Picture yourself sitting in a literature class on a college campus. You are listening to the professor lecture about the story of Shakespeare’s Tempest, when all of a sudden the student in the front row lets out a roaring cough. You are taken away from the lecture for a few seconds, but then get back on track. A sniffle escapes from the student behind you. Your attention is taken again. You try bringing it back to the lecture, but you are distracted again when the student next to you catches a wet sneeze in his hands. Suddenly, you feel suffocated by the thought of germs floating around in the classroom.

College campuses are known for harvesting a wide variety of highly contagious illnesses each year. This time of year in particular is prime time for those illnesses to spread rapidly. College students are more prone to these illnesses because they experience things like a lack of sleep, unhealthy eating habits, a massive amount of stress, and sharing a tight communal living area. These viruses can spread through the air and close contact with infected people, for example roommates and other residents in the resident halls. All it takes is one student to get a simple cold, before half the campus is taken over by it.

According to the CDC, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average adult will experience about two to four colds per year. College campuses experience illnesses like the common cold, influenza, stomach bug, pink eye, mono, and many more. The majority of colleges have a history of these illnesses. More specifically, students usually visit the health services department on campus for cases like the common cold, bronchitis, sore throat, stomach bug (gastroenteritis) and influenza.

College campuses almost always have a health service department, which is where students can go to seek help in various areas of personal health. Health services, according to the one at Regis College, will see approximately 5 to 10 cases per week of students feeling flu and cold like symptoms starting in the late fall straight through the winter months. It is an excellent resource for students year round. They offer yearly influenza vaccines and students are able to make appointments for check-ups, referrals, and other services. According to the CDC, about 80 percent of infectious diseases are spread by touch. That’s why college campuses put sanitize dispensers and disinfectant wipes in popular locations on campus, like the cafeteria, the gym, and the library.

If there is an influenza vaccine offered every year, why are some years worse than others? According to an epidemiologist, the main circulating strain of flu might not always be a good match to the vaccine, so the overall effectiveness of the vaccine preventing disease can be fairly low or high depending on how the strain matches up. They went on to explain that the effectiveness of the vaccine with a not so great match could range from near 25 percent, but in a season with a good match it could be closer to 60 percent or higher.

Although there is no sure way to prevent the common cold from spreading, there are specific things you can do to protect yourself from getting sick and staying healthy this time of year. Good hand washing, eating healthy, getting enough rest and exercising to keep the immune system healthy are some of the most common and effective ways to stay healthy as the cold and flu season approaches. Also, staying home if sick to avoid spreading illnesses.