Katherine Daniel ~ Editor in Chief
It is finally that time of the season for…sickness! The flu, stomach bug, and allergies acting up, are all around in our air. It is around that time in the school year where everyone on campus is getting sick, especially if they live in the dorms. For me, my allergies have been the worse because of the weather changing from 75 degrees one day to 40 degrees another day. It is hard to take care of yourself while being sick at school, but here are some tips to get you on the path to feeling better and getting out of your room to go to class.
- Drink lots of tea with honey or a hot drink.
Drinking tea or coffee always soothes my throat whenever I am sick and adding honey to the tea will only help! Every kind of tea has its own personal benefits for you so you can never go wrong with a cup of tea while sick. Hot coffee is always a plus too because you have your different flavors and creamers to choose from as well. I love drinking coffee when I am sick to soothe my throat. Different teas provide you with different nutrients, and the more nutrients your body has, the better it will feel. My personal favorite flavor of tea is salted caramel tea.
- Get a good amount of rest.
Something my mom is always tells me when I am sick is that “sleep is the best healer.” I have to say, in my experience with getting sick, making sure that I am getting enough sleep has always helped in my process of feeling better. For me, some evenings I get in the bed at 1 a.m., so that does not help me when needing to get rest. Make sure when you are sick to have good time management when keeping up with school work so you do not get behind. One thing to be careful of is to be sure that you are not getting too much sleep because that could have opposite effects.
- Make an appointment with the health center or at a doctor’s office.
If you don’t feel better in a couple of days, it is best to either make an appointment with the student health center or a doctor’s office, or go to a local MedExpress Urgent Care to see if you can be prescribed any antibiotics to help you get better. The important thing to remember about antibiotics is to also take probiotics to balance it out and to help you boost your immune system in the future.
- Stock up on soup and crackers.
A lot of times, being sick also means having a weak stomach, so eating light foods like soup is always the best route to take until your stomach is strong enough for more solid foods. Usually when I am sick, my favorite soup is chicken noodle soup, vegetable soup or wild rice soup that my mom makes. Also, try to eat toast or crackers with your soup to help settle your stomach.
- If you are able to, go home.
Finally, staying in the dorms may be one of the factors in your lack of healing. If a parent can come and get you, or if there is any way for you to go home, you should take advantage of this. I know for me, I never went home when I was sick, but some other people that I know did. Do not worry so much about missing class, if you email your professors and either have a doctor’s note, they will most likely be understanding but make sure to not procrastinate on your work.
- Stay in your bed and take a personal day.
Taking a personal day when you are sick is okay. It will make you feel better and not as tired going to class the next day. You can eat some soup, kick back, and watch some TV, so that the next day you will be feeling refreshed.