Your throat feels like it’s on fire, your head is throbbing, your nose is congested and you feel like all you want to do is lie on your couch and watch a movie. If you have these symptoms than you are probably coming down with the dreaded head cold. Nobody likes to get sick (unless maybe you are looking for an excuse to get out of a social obligation). Still, having a sore throat is painful, having a stuffy nose is uncomfortable and having coughing attacks is just plain annoying to yourself and everyone around you.
It seems that there something about this time of year that is making everyone sick. I am noticing more sneezes in my classes, my friends who hate tea are now drinking it by the gallon, and suddenly people are denying their best friends a sip of their water bottle saying “I don’t want to get you sick, sweetie.”
Some possible hypotheses why everyone is all of a sudden catching a cold:
1. We are not used to budgeting our time for schoolwork after summer. We always think that our teachers are going to ease into the schoolwork since we’re only in our first few weeks of classes…but they don’t. As a result we are up until the early hours of the morning finishing the work we didn’t expect to have.
2. It’s the beginning of the school year so students are going out more, then getting back at 2 am, ordering a pizza, not getting to bed until 3 am, and then not catching up on their sleep because of reason #1.
3. The temperature inside and outside is constantly changing. DC’s weather is unpredictable: first it’s hot and sunny, then it’s cold and rainy, then there’s a hurricane, then finally it’s muggy and hot. One building has the air conditioning blasting on high and another one is so hot you’re sweating. Our bodies don’t react well to these weather and climate changes.
4. And if you didn’t get sick from reasons 1-3, GW girls in Greek life this past weekend were exposed to the germs and illness of 700+ girls while going through recruitment.
So now that many of our friends have already gotten sick, how can we avoid catching what they have? Here are 5 tips to try, especially if you notice someone around you is suddenly feeling under the weather.
1. Don’t touch your face. Try to stop touching your eyes, nose and mouth, as this is how germs from your hands enter your body. On that note, try not to bite your nails since lots of germs can get under your fingernails.
2. Wash your hands immediately after shaking hands with people or touching money and other fomites. A fomite is any inanimate object that is capable of transmitting infectious disease. For example- if your friend is sick and sneezes on his or her hand, touches a doorknob, that doorknob is a fomite. If you then touch that same doorknob, it’s very easy to catch your friend’s cold. Prevent this from happening by always washing your hands after touching a fomite, especially before you eat! Use hand sanitizer wherever and whenever if you don’t have access to soap and water.
3. Don’t share drinks. If people around you are sick don’t share drinks with them. No matter how delicious their drink looks, unless you’re choking on a piece of food, it’s probably not worth drinking from your sick friend’s cup and waking up the next morning with the sniffles and a sore throat.
4. Sleep more. Although you’re already struggling to get the recommended 8 hours of sleep, your body needs more sleep than usual when fighting off illness. If you sleep a little more as soon as you feel like you might be getting sick, you have a better chance of fighting the cold before it gets worse.
5. Eat the right foods. There are many studies discussing the effects Vitamin C has on preventing colds, and there is still some debate. Research shows that it probably won’t prevent your cold but it might make it a little milder. Since Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin (meaning if you take too much you will urinate out the excess) there is no real harm in consuming a little more than you usually take. So, if you are a strong believer that Vitamin C will keep you from catching a cold then try eating an orange or two, but don’t go crazy. In general try to eat healthy foods like fruits and vegetables that will help your immune system.
Germs and illnesses are always circulating, especially on a college campus where we are in constant contact with so many other students. Try sticking to these tips throughout the year to prevent colds and other serious illnesses.
If you already caught a cold, rest up, drink lots of fluids and consult your doctor on how to get rid of it.
For some tips on how to treat a cold naturally check out WebMd:
http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/9-tips-to-treat-colds-and-flu-the-natu…
Here’s some more information on Vitamin C so you can decide for yourself if it will help your cold:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002404.htm