Student sickness survival guide

(photo by Cristina Rucchetta)
(photo by Cristina Rucchetta)

Sniffling? Coughing? Upchucking? Bedridden for what seems like the most important weekend of second semester? Or just sick and tired of being sick and tired?

This is an issue that many students can sympathize with. The cold and flu season has reached the Kitchener-Waterloo area and is in full blow amongst the student body. Having the social butterfly reputation within the intimate Laurier campus size, there is bound to be some wide spread cold catching.

Thankfully, remedies are available. After gathering up some tips an ideas I have crafted a ‘Student Sickness Survival Guide’ that might save you a trip to the dreaded Waterloo walk-in–clinic, whose lineup sometimes rivals The Fox on a Tuesday night. This list has some quick tips, advice and recommendations that can hopefully get you through your queasy experience.

First thing’s first, you have to make sure you are in fact, sick. It’s easy to mistake your sore rave-screaming vocal chords as strep throat or your Frat Burger food coma as the stomach flu. But as soon as you get those bipolar chills or an uneasy watery mouth that’s when you start crying for help.

The first survival strategy is simple but important: getting tons of sleep. Beware that getting the sweats is a common side effect of having the flu, so extra pyjamas and a comfortable pillow are recommended. While student housing isn’t equipped with soundproof walls, a good tip to ensure no one disrupts your sleep is to put your fan on to help block out some of the noise.

The next step, is to arm yourself with the survival basics to ensure that any side effects you’re experiencing can be dealt with easily. Ginger ale is great for easing stomach pains and keeping everything down when other foods and beverages are hard to stomach. For that throat that feels like you are swallowing glass, a package of cherry flavored Halls can be used for soothing comfort. Finally for that pounding headache, extra-strength Advil becomes your best friend.

If those tips are not doing the trick, the last piece of advice to offer is this: Vick’s vapour rub. Applied easily on your chest, back and nose, this can provide immediate relief towards any pains or discomforts that you are experiencing.

We all know that getting sick at school is last thing any student wants to experience as we get deep into our assignments within the semester. Hopefully these tips and guidelines can spare you from waiting 8 hours in line at a Waterloo walk-in clinic.

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