How to Deal With Being Sick in College

Between the less than sanitary living conditions, the hard partying, the lack of sleep and the high stress, college kids tend to get pretty sick sometimes. There is almost no avoiding it totally and it can be quite an issue when trying to deal with homework and projects, not to mention having no one to really take care of you. Here are a few tips to help when you get sick at college.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Practice healthy living to prevent illness. The best way to deal with being sick is to not get sick in the first place. Make sure your dorm room or apartment is clean. Dispose of old food and take out the trash regularly. Put dirty clothes in the laundry basket. Take vitamins. Drink healthy smoothies. Work out. Eat properly as best you can. Wash your sheets and towels. Wear sandals in the shower. Get plenty of sleep. Make sure to get all of your shots too.
2. Visit the campus health center if you do get sick. They are there to take care of you so take advantage of it. The longer you let a sickness linger the worse it will get usually. Even just a bad cold is better when treated by the doctor. They will give you a cold pack which is filled with cough drops and extra strength Tylenol. Follow the doctor’s orders.
3. Drink lots of orange juice, get extra sleep and take it easy.
4. Take a few days off of classes. Email all of your professors whose classes you’ll be missing. Personalize the email so you don’t just sound like another kid making up an excuse. Get a doctor’s note if necessary. If you do have a big project due, go and personally talk to your professor. That way she can see you are sick and also see that you are taking your class and responsibilities seriously. Professors immediately assume that a kid saying he is sick is just making it up when it comes to extending a due date. Make a point of seeing them and proving yourself truthful unless you really cannot possibly do it.