Feeling Sick Or Know Someone Who Is?

By Alicia Smith

Many people will inevitably catch the flu, a cold, or COVID19 this year. Students are especially prone to catching an illness when many people are packed together in groups and in smaller spaces, like a classroom. What you can do to stay healthy, especially during the semester, includes a number of ways. Staying healthy should be every students’ priority.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (more commonly known as the CDC) estimates that 35 million to 65 million people will get the flu during the 2023/2024 flu season. Don’t be part of a statistic; stay healthy. Here are suggestions from the CDC website on how to stay healthy.

1. Avoid Close Contact (social distance)
2. Stay Home When Sick
3. Cover Your Mouth And Nose When Sneezing/Coughing
4. Wash Your Hands With Soap And Water
5. Avoid Touching Eyes, Mouth And Nose
6. Take Steps For Cleaner Air
7. Practice Good Hygiene And Other Healthy Habits

Cheri Yager, Nursing Services Supervisor Wellness Center, adds the following points:

1. Proper rest. Making sure to achieve adequate sleep and taking breaks as needed to ensure the body is recharged.
2. Stay hydrated. Water is highly recommended although alternatives that are water based, like tea, will also work.
3. Eat as healthy as you can. As college students, eating on the go is important. However, because we eat on the go, we normally grab whatever is convenient and often enough that is not what is most healthy. Taking a little time the day before or waking up a little earlier to prepare food and snacks can help with eating healthier.
4. Wash hands and surfaces. Wash your hands for 20 seconds with water and soap. For surfaces, sanitizing wipes will work. If it is concern about dry, itchy, cracking skin, use lotion to rehydrate the skin. Try to sanitize your hands when you touch commonly touched surfaces and objects, such as tables, and door handles.
5. Social distance and becarefun in crowds. Regardless of whether you are sick or healthy, social distancing can help to prevent getting other people sick as well as help keep you healthy. Generally, keeping about six feet apart is best.
6. Make sure your immunizations are up to date. Did you get the flu shot this year? Making sure your immunizations are up to date will help with ensuring that should you get sick, your symptoms may not be as strong.
7. Avoid touching your face. We’ve all heard this as children. By keeping your hands away from your face you prevent bacteria from your hands getting into your bodily systems, therefore reducing the chance of illness.

Some common symptoms of the flu are: fever, muscle aches, chills and sweats, headaches, tiredness, and runny or stuffy nose. What should you do if you do get sick? Stay home, social distance, test for COVID19 if you feel it necessary, get rest, stay hydrated, green tea, vitamins.

Students can greatly benefit from getting the flu shot because it will lessen the intensity of the symptoms should you become sick. Although many people think that the shot will prevent the illness, that isn’t entirely true. There is a small chance that the illness will be prevented. The primary reason people should get their annual flu shot is so that if they get sick, it will not be as intense.