Everything is going well, and then one day it happens…you wake up with a scratchy throat that won’t go away when you swallow or suddenly realize you can’t breathe out of your nose. The dreaded college sickness has appeared. While we all try our best to avoid it, sometimes it is just inevitable. Since this is something that I recently experienced and got over, here are some tips and tricks that I learned and figured out throughout my week of being sick that made it a little less grim.
- Medicine
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While this may seem pretty self-explanatory, it wasn’t for me because I did not have any kind of cold medicine with me. Having to go out and walk through a cold campus to buy cold medicine is the last thing anyone wants to do when they are sick. But it truly is a game changer. Getting some DayQuil truly made me feel so much better and made me not want to close my eyes every 10 seconds. If you are like me and hate the taste of liquid medicine, another over-the-counter medicine that helped me was Tylenol Cold and Flu, which comes in a pill form. That also gave me more energy and stopped me from continuously coughing.
- Trash bags
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This seems like a gross tip, but it is truly so useful. Throwing up anywhere is one of the worst things, but in a college dorm room, it is especially gross. If you have a trash can in your room, I would recommend getting trash bags so that it doesn’t get in the actual trash can. This will make it easier to clean, and you won’t have to walk to the trash room with a garbage full of throw-up that needs to be cleaned.
- Rest up!
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It may seem like in college there is always something you have to do or go to, but when you’re sick, you shouldn’t try and do too much. It will just make you feel worse, and you’ll get more germs and also spread those germs to other people. You also may not have a lot of energy to do things, and just resting and getting good sleep can go a long way. It’s ok to miss that class if it means getting you better and rested up!
- find a good TV show or movie
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When I was sick and bored in my dorm, waiting for the day to just go by, I needed something to entertain me. So I went on Netflix and just started watching nostalgic shows from when I was a kid like ICarly, Sam and Cat, Victorious, etc. It seems silly, but it made the time pass in a fun and nostalgic way. I would recommend finding a comfort show or movie to watch and keep you entertained and not just scrolling on your phone for hours on end. It truly makes a huge difference and keeps you from drowning in your sorrows about being sick.
- stay hydrated!
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Drinking fluids is one of the best things that you can do when you’re sick. Being hydrated in general is good, but drinking different fluids makes a difference. Even if you’re someone like me who doesn’t enjoy drinking water that much, there are other options. I would say that drinking things with electrolytes and minerals like Powerade and Gatorade are game changers. They keep you hydrated like water but have more flavor and electrolytes in them! Something else that I did that was helpful was getting flavored water at the dining hall. Here at UConn, the dining halls have different water every day that has different fruits in it to give it more flavor. This was helpful to me since I don’t really enjoy drinking plain water. So if you are like me, and need some flavor in what you drink these are some good alternatives.
While getting sick in college is the worst, I hope that these tips are helpful and can make your college sickness experience even a little bit more bearable!
