It’s that time of the year again: flu and cold season. If you haven’t gotten sick already, you probably will within the next couple of weeks. And if you’re anything like me, you get sick every year around the same time – but why does this happen?
Basically, if you have cold, you’ve contracted some sort of virus. How did you contract this nasty thing? Well, you probably caught it from someone else, whether you were just in close contact with someone who was infected or you touched something that was contaminated with germs, and then touched your nose or mouth. It’s especially easy to catch a virus if you’re living in residence or with several roommates, simply because you’re living in such a confined space with a large amount of people.
According to WebMD, “[a] cold begins when a virus attaches to the lining of your nose or throat. Your immune system — the body’s defense against germs — sends out white blood cells to attack this invader. Unless you’ve had a run-in with that exact strain of the virus before, the initial attack fails and your body sends in reinforcements.”
There are so many different types of viruses that it doesn’t matter if you’ve gotten sick before, because you will most likely not contract that exact same strain again.
It sucks being sick and having to continue to go to classes and keep up with all of your schoolwork. You hate having to sniffle and cough in class because it makes you feel gross, and everyone around you hates the fact that you’re blowing your nose and coughing because they’re afraid of getting sick themselves (and, not gonna lie, it sounds gross too). We need to do the best we can to prevent ourselves from getting sick because midterms are coming (I know, ugh), and being sick and having an increased workload is the worst.
Be careful, because if you’re overworking yourself and are really tired, you have a higher chance of getting sick. I know that it’s hard to get enough sleep and take care of yourself as a student, but try and get 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Is that extra hour of studying at 1 AM really worth it? Because let’s be honest, you’re probably too tired to actually remember anything anyway.
You’re also more likely to get sick if you’re under emotional distress. I know that emotions and stress are running high as our workloads keep getting bigger, and we’ve all got problems in our personal lives. If you need to talk to someone, there are tons of resources on-campus that you can reach out to for help. If you’re in residence, go talk to your don or confide in a friend. For my fellow UTSG commuters, the Health & Wellness Center is a great resource, and it’s conveniently located next to the U of T Bookstore.
Make sure you’re taking care of yourself this cold and flu season. Wash your hands frequently, especially after going to class or tutorial or taking the TTC. Get lots of sleep. Try not to share food or drinks with your friends, even if you really want a bite of their cookies; I know it’s tempting, but don’t do it. Stay hydrated! But try to limit your alcohol consumption because that’s an extremely easy way to weaken your immune system.
And remember, if you have a cold it will probably only last a couple of days, but the flu lasts much longer. I started getting the symptoms of a cold about two weeks ago – sore throat, runny/stuffy nose, headaches – and I’m just now starting to get over it. Why did it last so long? Because that small cold developed into a nasty cough and me needing to purchase several boxes of tissues.
After being sick for about a week, I went to the Health & Wellness Center on St. George to get checked out by a doctor. If you’re sick for more than 5 days, you should definitely use this resource. It’s important to make sure that your sore throat isn’t actually strep throat and that your cold isn’t a bacterial infection, which needs to be treated with antibiotics. Luckily, I didn’t need antibiotics and I’ve been taking care of myself by drinking lots of tea and keeping myself well-rested!
If you’re sick (physically or emotionally), check out these resources:
St. George Campus – Health & Wellness Centre
Mississauga Campus – UTM Health & Counseling Centre
Scarborough Campus – Health & Wellness Centre
References
http://utm.utoronto.ca/health/our-services/medical-care
https://www.studentlife.utoronto.ca/hwc-hours-operation
http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/hwc/contact-us
https://www.studentlife.utoronto.ca/hwc/stay-well
http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/understanding-common-cold-basics#2
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