<p>I've heard many horrifying stories of students who get extremley ill in college. Extreme as in near-death ill. I've heard stories of unexplainable illnesses, menegitis, strept throat galore, mono, etc. etc. Anybody have a college which is particularly ill / particularly healthy? Any bad stories?</p>
<p>I'm kinda a hospital-phobe... how can I avoid illness in college?!</p>
<p>Get the meningitis vaccine. It's recommended (and in many places required by law) for all students living in dorms.</p>
<p>It is not something to be overly concerned about. Colleges, similar to high schools, have an elevated risk of communicable diseases simply because you are in close proximity to a lot of other people constantly and you cannot really lessen that risk except via a vaccine or you can figure out a way to avoid being around others at college. No college is immune from the possibility and all share the same risk. Meningitis (particularly bacterial as opposed to viral which is usually milder and not life threatening) gets a lot of press because of the seriousness of the disease and I agree the vaccine should be considered. Flus are usually the more common thing that occur and spread quickly among many (and thus a flu shot may also be considered).</p>
<p>Stay clean--it's the answer to just about every bug out there. You seem like a pretty health-conscious kid so this shouldn't be a problem for you.</p>
<p>The best way to keep yourself healthy is to keep in shape and get lots of sleep! College is a time that a lot of people try to push their limits on these factors, combined with being around lots of other people with decreased immune systems (due to the same behavior), thus, lots of college students get sick.</p>
<p>I found if I get a good night's sleep regularly, I stay quite healthy...in the past year I've only gotten sick when I have been stressed out trying to get lots of research done in a short period (pushing myself beyond my limits). A little over a year ago, I got whooping cough, which is a very crappy thing to get, but I attribute that to bad luck. </p>
<p>Being too clean can actually be bad for you, so be clean, but don't overdo it!</p>
<p>lol if you wanna avoid mono dont kiss random girls on the dance floor ;). But seriously jus be clean and you should be fine. Also try not to let stress get a hold of you and laugh (as laughing is healthy :P).</p>
<p>definitely stay in shape because it works. i run all year round and take about 2 weeks off in between each season. i always get sick during these breaks from running (the only time i get sick all year round), usually its only a cold that lasts for a week or so but in February when i took my 2 weeks off from track i got mono and as a result haven't run in 6 weeks.</p>
<p>have windows open even if it's in the winter open up half a centimeter to keep fresh air in. That's the healthy way...... I do that.....besides the heat will be up hot like 85 degrees.</p>
<p>what are the chances of me getting hiv in college</p>
<p>no really</p>
<p>well if you do certain things, you will have a higher chance of getting hiv. i dont know what you want to hear. </p>
<p>in terms of getting sick, if someone in your section gets sick, you have a good chance of getting sick as well.</p>
<p>wash your hands! There's no better way to avoid germs than to wash your hands. Or use a hand sanitizer, since it does just about the same thing. Also, vitamins are a good thing to take, but you cant just take them for a week and expect them to work. My mom and I actually just sat down tonight and compared kiddie "Flinestone" vitamins and the adult ones, and the Flinestone vitamins were just as good, so if you hate pills, by the good chewable ones!
Drinking lots of water helps keep your entire body's system clean.
Also, get all of your required vacinations (menigitis and hepB are important!!)
If somene near you is extremely sick, again, wash your hands, and also, pretty much avoid them.
