Schools can become a breeding
ground for germs during
the winter months, but there
are several steps one can take
to help fight off illnesses.
As if college wasn’t stressful
enough, the battle to stay
healthy within its packed walls
provides a challenge not unlike
a series of trigonometry tests.
Take a moment to imagine
the array of microscopic warriors
marching across keyboards,
door handles and other
objects shared by the student
body’s thousands of fingers.
Now think of all the times you
have placed your own digits on
these objects before rubbing
your eyes or chewing on your
nails.
Without a doubt, schools are
one of the ultimate breeding
pits for colds, flu’s and an
assortment of gastric nasties
that can rip through one’s body
with the ferocity and surprise
of a guerilla attack, leaving
their victims gasping for breath
and dreaming of healthier
times. No one thinks of aching
bones and scratchy throats
while healthy. But when under
siege from one of these viruses,
it is hard to remember what
it felt like before the illness
took over.
Vivid details of each sneeze,
cough and whatever else had
accompanied the person’s
week of hell are spun into a
campfire-like tales told around
the water cooler so everyone
within earshot can be privy to
how many trips to the bathroom
came with this particular
stomach bug package deal. As
these stories begin to echo
throughout the cafeteria, the
first and foremost thought to
materialize in the minds of
innocent passersby is “I sure
hope I don’t get that.”
Hundreds of products flood
store shelves these days, promising
a boost to the immune
system in the forms of vitamin
C powders, supplements created
from natural ingredients,
etc. Little harm will probably
come from taking these products,
but little good will result
as well. The power to surviving
the virus-ridden months of
October to April actually lies
in one’s hands. granted that
they are clean.
TIP 1: Try, at all costs, to
avoid touching your eyes, nose
and mouth. Although nerves
begin to fray upon hearing that
you just got cozy next to someone
basted in Swine Flu leftovers,
you have a bigger
chance of transmitting the bug
to yourself via hand-to-mouth
contact.
TIP 2: A good, thorough
scrubbing of one’s hands following
a class and before all
meals and snacks can keep you
safe and healthy. Take at least
20 seconds to get all of the
nooks and crannies, especially
under your fingernails – a virtual
foxhole and last resort for
the bugs to take cover in.
TIP 3: When leaving the
bathroom, use a paper towel to
open the door no matter how
many pangs of OCD you may
feel. Don’t let 20 seconds of
hand washing be in vain by
grabbing that nasty door handle
without protection.
TIP 4: No matter how much
homework you have to do,
never blow off a meal or a
good night’s sleep in order to
get it done in time for the new
episode of “Jersey Shore.”
Your body craves a regular
amount of nutrition as well as
quality sack time in order to
keep functioning properly.
And remember. protein bars
are not meals.
TIP 5: Try not to worry.
Even if the person next to you
is going overboard with the
hyperbole on his or her bout
with the flu, don’t automatically
begin questioning the distance
between yourself and the
potentially contagious narrator.
The more you stressed you are
about coming down with a
bug, the more likely you are to
become sick.
TIP 6: If you are feeling sick,
it is best to stay home. School
will still be here when you are
feeling better and you probably
just saved your classmates
from a couple days of illness.