Classrooms are often filled with coughs and sniffles, especially during the fall semester. By the next morning, students are waking up with sore throats or a headache but still need to attend classes.
Sickness and disease spread throughout campuses extremely quickly.
Calvin Williams, a freshman studying virtual technology and design, said, “I was mostly just sick with a sore throat, but I kind of couldn’t really afford to go miss any classes.”
This is a common student dilemma — attend class while sick because of attendance policies and exams or stay home and risk falling behind.
Sick students who attend class often spread colds and diseases to classmates. This is a big reason why it seems like everyone is sick on campus.
Charla Willis, the medical director of the Vandal Health Clinic, said, “When people come together to one place from many places, that is a classic time to spread germs. We are exposed to new variants of viruses that we haven’t seen before. So, the start of the semester often has more viral illnesses. Coming back from Christmas or spring break is also a classic time.”
One way to reduce the amount of common cold occurrences at UI would be to provide more options for students who are sick to prevent them from contacting other students. If more classes offered a Zoom meeting or recorded lecture where students can watch lectures from home, they could limit exposure to others.
Williams also said, “I wash my hands. That’s mainly it. I make sure to wash my hands before eating if I’ve been out a while.”
The best tried and true way of preventing the common cold is to wash your hands. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, washing hands reduces respiratory illnesses, like colds, in the general population by 16-21%.
If everyone washed their hands consistently, there could be a fifth less sick people on campus, which would hopefully mean that less illnesses spread to everyone else. “The best thing someone can do is to stay as healthy as possible,” Willis said. “Eating healthily, sleeping regularly, exercising. Avoiding smoking or vaping and any more than minimal alcohol. This gives your immune system and your mucosal barriers the best chance at keeping out germs or fighting the few invaders.”
The other good way to prevent infections is to get vaccinated, specifically the yearly flu shot. While the common cold and influenza are not the same thing, it is still a good prevention to be aware of.
“The general ‘flu season’ is in cold weather when people are inside more, so the late fall and winter usually has a lot more influenza cases,” Willis said.
The Vandal Health Clinic starts offering flu shots in October. There are other places to get vaccinated in Moscow such as Walmart, Walgreens, Rosauers and Safeway. Many clinics offer free or low-cost vaccinations with insurance.
Another often-overlooked type of infection that gets spread around campus is sexually transmitted infections. These infections can also cause fevers, soreness and general illness symptoms, so it is important to be aware of what is going on with your body.
“We also see a lot of people at risk for sexually transmitted infections,” Willis said. “It is so important to respect and care for yourself and others. Healthy relationships, not making decisions while impaired, communication; these are all a huge part of ‘safe sex,’ as much or more so than condoms and the decision about preventing some diseases with vaccination.”
STIs can be extremely dangerous, so it is important to engage in safe sex. If you suspect you have problems, you should go be seen by a medical professional.
Despite sickness running rampant on campus, there are easy ways to stay safe and healthy throughout the school year. If campus, classes and students can take extra steps to accommodate sick students, we could have a much healthier campus environment.
Christopher Sprague can be reached at [email protected].