During my short period of time of attending Washington State University, I have been sick more times to count. At college, you are constantly within close proximities with other students and faculty members. From dorm halls, Greek houses, and class buildings, students are always surrounded by possible sicknesses, especially during the fall and winter time.
When a student is sick, there are usually no excuses to be made for missing class or important events, unless you fall into the situation of finding yourself in the emergency room.
To make the time of having a cold or the flu easier, here are 10 things that every student needs when sick at college.
1. Medications
Essential to any medicinal box, pain-relievers such as Tylenol and Advil help with minimizing symptoms of cold and other viruses. If one is having trouble sleeping due to bad congestion or a cough, NyQuil is a beautiful thing. Remember, only use medications if necessary.
2. Emergen-C or Airborne
These tablets are rich in yummy vitamin and mineral supplements to either help prevent an oncoming cold or help the student feel better when going through the progression of a cold.
3. Vicks VapoRub
This topical ointment warms up to touch and helps soothe chest, back, and throat pain. This is nice when someone is very congested or has body aches.
4. Heating pad
This is essential for any student's medicinal pack. It relieves muscle pain, body aches, and any discomfort. Heating pads are just nice to have, especially for girls who have to go through the monthly event of having a period and the suffering that comes with that.
5. FLUIDS!
Water! Apple Juice! Tea! 7-UP! Keeping up with fluids is essential for speeding the progress of a cold or flu. The fluids replace any fluids lost from a fever, and they also help loosen and push out mucus to relieve congestion. You just generally feel a lot better with a constant flow of fluids in your body anyway.
6. Soft foods
Having yogurt or apple juice in a students' mini fridge is nice, especially if the student is dealing with a bad sore throat or dealing with food poisoning where it is hard to get food down. If the food has the ability to scratch the throat it can be very painful for a sore throat.
7. Cozy blanket
Every student in college needs a fuzzy or heating blanket. When going through the process of having cold sweats and heat flashes, having an extra blanket is nice to have on hand. It is important to keep the body covered in a decent amount of clothing and layers to help with body temperature at all points of a cold or the flu.
8. Ice pack
Having a small ice pack in a minifridge is nice to have, especially when dealing with the symptoms of a fever. Cooling down the body during the period of a fever by placing an ice pack on the student's forehead is important and relieving.
9. Humidifier
Not always necessary, but having a humidifier in the dorm room next to the student's bed helps with putting moisture back in the air of the room. This moisture helps with relieving congestion and improving sleep, which is very important to get enough of when sick.
10. Friends
Having someone to grab you some of the items listed above or be there for you when you need some company is comforting to have. If the student is so under the weather that it makes them miss a class or two, it is nice to have friends or acquaintances in the class that have the ability to send the student notes or important information that the student needs to have in order to have an easier time getting back into the swing of things once they feel better.