And if you're feeling like you're getting sick, try to eat well, sleep enough, and not be stressed out. I know it sounds easy now, but accomplishing this in college isn't as easy as it sounds. But as long as you take decent care of yourself, you should be fine =)</p>
<p>Live dirty, strengthen that immune system.</p>
<p>I'm a junior in college who went to a high school that specialized in health professions...and both of my parents work in the healthcare field...needless to say, i'm a bit of a germophobe. i'd rather be a germophobe than be sick, that's for sure. i've kept a pretty good record, dodging the flu pandemic that runs through school every year. i always get colds, though - still very hard to avoid. </p>
<p>i do know many people who've had near-death illnesses, mostly from poor lifestyle choices. my freshman year, a friend of mine got a very strange sore throat/fever thing...we never figured out what it was, but he wasn't contagious so we didn't mind it much. he lost his voice for 3 weeks and had to stay in bed for 2 days with the fever. i should mention that he also had NEVER BEEN VACCINATED from anything. please, please, PLEASE get all your vaccinations - meningitis, hep a & b, tetanus, everything! you don't know what you'll come in contact with or when in college. [the flu vaccine is kind of a crapshoot - you might be protected, but if the strain changes the vaccine is useless]</p>
<p>a guy i know went on the atkins diet - but not properly; you have to exercise in addition to not eating carbs. he developed gallstones from it - on the day of a midterm, no less. he was hospitalized for nearly a week; even after removing his gallbladder he had a high fever...he's okay now - and off that stupid diet (i don't care what they're saying about it being helpful now). </p>
<p>and this year, three girls i know got mono (strangely, they contracted the illness right after they got boyfriends - coincidence?). mono is probably the WORST thing you could get in college, mostly because it debilitates you for such a long time (4-6 weeks). many people have had to do medical withdrawal and come back to school the next semester - it's not like you can miss a month of school and still pass (at least, not where I am). </p>
<p>don't get paranoid about being sick, though - it weakens your immune system and just makes your more suceptible. just remember wash your hands OFTEN, stay away from people who are sick, take a multivitamin, eat as healthy as you can, GET SLEEP, exercise/do some physical activity that you like, try to keep yourself from being severely stressed out - and if you think you've been exposed to something or are getting sick, get a huge load of vitamin c ASAP (i recommend odwalla's citrus C monster smoothie - 1,000% of the daily value).</p>
<p>well, you'll have a blast at college - if you get sick once in a while whilst doing it, then thats the price you've got to pay. i myself fractured a bone while skiing recently... These things are just part of life i guess.</p>
<p>I was sicker this semester than I've ever been in my life...was deathly ill for about a week, still sick 2 weeks later.</p>
<p>Get enough sleep and eat your veggies, don't drink too much alcohol, exercise and make love often (using protection).</p>
<p>"I've heard stories of unexplainable illnesses, menegitis, strept throat galore, mono, etc. etc."</p>
<p>Haven't you ever seen these things in high school too....?</p>
<p>Anyways I caught mono during the last month of high school. I'm pretty glad I got it then when I wasn't doing anything productive because I'm pretty sure I would have caught it by now in college haha.</p>
<p>The only real issue in college is flu season because people come to class sick and it's pretty unavoidable (although I haven't fallen to it yet...crossing my fingers). Get a flu shot at the medical center if possible.</p>
<p>"Haven't you ever seen these things in high school too....?"</p>
<p>Actually, not in any major way. Never heard of anyone from my school having a near-death illness. One or two instances of mono. Strept throat, yea, but I've personally never had it. Flu, yes, etc. but nothing like what I've heard colleges to have.</p>
<p>Perhaps my schools outside the norm.</p>
<p>strep throat and mono are not near-death illnesses, and no one I known has gotten meningitis before. Plus even if you're a hospital-phobe, you don't go to the hospital for the first two anyways.</p>
<p>what exactly is meningitis?</p>
<p>meningitis=infection of the meninges, which is a layer between the skull and the brain.</p>
<p>It causes swelling of that area, headaches, fever, and other problems too.</p>
<p>BTW, Strep throat and Mono can be near-death ilnesses. Complications can arrise, and they can weaken your immune system so you get other stuff, or get dehydrated and weak. I had both at the same time and there's about a month I don't remember a thing from because of the fever and fatigue. Also, I don't test positive for strep so it has to get really bad before a doctor will believe I have it and give me antibiotics!</p>
<p>Not trying to scare you, but it does happen. Just drink lots of water, eat healthy, get exercise, vitamins, etc. Not too much you can do to avoid illness.</p>