This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at George Mason University chapter.
I can’t tell you how many times I got sick freshman year. It seemed like every other week I was dealing with a cold or extreme grogginess– I’m sure my roommate hated me. No matter what brand of cold medicine or how many cups of soup I had, nothing could make my throat stop burning and it only got worse once the winter came around. While living in a tightly pack dorm room isn’t ideal, it is how college goes. As it gets cold, we start spending more and more time indoors and cold viruses spread like wild fire among floor mates. We have been told since we were children to always wash our hands, but even then sometimes that’s not enough to keep away the germs. Then comes the everlasting internal argument of whether to go to class or not. Is being a sick hot mess in class really what you want to do? Here are some simple things that we all can keep note of to clean up the aforementioned mess of a sickness:
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Drink TONS of water. It is important to fill your body with good fluids to flush out of the the toxins brought on by the cold. Orange juice works just as well.
- Eat cold combating foods which consist of mostly veggies: avocados, tomatoes, spinach, and carrots, they are full of vitamin C that will help fight the cold. Go to Southside and make a giant salad paired with the soup of the day.
- Get as much sleep as possible. I know that is an absurd idea in college, but it really is key to your health in helping getting rid of the nasty cold.
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Have a college flu kit. Go back to your girl scout days when you would prepare first aid kits and make yourself a box full of anything you would need in case of a sudden cold. Tissues, cough syrup, acetaminophen, instant soups, sports drinks, germ-x and a
thermometer. If it is one of those days where you just can’t get out of bed at least you will have everything you need.
- Keep your hands off your face. Germs are mostly in your hands so when you go to flick your hair out of your eyes, or fix your mascara after IT Lab realize that you are transferring all of the germs from that keyboard to your face.
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Vitamins are important. Remember the Flintstone vitamins you took as a kid? Well it is important to take them as young adults too, it is hard to get every bit of nutrients you need from campus goods, so take adult vitamins to keep your body stable.
- The most common diseases found on a college campus are, Mono (fever, sore throat and swollen glands), Influenza (fever, weak, chills, and vomiting), and Bronchitis (tired, sore chest and throat). If you think you have one of these stay in bed, call the doctor or try to make it to student health in one piece.
An apple a day keeps the doctor a way isn’t always true. The best way to not get sick is prevention and an apple just isn’t going to cut it. Your health is in your hands. Taking care of your body and eating right are the only ways to (try) not getting sick this winter.