As a reminder, my topic is "Why do so many incoming college freshman get sick as they first step foot on campus?" I chose this topic from personal experience because I got sick three times in one month. This is relevant to the audience because I have heard so many stories from other freshmen who have gotten either mono, a cold, or a bad sinus infection like I did. Take this topic into consideration especially if you are a freshman while I educate you about how you can stay away from these sicknesses. Through my research so far, I have learned to always drink lots of water because that is the number one reason why students like us get sick. Also to stay away from the caffeine. Caffeine may sometimes give you energy, but not as much energy sleep can give you (42 College Tips). Next, is to get the vaccines recommended such as the flu shot to prevent an overall outbreak (The vaccines your college freshman needs). For whoever is reading this, all you can do is, is always WASH YOUR HANDS!!! Anitmicrobial soap is always recommended to have when washing your hands. For something to carry around is definitely hand santitizer for when you are on the move and need it for a quick bite to eat and to use it to save you a trip to the bathroom to wash your hands (Kline). For more information, here is a helpful, fun video to help you learn not only more about sicknesses, but also fun health facts that might be beneficial to you:
Sicknesses in general are very uncomfortable (College First: Getting Sick at School). Coughing, sneezing, always tired and achy. There is a cure for that without even going to the doctors. Since you are now out of high school and in college, you are now responsible for yourself. When you are sick and away from home, it is now up to you to know what to do to get well again (College First: Getting Sick at School). As you read on, you will see I have researched everything an incoming freshman will need to know to stay healthy as their college career goes on.
As an incoming freshman going into college, you were so used to the high school germs and were immuned to them. Now that you're in a new environment, they're are new viruses, germs, and bacteria your body is not immuned to yet and that's when the sicknesses start to rule your body. As Tobacman explains in her article, you'll at least get a cold from living in your dorms. She also explains you can get strep throat, the flu, mono, or bacterial meningitis. From reading this article, it is recommended to get vaccines every year such as the flu shot to prevent and outbreak.. Other vaccines to get that is recommended are shots to prevent pneumonia, human papillomavirus, hepatitis A, and meningitis. (The vaccines your freshman needs). To prevent us from getting sick is to wash your hands and to sleep. Dr. Alex Lickerman says, "Sleep is to stave off problems that will affect you in subtle ways (Health tips for freshmen)". Also, drink lots of water since it is a huge reason why most college students get sick is because they are dehydrated.
For when you are sick, some advice is to always have advil, boxes of Kleenex, cough drops, tea, and some movies for entertainment from home. Going out to buy these items is not really a good idea as you continue to spread more germs and continue to collect more germs. Asking your roommate is the way to go for when you are sick, but you shouldn't have to ask them if you had these items from bringing them from home (College First: Getting Sick at School). From personal experience, you should also have Dayquil, Nyquil, soup, and water by your side at all times!!
There are some common reasons of how we college students get these nasty sicknesses. The common reasons are lack of sleep, exposure, diet, stress, and substance abuse. Most teens and adults and more importantly college students need about seven to nine hours of sleep. If we college students do not get enough rest, then we are going to catch the virus that is circulatiing aroumd campus. A college like Western Michigan University, with large numbers of people and very diverse, people are exposed to the viruses of the cold and flu if you live in a very confined space, like the dorms, bathrooms, or cafeteria for example. Your diet is also a main reason why you could get very sick. Eating junk food could lower the resistance to all sorts of diseases. Stress is the largest contributing factor to why college students get sick. It can "cause irritability, depression, increased desire to smoke, back pain, accidents, migraines and weakness. It can also lower your immunity to disease." Last but not least, substance abuse. Peer pressure to use drugs alcohol, cigarettes, and alcohol leads to stress. About 80 percent of college students drink alcohol, but 20 percent of students drink three times in a two week period. Substance abuse could cause injuiries and possibly death by mixing alcohol and drugs (The Reasons College Kids Get Sick). This also hurts your GPA tremendously coming from other college students and by hearing stories about how they forgot to do their projects or homework. Be low shows a chart of how many drinks a students drinks on a weekly basis and the GPA they receive on their performance in the classroom.
As an incoming freshman going into college, you were so used to the high school germs and were immuned to them. Now that you're in a new environment, they're are new viruses, germs, and bacteria your body is not immuned to yet and that's when the sicknesses start to rule your body. As Tobacman explains in her article, you'll at least get a cold from living in your dorms. She also explains you can get strep throat, the flu, mono, or bacterial meningitis. From reading this article, it is recommended to get vaccines every year such as the flu shot to prevent and outbreak.. Other vaccines to get that is recommended are shots to prevent pneumonia, human papillomavirus, hepatitis A, and meningitis. (The vaccines your freshman needs). To prevent us from getting sick is to wash your hands and to sleep. Dr. Alex Lickerman says, "Sleep is to stave off problems that will affect you in subtle ways (Health tips for freshmen)". Also, drink lots of water since it is a huge reason why most college students get sick is because they are dehydrated.
For when you are sick, some advice is to always have advil, boxes of Kleenex, cough drops, tea, and some movies for entertainment from home. Going out to buy these items is not really a good idea as you continue to spread more germs and continue to collect more germs. Asking your roommate is the way to go for when you are sick, but you shouldn't have to ask them if you had these items from bringing them from home (College First: Getting Sick at School). From personal experience, you should also have Dayquil, Nyquil, soup, and water by your side at all times!!
There are some common reasons of how we college students get these nasty sicknesses. The common reasons are lack of sleep, exposure, diet, stress, and substance abuse. Most teens and adults and more importantly college students need about seven to nine hours of sleep. If we college students do not get enough rest, then we are going to catch the virus that is circulatiing aroumd campus. A college like Western Michigan University, with large numbers of people and very diverse, people are exposed to the viruses of the cold and flu if you live in a very confined space, like the dorms, bathrooms, or cafeteria for example. Your diet is also a main reason why you could get very sick. Eating junk food could lower the resistance to all sorts of diseases. Stress is the largest contributing factor to why college students get sick. It can "cause irritability, depression, increased desire to smoke, back pain, accidents, migraines and weakness. It can also lower your immunity to disease." Last but not least, substance abuse. Peer pressure to use drugs alcohol, cigarettes, and alcohol leads to stress. About 80 percent of college students drink alcohol, but 20 percent of students drink three times in a two week period. Substance abuse could cause injuiries and possibly death by mixing alcohol and drugs (The Reasons College Kids Get Sick). This also hurts your GPA tremendously coming from other college students and by hearing stories about how they forgot to do their projects or homework. Be low shows a chart of how many drinks a students drinks on a weekly basis and the GPA they receive on their performance in the classroom.
In conclusion, lack of sleep, poor nutrition, and lack of drinking water are the biggest reasons why college students get sick as they first step foot on campus. Also, stress is another big factor why incoming freshmen, especially, get sick. Lastly, peer pressure into doing drugs and alcohol, especially, leads to stress which makes you ill most of the time from worrying what you have forgotten to do. Whether it is a project, test, quiz, or homework assignment, alcohol and drugs will affect your classroom performance and as of the other leading factors to getting ill.