<p>I had heard that at Olin there are the 3 S's; sleep, social life and studying. Most kids give up one - sleep. So how does an Oliner stay healthy? I was wondering how they prevent getting sick. My son will be entering the fall and has hardly missed any high school due to illness but I know college will be very different. Any insight?</p>
<p>Mine made it almost all the way through the fall semester before she got the “freshman plague” – it seems almost inevitable with so many kids in such close quarters with brand new germs. </p>
<p>She’s been fine most of the spring, but she’s getting over a bad run-in with allergies right now.</p>
<p>Some of the things that help:
- Send medicines with the kids and make sure they know when/how to take them (dosage, spacing, etc.). Mine has ibuprofen, benadryl, sudafed, nasalcrom, mucinex, cough drops, nasal rinse, bandaids, acetaminophen, and claritin in her meds kit. The contents are based on her personal history so meds for your kid will probably be different.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If there are preventative medicines that they should take (oh, like allergy meds that they should take BEFORE the allergens hit the “high” mark), make sure the student has them and knows when to take them. Just realize that mental knowledge and actually doing it are two different things. :-(</p></li>
<li><p>Remind the student that there’s nothing wrong with skipping things every once in a while for a long nap.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure the student knows how to tell that it’s time to go to the Babson Health Center or when a night time or weekend illness is bad enough to seek outside help.</p></li>
<li><p>Remind them that eating semi-healthily, spending some time outside, and getting exercise will all help maintain a healthy body.</p></li>
<li><p>Encourage them to wash their hands often.</p></li>
<li><p>Keep Lysol or Clorox wipes in the room to wipe things down when people are sick.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure they have kleenex. :-)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>That’s great advise from mathinokc! </p>
<p>It does seem common for freshman at all colleges to get sick. It’s a good idea to have a bit of buffer time in project schedules, to cover for unexpected setbacks.</p>
<p>Knock on wood, my DS hasn’t succumbed in his first two years other than a brief runny nose. The advice above is fabulous if your child listens. The next four years is about you letting go and allowing your child to learn from his or her mistakes. You can do it gradually so he/she won’t feel abandoned.</p>