Introduction
Sometimes as teens, you’re not used to noticing what your body is trying to tell you. You’re used to going about your life in school with friends and dealing with teen issues. Your parents take care of your health, right?
However, you may want to deal with your sexual and reproductive health. It is natural for most teens like you to feel shy, anxious (more about that here: https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/anxiety/) or even ignorant about your own health. But here’s the news – you don’t have to be. Your parents can guide and support you in finding information and being with you in your journey. Nevertheless, you can still take the wheel and care for your body yourself.
Knowing your Body
Caring for your body begins with being aware of the changes that happen along the way. There are several ways of doing this, and one of the ways is through online research. You are very oriented with the web so why don’t you use it to get to know your body better? Learn the stages of puberty and the changes that occur, and assess yourself if the changes have happened to you.
School teachers and counselors also play a vital role in educating you about the different systems of your body, particularly the reproductive system where you will most likely want to take control of. They are there to answer your questions and clarify things that you are curious or confused about. They can also refer you to facilities that you can visit for your health concerns. If you are still uncomfortable with talking to your school staff, you can again check for centers online and choose between several places and specialty clinics you can go.
Some of the services offered by clinics for the youth are:
- Birth control
- Gynecological
- HIV and sexually transmitted disease testing, education, and counseling
- Abortion
- Prenatal care
- Pregnancy testing and counseling
If you and your parents (or your mom) are close and open to each other, you can always have them accompany you in visiting the clinic of your choice. You don’t have to be pregnant to be there. You just have to be a teen or an individual who needs to know more about his or her sexual health. If not for that, you do have to practice seeing your primary provider every year to have your blood pressure, weight, mental and physical state and other medical healthcare concerns tested.
Healthcare is for Everybody
It is important to know that medical and health care is not limited to straight men and women. Whether you are gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual, you have the right to have yourself taken care of. Find clinics that you are comfortable going to – those that do not aggravate your anxiety but rather reduce the tension and uneasiness.
Programs for You
You probably don’t have your own insurance because you are usually supplementary to your parents’ insurance programs. However, there are public programs you should know about that can provide healthcare coverage for low and middle-class families.
CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program). If you’re under 19, you can definitely take advantage of this program. Funded by the federal government, the CHIP has been helping parents with moderate incomes to provide medical care for their children despite their economic situation. There are actually different CHIP rules for different states, so it would do you well to study the rules that apply to your state.
Medicaid. Funded by both the state and the federal government, Medicaid covers for parents with low incomes, pregnant women, and children who are U.S. immigrants or citizens.
Private Insurance. When the Affordable Care Act was officially established, most private insurance companies now provide health coverage for parents and kids and offer the same benefits as Medicaid and CHIP.
Healthcare is Wealth
Healthcare should start early. You shouldn’t have to be oblivious to the physiological and psychological things that are happening to you. Learn how to take care of your body and starting today, make your health your priority.…
