Getting sick your first year in college...

<p>I moved from the West Coast to the East Coast for college. I really enjoy life on the East coast, but I've noticed that my immune system has not been doing so well. </p>

<p>I never really got sick in high school, thanks to a healthy lifestyle, but here in college I constantly have a cold or etc. My lifestyle has slightly changed, in terms of sleep (fluctuates more, especially before finals) and diet (still eat healthy, but it's harder to get good fruit and juice), but I still exercise a lot (I'm on the swim team). I recently got sick during finals (the stress must have weakened my immune system) and realized that I wasn't feeling so well when I finally got home to the West coast.</p>

<p>Parents, did you notice that your kid got sick a lot during their first year in college? Or do you remember when you first came to college? When I talked to my doctor, he said that my immune system might possibly not be used to the different variations of East coast viruses. I thought it makes sense that my body is adjusting to a new environment.</p>

<p>Do you disagree/agree? Any advice about what I should do to keep myself healthy?</p>

<p>Your doctor could be right. I grew up and attended college in the Midwest and didn't have to make many adjustments in my lifestyle. The Northeast is definitely cooler and has more extreme seasonal variation than the West Coast. Learn how to take breaks and get plenty of sleep. Drink lots of water. Make sure you have an adequate supply of medicine in your dorm room.</p>

<p>Whenever DD changes environment she gets sick. No matter what she does. So inevitablly there is a cold within the first couple of weeks of school. Then one when she is home for a long break as she readjusts. Stress definitely affects you. </p>

<p>So if you know you are prone, you have to take extra care in some other things. The two biggies that are hard at college, getting rest and making sure you eat a good breakfast. Try to do it for the first week or so you are back or when you know it is going to be stressful. Be meticulous in hand washing. Even have hand purifier with you. You can also try Airborne as preventive and if you get a cold, try Zicam to shorten it. Try not to be too close to someone who is sick. :) good luck.</p>

<p>You're living in close proximity to a lot of other people at college, so you're exposed to a lot of germs.</p>

<p>Even students who go to college near home get sick a lot.</p>

<p>Wash your hands. Often. Make an effort to get enough sleep. Try to eat sensibly; don't live on junk food. And when you do get sick, if it's anything that might be more than an ordinary cold, go to your college's health center and get treated. </p>

<p>There's really not much more you can do, in my opinion.</p>

<p>We live around NYC. Our D1 has always been very healthy growing up, at most one bad cold a season. She is in her second year of college at a NE school, it is not until this past Oct she stopped being school. She had mono last spring, had a cold one after another. When I first moved from an upstate NY school to NYC many years ago, I always had a cold for 2 years.</p>

<p>I think it takes a will to get used to local germ and virus. While you are home, talk to someone about taking some vitamins to boast your immune system. My daughter started to eat healthier and have more regular sleeping schedule (less partying). Do not share drinks/food with anyone.</p>

<p>Every time I've moved to a different part of the country -- including moves of as little as 250 miles -- I've gotten sick frequently as my body adjusted to new allergens and bacteria. The stress of moving also lowered my resistance.</p>

<p>Same happens when I travel. I almost always get sick during or after the trip.</p>

<p>Allergies could also be an issue.</p>

<p>Yes, not only does your system have to catch up with the local viruses and bacteria, but even the minerals in the earth around you are different. Believe it or not, that takes adjustment as well. Add a healthy dose of normal college stress, plus other students bringing their own bugs from homes all over the country (and beyond), and of course your immune system is working overtime.</p>

<p>This may sound silly to you, but it helps us a lot when we travel: Drink Perrier. Not club soda or soda water, but Perrier, at least a few ounces a day. The minerals in it, while not copious enough to be called a dietary supplement, are easily absorbed -- your body can absorb what it needs and throw off what it doesn't. If you can't stand the flavor, mix it with apple juice (natural antibiotic) or cranberry juice (vitamin C).</p>

<p>And don't neglect the basics -- make a point of getting your sleep, eating healthy (protein and a good variety of fruits and vegetables), and keeping clean (including washing your hands). When the viruses ran rampant at geek_son's school a few years back, I brought in a big bottle of Purell for every classroom (it's a small school!). It helped. Carry a little one around with you and use it frequently.</p>

<p>The good news is, it will get better with time. Consider each annoying cold an "immune system upgrade" -- your immune system has encountered another bug and is learning how to handle it, so the next time you get exposed you'll hardly even notice it.</p>

<p>I was very correct in assuming that I should go to the Parents' forum to get some reliable answers. :) Thanks, everyone!</p>

<p>
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She had mono last spring, had a cold one after another. When I first moved from an upstate NY school to NYC many years ago, I always had a cold for 2 years.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Ahhhh that's exactly what I have right now! I was completely taken aback when I came back positive for mononucleosis. My parents and I had thought it was strep, because I wasn't really showing signs of fever or exhaustion. Although I read online that mono has an incubation period of about 8 weeks or so, my symptoms started developing during finals week; I felt kind of woozy with a headache, but I ignored it because I needed to focus on writing essays/taking my tests and I thought that it was perhaps just another cold. Oops, my bad. </p>

<p>I think I am really lucky that I got my sickness during winter break, it's really a perfect time to recover. I'm worried about my swim season, though, because I'm supposed to go back to my college on Jan 2 for swim practice...we're going to have to swim 10,000 yards each day, but I am not sure that I'll be up to that by then. :/</p>

