Teen Health: Common Issues and Care
Teen Hospitalization
When a teen is hospitalized, it’s crucial to maintain a pleasant atmosphere and ensure they are accompanied by their parents. Calling them by name and answering their questions can help ease their anxiety.
Role of the Healthcare Professional
- Reception, entrance, and exit of the patient.
- Preparing the patient care unit.
- Monitoring vital signs.
- Administering oxygen and medication.
- Providing psychological support to the child and parents.
Adolescent Health Checkups
Physical Examination
- Anthropometric measurements: Weight, height, and BMI.
- Pubertal maturity assessment: Using Tanner stages.
- Monitoring vital signs: Blood pressure, pulse, and temperature.
- Eye test: Using the Snellen chart to measure visual acuity. Normal vision is typically 5/5.75.
- Hearing acuity: Using the whispered voice test.
Common Adolescent Disorders
Anxiety
Symptoms include separation anxiety, fear of something happening to loved ones, dizziness, fainting, palpitations, accelerated heart rate, and sweating. Triggers can include the abrupt termination of a relationship, school integration difficulties, social isolation, and relationship problems with parents.
Stress
Symptoms include tiredness, headaches, backaches, a depressive attitude, sadness, crying, and hopelessness.
Aggressiveness
Feelings of loneliness and disappointment with societal issues (economic factors, possession of weapons) can contribute to aggressiveness.
Depression
Characterized by sudden changes in behavior, low or irritable mood, tiredness, loss of interest, weight changes, fear of death, and suicidal thoughts.
Shyness
Symptoms include making excuses to avoid social interactions, reluctance to talk or participate, redness, sweating, tremors, and stuttering. Often caused by a lack of confidence, which can be learned from parents.
Obesity
Causes include hypothyroidism, Cushing’s disease, genetics, high food consumption, and low physical activity.
Sexual and Reproductive Health
This includes sexual education, prevention of unwanted pregnancies, and STD prevention. It’s essential to use plain language, maintain confidentiality, conduct clinical assessments, and educate on risks, birth control, and STIs.
Teen Nutrition
Teens need an adequate supply of energy and nutrients, including carbohydrates, vitamins, calcium, iron, and zinc, to avoid deficiencies that can cause health disorders.
Morbidity in Adolescents
Risk factors include lack of physical activity, unsafe sexual conduct, tobacco use, alcohol and drug use, and violence. Goals include reducing smoking, obesity, sedentary lifestyles, pregnancies, and dental caries among adolescents.
Specific Conditions
Acne
A skin condition characterized by excess oil production, blocked pores, blackheads, whiteheads, and pimples. Treatment options include topical antibiotics, synthetic vitamins, chemical peels, and sun exposure.
Anorexia
An eating disorder characterized by an abnormal lack of appetite, which can be due to physiological or psychological causes, often associated with depressive symptoms.
Bulimia
An eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging behaviors like fasting, vomiting, or using laxatives. Signs include restrictive dieting, preoccupation with weight, and a distorted perception of body shape and size.
Dysmenorrhea
Painful menstruation, characterized by abdominal or pelvic pain.
Abortion
The termination of pregnancy before 180 days of gestation. It can be spontaneous (natural) or induced. Induced abortion can be legal or illegal.
Adolescence: Physical Changes
Girls
Breast development, pubic hair growth, underarm hair growth, changes in the genitals, and menarche.
Boys
Shoulder widening, increased muscle mass, voice deepening, increased height, changes in the genitals, and growth of underarm, pubic, facial, chest, leg, and arm hair.
Tanner Stages for Breast Development
- No palpable breast tissue, only the nipple is raised.
- The areola is raised.
- The breast, areola, and nipple are raised.
- Further breast enlargement, the areola is more pigmented, and there are three contours (nipple, areola, breast).
- Mature adult breast.
Tanner Stages for Pubic Hair
- No pubic hair.
- Soft, long, pigmented hair.
- Darker, rough, and curly hair.
- Adult-like hair, but not extending to the thighs or navel.
- Adult hair.