By Emily Schoch | Staff Writer
Back to school season brings a plethora of new stressors, but sickness doesn’t have to be one of them.
While the beginning of the fall semester normally brings cases of strep, flu, stomach viruses and colds, there are precautions students can take to stay healthy as school starts again, according to Dr. Sharon Stern, Baylor University Health Services medical director.
According to Stern, sickness is common among college students because students usually live in close proximity with each other. Living in dorms, apartments and even houses puts students with direct contact with each other constantly.
“Infections like strep throat and mono are primarily spread by eating, drinking after each other and really close contact,” Stern said. “Viruses such as colds can be caught if you’re within three feet of the person.”
Touching highly-populated surfaces is a big contributor to spreading germs and getting sick, according to Stern. Germs that students pick up on their hands are eventually transferred to their face, where there is no barrier between the germs and a student’s immune system.
“What you need to do is pay attention to your hands,” Stern said. “We all touch the same surfaces such as doorknobs and railings. A good rule of thumb is try not to touch your face unless you’ve just washed your hands.”
Health Center nurse practitioner Heather Clinton said it’s important to limit contact with people who are sick. While it may seem impossible to limit contact with a sick roommate living a few feet away, it is doable.
“If you’re sharing a dorm room with someone and they’re sick, you can try to stick to your half of the room the best you can,” Clinton said. “Sanitize shared surfaces, and that can help decrease transmission of most viral illnesses. Bleaching the door handles, light switches, microwave and fridge handles and the faucets will help a whole lot.”
While the common cold is a problem in and of itself, Clinton said food poisoning is also more common than students realize.
“Mostly food poisoning is from bacteria that develop in certain foods because they were handled improperly, like not stored at a good temperature or left out for too long,” Clinton said. “But then there are also viruses that can cause gastrointestinal symptoms. Sometimes it can be tough to figure out [if you had] food poisoning versus a stomach virus.”
Though there have not been any outbreaks of food poisoning yet, Clinton said it is smart to take preventative measures now, rather than facing it in the future.
“[As] a general rule, it’s a good idea not to share foods and drinks,” Clinton said. “That can be one way [to] decrease transmission.”
