Preventing and Overcoming Seasonal Illnesses in College

Fall is the best time of year if you’re a college student. Football season starts, the school year begins, and you can meet plenty of new people. However, all that socializing is sure to expose you to your fair share of colds, flu, viruses, and diseases. Navigating runny noses and blocked ears can be a real pain if you’re eager to make the most of your college journey and don’t want to spend the entire semester stuck in your dorm room.

As a student, you can prevent infection and recover quickly from seasonal illnesses by taking a few strategic steps to boost your immune system and mitigate the risk of catching a cold. Even simple changes, like creating a care package before you get stuck can make a world of difference to your time on campus.

Creating a Care Package

Creating an illness recovery plan might not be at the top of your priorities before the new semester starts. However, you won’t have time to buy cold and flu medicine during finals week of the winter semester and will thank yourself for pulling together a robust care package before school gets busy. When shopping for care package essentials, be sure to include:

Sheet masks to bring a healthy glow back to your skin;
A few fancy (non-alcoholic) drinks like specialty teas and sparkling sodas;
Lotions and face sprays to freshen up after a day spent stuck in bed;
Puzzles and easy-reading books to occupy your mind.

These items will help you feel a little better about yourself when you’re filled with a cold and can’t get to campus for classes. Puzzles and books are a welcome distraction, as are cheap video games from your childhood. Just remember to stock up on plenty of immune-system-boosting, perishable items like:

Water and hydration tablets;
Cold and flu medicine (preferably from your home state for a little nostalgia boost);
Vitamin C and Zinc drinks/pills;
Plenty of fruits, vegetables, and honey to alleviate symptoms.

Depending on your symptoms, you may want to pick up some aloe tissue paper to reduce the risk of irritation when blowing your nose. You can also pick up a humidifier if you live in a dry state or can breathe in steam with lengthy showers to open your airways.

Habits to Avoid Infection

In an ideal world, you’d never have to deal with seasonal illnesses. However, around 34% of college students are diagnosed with colds/flu every year — and many do not report their sickness. As such, it’s highly likely that you’ll need to be around people who are actively ill while on campus. You can mitigate the risk of catching seasonal illness by:

Getting a flu shot;
Actively practicing self-care throughout the semester;
Regularly washing your hands, cleaning towels, and avoiding close contact during flu season;
Prioritizing sleep;
Eating enough vitamin D;
Minimizing alcohol intake.

These strategies can boost your immune system and give your body a fighting chance when faced with colds and flu. Following a healthier lifestyle can boost your academic performance, too, as you’ll need plenty of rest if you want to perform at your best during exam season.

When to Stay Home

If you fall ill during the semester with a common seasonal cold, you should make every effort to avoid transmitting your sickness to others. This is key, as colds can spread quickly on campus and undermine the health of the wider student body.

However, staying in your dorm or in your own room doesn’t necessarily mean you have to stop learning. Instead, email professors to see if they offer remote learning opportunities. Most professors will be keen to keep you away from the classroom when you have a cold and many educators have plenty of experience with remote learning thanks to the pandemic.

If you do stay in your dorm, make the space as comfortable as possible by keeping up with hygiene and maintaining a warm, bright living space. If you’re just staying in a single room, you can save some money by utilizing a space heater rather than turning on the central heating. What makes space heaters effective is their ability to warm up small rooms using little energy or space, so they’re perfect for when:

You’re heating a single room;
Your living space has poor insulation;
You want to keep your bills low.

A space heater can reduce the risk of your living space becoming damp, too. This is crucial, as damp spaces provide a perfect home for bacteria that will linger and make recovery from a seasonal illness that much harder.

Conclusion

Avoiding every seasonal illness is all but impossible. However, you can reduce your risk of falling ill by taking proactive steps to improve your hygiene and protect your holistic health. This will strengthen your immune system and reduce your risk of exposure. If you do fall ill with a common cold, stay home and break into your care package kit to boost your morale and speed up your recovery.