The sick and tired blues

You’ve gotta love the fall weather. This year, we’re getting plenty of rain, blustery winds, and sharp rises and falls in temperature. It’s no wonder why every class I go to contains a constant harmony of achoo, hackhack, and, worst of all, bleghuhhuh. Sometimes, I just don’t understand why people who act like they should be on their death beds come to class. Do you really want us to feel your pain that badly?
    Getting sick at Syracuse is pretty much inevitable. We’re not even at the prime sick season yet, so it’s better to be prepared now rather than wait until later. The most important thing you can do for your body is actually pay attention to the weather. If you have a cold and decide to walk around in shorts and flip flops on a fall rainy day, your immune system is going to hate you. Put some real shoes on, people!
    Besides footwear, you need to realize when it’s time to throw in the towel and put on that extra layer of clothing—namely, a jacket. I know we all like to go without as long as possible, as a jacket means the horrendous winter is that much closer to striking down on us, but it’s necessary. You can’t pick Syracuse as your college of choice without owning a collection of jackets prepared for rain, wind and snow.
    Step two to helping your immune system cope with the weather shock is even simpler: wash your hands. We’re taught this since we’re children, so the concept shouldn’t be hard to grasp. I watch people walk out of the bathroom without washing their hands on almost a daily basis. Um, ew? First off, skipping the soap and water will save you a grand total of 30 seconds of time at the most. There’s no reason not to at least do a quick rinse with some soap.
    Besides looking out for those nasty non-hand-washers covered in germs, pay attention to the people around you throughout the day. It may sound harsh, but simply seating yourself away from the class snifflers and making out with the bf for a few minutes rather than an hour can make a huge difference in your germ exposure. Just let your buds know that while you’re there for them in their time of need in illness, you’d rather be there for them in another room.
    Lastly, it’s important to consider what you’re putting into your body. If you feel a cold coming on, start drinking some tea and extra OJ to help fight it before it starts. A lot of young adults (are we 20ish year olds considered young adults?) also don’t realize the importance of taking vitamins. I’m not talking spending an hour at breakfast in the morning popping pills like your grandparents. A nice dose of an all-in-one type vitamin or an extra dose of Vitamin C never hurt anyone! And if it makes you feel any better, I eat fiber pills, calcium chews and a normal vitamin every morning.
    Let’s just face the facts. We’re getting older and our bodies, while in their prime now, aren’t always going to be this way. If we don’t take care of what we have now, can you just imagine the potential horrors we’ll face when we’re older? I’d rather suck up as much calcium as I can now then have to worry about breaking a hip at bingo night later.