Bundle up: It’s flu season

There are a lot of options for over-the-counter medication to help combat the cold and flu season. Photo courtesy Photopin

By Kieren Wilson

The month of October is coming to a close and the weather is starting to get colder. With winter steadily approaching students have a much higher chance of catching a cold and getting the flu. Luckily there are ways to prevent the sickness from affecting you.

“Usually around this time of year I get a bunch of students in my office needing help with illness because of the cold. A lot of our students come from warmer areas so they aren’t prepared for the cold,” said Waldorf school nurse Mary Mathiasen. “Wearing layers is a big tip I usually tell students so that way if it starts out really cold in the morning but warms up throughout the day it’s easy to adjust to the temperature.”

A few other key tips include washing your hands thoroughly after every use in a public restroom because students tend to sneeze and cough into their hands and touch everything.

“I try not to shake hands with too many people because you never really know if they wash their hands or if they sneezed into their hands before they shook yours,” said freshman Jacob Goodrich.

Another simple tip is too bundle up like Mathiasen stated. Leave the house wearing gloves, a beanie, sweats and a long sleeve shirt over a t-shirt with a warm jacket as the outer layer.

Staying indoors whenever possible is the easiest way to go about avoiding the possibility of catching a cold, but unfortunately for fall sport athletes this is almost impossible.

“We tell all of our players to bundle up during practice and wear dri-fit long sleeve shirts so they can keep the sweat off of them and stay warm,” said head football coach Kent Anderson. “Another good thing is Emergen-c packets which is a powdered vitamin C packet you can add to your water. It gives you the proper vitamins to keep your immune system strong to avoid the flu and cold.”

Hot beverages, tea, soup, chili and coffee are among a few of the foods you can consume that are sure to keep you warm and toasty during the cold days. It is always a safe bet to have a cup of tea in a thermos when you’re walking around campus to keep your insides warm. So far proper nutrition, hygiene and cold attire seem to be the key to avoiding the winter sicknesses. What are some methods that you use to avoid sicknesses like the cold and flu during the winter time?