News Taffy

The air is getting colder and the leaves are starting to fall. Students all over campus are starting to sniffle and sneeze on their way to classes as flu season is upon us. It can be rough getting out on your own without mom and dad around, but what can be worse than that is getting sick without your parents there to take care of you.

My freshman year, I found myself with a 100+ fever curled up in my dorm wishing I had my parents just a few minutes away to come take care of me, though I know they would have taken the three hours to get here had I asked. It was awful. Being sick is one thing, but being sick with no one around to make you feel better is even worse. But that’s just how life goes.

So, before you find yourself in this situation, here are a few things you should keep on hand.

• Ibuprofen- fever reducer, pain reliever, takes care of any aches and pains. It’s a must.
• Nighttime Cold Medicine- It will help you sleep on those nights you get sick before a big test or presentation.
• Pepto- You never know when the food in the caf will ruin your day.
• Multivitamins- To build you back up after you’ve been sick and to prevent you from getting sick again. Now that you’ve got what it takes to get over your illness, here are a few things to do if you get sick at school.
• First, email your professor if you aren’t going to be in class. They need to know so they can let you know what you’ve missed.
• Then, stay in bed and try to stay out of people’s way. If you share a room with someone, don’t get in contact with them.
• Keep a can of disinfectant handy to spray down anything you may come in contact with. If you spread the sickness, it may keep circling back around and seemingly never end.
• And finally, if you are able, take this time to work on any assignments that will be dues when you get back to school. Getting behind on your work is almost impossible to recover from in college.

So, now you’ve got some basics of how to take care of yourself when mom and dad aren’t around. No, it’s not fun. But, you’ve got to grow up sometime.

See ya around campus
- Beth