It’s that time of year. The air is getting crisper, Tucson is hitting a chilly 65 degrees at night, and Pumpkin Spice lattes have made their annual debut back into Starbucks. When you live in Tucson, it’s easy to forget that seasons actually exist. It’s nearly November and out here, it’s still acceptable to be wearing shorts and flip flops every day. In most parts of the country, our collegiettepeers are breaking out their Uggs, North Face jackets, and waking up to snow every day. Hard to believe, isn’t it? Another part of this lovely season that we don’t often think about in the desert: cold and flu season.
As an out-of-state freshman from snowy Colorado, I understand this time of year very well. It’s usually around the first Colorado snow of the year (mid-October) when everyone starts coming down with some sort of illness. I’m always sure to restock my DayQuill supply, take inventory of Kleenex boxes, and brace myself for the chest cold/influenza/strep throat that I’m bound to get. Call me paranoid, but I like to stay prepared. Why do I stay so prepared, you might ask? Because it always happens. Every year, without fail, I get sick before the end of October. In fact, I recently had the wonderful pleasure (note the sarcasm) of spending most of my Halloween weekend in my dorm room with a box of tissues, a bag of cough drops, and my newfound discovery of all three seasons of Arrested Development on Hulu. Like I said: it alwayshappens to me. I know I’m not the only one who’s been feeling this way: more and more people have been missing from classes, the dorm seems quieter, and Highland Market seems as if they are forever sold out of NyQuill when I need it the most.
For the upperclassmen, this may seem like no big deal for you. Unfortunately, for us baby first-years, the first time being sick away from home is a less-than-stellar experience. This isn’t simply because our moms are no longer around to make us soup at the drop of a hat, but because being sick in college is just plain dreadful. There’s no better way to explain it. In high school, our teachers were sympathetic and forgiving if we stayed home sick. In college, our professors could care less. For those of us who have a job (or two, or three), our work-study fund or our food fund depends on our job, and missing a day or two of work can take a toll on our paychecks. We have roommates now, so we’re constantly guilted with getting them sick or disturbing their sleep with our hacking coughs. For my fellow out-of-state students, it just doesn’t seem right to have the flu when its 90 degrees out, which makes it that much worse. Our parents are no longer around to call us out of class, and we’re forced to deal with illness like the adults we recently became. For those who are suffering a chest cold, the flu, mono or any other fall/winter sickness for the first time at the U of A: fret not. You’re not alone, and together, we can overcome feeling tired and gross day in and day out. But how?
Well, first of all, I have two words for you: Hand and Sanitizer. Get an enormous tub for your dorm, a small one for your keys, your purse, and your laptop case. During the day, we don’t realize how many things we touch. Door handles, keypads outside of the dorm, desks, pencils used to write down your order at The Cellar, computers, lab equipment, the elliptical machine, and the phone at work are just a few of the many things our hands experience all day. Since you can’t exactly avoid all of this, I suggest you make hand sanitizer your new best friend. This will stop more germs from getting to you, and if you’re already sick, this will stop the nearly inevitable spread of germs.
Go to Campus Health. Seriously. I know it’s out of the way for many of us, and their hours are never convenient, but self-medication strictly with DayQuill and NyQuill isn’t always the road to recovery. You might think you just have a cold, but it could be something more serious that requires the assistance of antibiotics. Plus, if your friends are getting annoyed with the fact that you now spend most of your free time asleep, they can no longer hold it over your head that you haven’t gone to the doctor. Campus Health has much more affordable fees than most places in Tucson and it’s right on campus, so you can’t go wrong.
Along with hand sanitizer, get your hands on some vitamin C. The best way to go is to take straight supplements which can be found at any pharmacy or Whole Foods store. You can also get ridiculous amounts of vitamin C in oranges, strawberries, and Odwalla/Naked juices. Vitamin C, as we all know, boosts your immunity to sickness and is the best thing to consume when you’re sick. If you feel a cold coming on, stock up on health supplements like AirBorne and start taking them before you feel noticeably ill. They can help lessen the intensity and severity of your sickness, and they’re great for your immune system!
Lastly, but most certainly not least, take care of yourself! I promise: it’s okay to spend a night or weekend in if you’re not feeling up to it. The more you put off taking care of yourself, the longer your illness will last and the harder it will be to get rid of. The same goes for class and work: I can nearly guarantee that your boss and employers would rather have you recovering at home than infecting everybody else in the office or classroom. Your friends, boss, and classmates will understand. If you don’t keep your health in line, there’s an extremely good chance that it will be less than easy to keep your grades, job, clubs, and social life in line too.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Arizona chapter.