Get News & Updates Directly To Your Inbox
Get News & Updates Directly To Your Inbox
Find A Doctor Or Hospital In Your Network.
Once you establish a primary care provider (PCP) for your child, you have a consistent partner in keeping your child healthy. Your child’s PCP may be a pediatrician, family doctor or nurse practitioner.
You can turn to your child’s PCP for any health care your child needs. You have someone to call for a routine health exam or if your child has a fever, cough or earache.
Your child’s PCP can also help you make sure your child gets the right preventive care. Preventive care helps keep children from getting sick in the first place. By planning and keeping preventive care visits, your PCP can help:
Your child’s PCP is also a resource for other health issues. You can talk about:
Well-child visits take in specific questions about your child's development and behavior. Your PCP will do certain health screenings at certain ages. Some things that may be checked include:
Wellness visits are also vital because they often involve getting needed immunizations on time. That protects your child 24/7. If children don’t have their shots, they are at greater risk for some serious diseases. They could also spread those diseases to their friends and family.
Children need vaccines to stay healthy, from when they are babies to their teens. Your PCP may remind you about them during an annual well-child visit.
Vaccines are a reliable way to prevent diseases. Many of them work by exposing your body to a very small amount of weak or dead versions of germs or viruses. Your immune system then builds up resources to fight those bugs in the future. Vaccines have slowed or stopped the spread of polio, measles, mumps and other diseases in the U.S.
Getting vaccinated also helps protect other people. Some people, such as very young babies, pregnant women, and those getting care for cancer or other health problems, might not be able to get some vaccines. One way to protect them is to make sure people around them are fully vaccinated. That lowers the chance of spreading these diseases. If you have questions, talk to your PCP or your child’s PCP.
We offer new Wellness Guidelines each year that include specific recommendations for preventive care, immunizations and screenings for adults and children. Check out the Wellness Guidelines to find out what preventive care you and your family need to stay healthy.
Originally published 3/2/2021; Reviewed 2022
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, a Division of Health Care Service Corporation,
a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
© Copyright 2024 Health Care Service Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Telligent is an operating division of Verint Americas, Inc., an independent company that provides and hosts an online community platform for blogging and access to social media for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois.
File is in portable document format (PDF). To view this file, you may need to install a PDF reader program. Most PDF readers are a free download. One option is Adobe® Reader® which has a built-in screen reader. Other Adobe accessibility tools and information can be downloaded at https://access.adobe.com.
You are leaving this website/app ("site"). This new site may be offered by a vendor or an independent third party. The site may also contain non-Medicare related information. Some sites may require you to agree to their terms of use and privacy policy.
Powered by Telligent