The season of sickness is here: cold or the flu

It’s that time of year when the sound of sick students fills the air. Hacking coughs here, sneezing there, nose blowing and hoarse whispers all around. The season of sickness is in full swing and the SCAD Student Health Center is filling up fast.

“The first day of class 34 kids visited the clinic,” said Karen Reed, a nurse practitioner at the SCAD clinic.

Things haven’t slowed down and in the last week they have had days where 30 students came in. Reed said that the clinic is thinking about opening for a few hours during the weekend, but that nothing is planned yet.

Be sure to watch out — and grab that hand sanitizer — because it’s not just a cold that’s going around.

“We see a lot of upper respiratory infections and sinusitis,” Reed said. “And we have had a few positive flus even this past week.”

Different infections, such as these, can develop from a cold if it is not taken care of but they can be prevented if students are proactive and know their sickness.

“It’s hard to tell sometimes — is it a cold or is it the flu?” Reed said.

Both illnesses are a result of viruses in your respiratory system and can have similar symptoms.

What’s the main difference? With the flu a person will have body aches, fever and exhaustion as opposed to a cold, in which someone will have a runny, stuffy nose and a sore throat.

It may not be 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside, but that does not mean Savannahians are immune to the colds going around. Even with the sun shining and palm trees swaying, students are still sneezing and rolling over in bed. They live together, go to class together, eat together, share computers, pass papers and do all sorts of other things to spread germs.

“Even up to 6 feet away you can be exposed to the flu,” Reed said.

It seems that all the forces are against those few sickless students. With everyone so close is even possible to not get sick? It sure is and Karen Reed has a few tips:

•     Cough in your elbow, as opposed to your hand. You open doorknobs, hand in papers with the hand you’ve coughed on—that’s the way germs spread.
•     Good hand washing—be sure you wash your hands before you put anything in your mouth.
•     Don’t drink after each other. You can get a lot more than the flu by doing that.
•     Get the shot!

If there was a shot to prevent you from becoming a zombie, you’d get it. So why not get a flu shot too?

“H1N1 is an epidemic again,” Reed said. “That was an epidemic about four to five years ago and it’s back.”

Whether it’s a shot or nasal spray, it’s a good idea to get the influenza vaccine, because that quick little visit can protect you from the flu and H1N1. Since the current flu vaccine contains H1N1, it will protect anyone who gets the immunization.

Many doctor offices and clinics have the vaccine, as well as stores with pharmacies, such as Target and Publix. The SCAD Clinic has the vaccine and with insurance it is free, without it costs $15.

“Come in within 48 hours because there is no cure for the flu, but there are antivirals you can get that shorten the duration of time that you’re ill with it,” said Reed. “After that period of time, antivirals just don’t work.”

The clinic can give Tamiflu to students that have been infected to stop the spread of the virus, but it only works within the first two days. After that, get your bed ready and grab your laptop for some Netflix.

“Just try to stay really hydrated and get plenty of rest so it doesn’t turn into something more,” said Reed.

If you run to Kroger or CVS to grab some medicine, pay attention to your symptoms so you know what to grab. There are two different kinds of medicine that will help with all your runny noses and gunky coughs.

“An antihistamine dries things up and helps with an allergic response and the decongestant will declog you,” said Reed.

The SCAD Clinic has some tough hours and it’s not open on the weekends, so be sure to run in before Saturday if you’re not feeling well.

SCAD Student Health Center hours:

Monday – Wednesday: 8:30 – 11:45 a.m. and 1 – 6 p.m.

Thursday and Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Do not come in during lunch because the office is closed every day from noon – 1 p.m. The SCAD Student Health Center is located at 300 Bull St. and can be reached at 912-231-9956. For more information, go to their website.

Cover your mouths and brave those hallways, young students — only a few months left until the spring and the colds disappear. We just hope you don’t have allergies.

Alternative options: SCAD Clinic,  CVS/pharmacy, Kroger Pharmacy, Target, Rite Aid, Walgreens, Publix Pharmacy.

(Source: Center for Disease Control.)