimes doesn't show up right then and some STD's will show no signs or symptoms until it is too late. Getting a check-up every six months will ensure that if your teen has contracted an STD that it will be cared for as soon as possible, saving you and your teen a lot of heart ache in the long run.
Other check-ups that are mandatory for every teen is the dentist. Taking care of your teeth can be a major part of teen health as well. After your baby teeth are gone and your adult one have come in, those are the only teeth your teen will ever have and taking care of them should be top priority. You should brush your teeth three times a day along with flossing to prevent gum disease which can cause your teeth to start to fall out and give you very bad breath. Your teen should have a dental check-up once a year and be taught how taking care of your teeth also can affect teen health.
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