<p>catsushi - please, please, please, go easy on yourself. I've posted this many times, but when D1 got mono, she did not take the proper time to recover (part of it was due to not being properly diagnosed, so she jumped back in to her work too quickly when she started feeling the slightest bit better). Within eight hours of getting home for the summer, she had a relapse (this is how the mono was finally diagnosed) and spent most of the summer in some sort of state of recovery from something or another as her immune system struggled to heal itself.</p>

<p>catsushi -- You sound like my D. We live in Southern California; she goes to college in Michigan (and is now a senior). She has suffered far more respiratory infections there than she ever did here. I assumed it was all the factors others have noted -- living in close proximity to many others, stress, new or "localized" viruses, etc. This fall she got pneumonia.</p>

<p>But she has also been diagnosed as having cold induced asthma -- which increases her susceptibility to infection. She has now been put on an inhaler, which she uses twice a day (not for "attacks," just as a regular medication), and it has worked wonders for her. We are hoping that it will cut the number of respiratory illnesses she gets too.</p>

<p>The health center at her college diagnosed this -- I guess they see it somewhat regularly. But D1 never discovered it until she lived in a cold climate. We are grateful for the help she's gotten!</p>

<p>I used to be sick all the time, but when I moved to Michigan, suddenly, it just disappeared.
Changes in environment are tricky, new germs, new emotions, my hormones always get messed up as soon as I travel anywhere. It's different for everybody, but it usually calms down after a few months. take it easy, eat well and relax and you'll be fine. :)</p>

<p>@ zetesis</p>

<p>Wow, cold-induced asthma. After she graduates from college, it would probably be best to live in a state with year-round warm-weather. I'm the opposite: as a native Michigan resident, I love cool weather and very warm weather makes me dizzy (humidity only worsens it). 2008 has been a crazy winter in Michigan (more than usual snowfall).</p>

<p>catsushi --</p>

<p>I have gotten repeatedly sick everytime we have moved and everytime I travel for a significant length of time. Some of us just take a while to deal with the different germs and viruses in an area. </p>

<p>I wanted to say something about the mono -- this is a very serious disease and it takes at least 8 weeks to recover completely from it. I got it in high school and did not take care of myself like I should, but got back to normal activity way too fast. Too make a long story short - it went latent - hid in my cells to come out whenever I got run down. I had many relapses over the next ten years and occasionally over the next 20!! Trust me, you do not want to live through this! A 47 yo friend of mine had the same thing happen in college and he just this fall had a horrible relapse that lasted months and nearly cost him his career. You don't mess with something that can hang around 25 years!</p>

<p>You need to be very careful about getting enough sleep and rest and not overdoing it. Your doctor needs to write you a letter to take back to your swim coach and you are going to have to get back to activity gradually. There are concerns about certain types of exercise (don't know if you do any thing other than swim) because of the risk of spleen rupture. I feel certain you don't want to hear this, I sure didn't, but seriously, mono can be really, really bad if you aren't careful.</p>

<p>catsushi, I too just want to emphasize the seriousness of mono! I had it in the 1970's in High School, when I was also a year round swimmer. I ended up in isolation in the hospital for a month, jaundiced and extremely sick and weak! My D was a USS swimmer up till last year, and I know that 10,000 yards a day (I'm assuming doubles) is an extremely difficult amount of yardage to do when completely healthy. Please, please do not try this at the expense of your health!</p>

<p>Thanks for the feedback, everyone!</p>

<p>My parents and I have decided to cancel my flight back to the East Coast on Jan 2 so I can get an extra couple of weeks to completely rest up. My swim coach says she has dealt with her swimmers having mono before and will not allow me to go up to the 10,000 yards. The most I will probably do is 4,000 at my own pace, and doubles will have to wait until next year. It looks like my swim season might be over, which is a bummer.</p>

<p>I think the worst part is that it's physically painful to eat. I haven't lost my appetite, which is great, but eating is such a task. My throat is still sore, and swallowing/chewing causes headaches. Are sore throats part of mono or can there be secondary infections as a result of the immune system becoming weak?</p>

<p>Sore throat sis definitely part of mono. My daughter had a bad sore throat for a week and we thought she just had a bad cold. You should be very careful about exercising while you have mono.</p>

<p>Yep, sore throat is part of it, though secondary infections like ear infection and strep are very common, too. My guys love refried beans with sour cream and cheese when their throats hurt - you might try it. I'm so sorry you feel so awful!</p>

<p>Kudos to you on having the wisdom to talk to your coach and to delay your return to college. I think you are really smart to do that!</p>

<p>
[quote]
Are sore throats part of mono or can there be secondary infections as a result of the immune system becoming weak?

[/quote]

yes, and yes</p>

<p>Regarding the sore throat, D1 reported that she would have to spit into a cup, because it hurt so much to swallow. I've heard this from numerous sources, too. It becomes a vicious cycle because when you don't want to swallow, you are hesitant to take any tylenol or advil... because it hurts to swallow them.</p>

<p>Greetings!</p>

<p>I teach at a college, and from October to March students are constantly coughing and wheezing in all of my classes. Needless to say, college classrooms, dorms, library, etc can be nasty places to be regardless of where you are from!</p>

<p>My New England born and bred D headed 300 miles south for college last year. She was sick through all of Fall semester; did better spring semester -- until she got mono right before finals! Sophomore year has been much better so far (knock on mouse pad). It probably helps that she has a single in a suite this year.</p>