Has Swine Flu Hits Your College Campus Yet?  

It’s barely two weeks into the new semester, and already college campuses across the country are reporting record numbers of students down for the count with Swine Flu.  Or is it H1N1? Whatever name you use, it’s making the first few weeks of what should be an exciting experience – the first weeks of a new school year – a disappointing, miserable mess. 

And, according to the latest news, it’s getting even worse.  Just today they’re reporting that 2000 students at one college, Washington State University, have come down with H1N1.  And classes at WSU, have only been in session for one week!  

So why is it spreading so quickly among the college population?  Quite a few reasons…

• Close Quarters.  Living in dorms and being penned up in classrooms and lecture halls all day, provide the perfect breeding ground for H1N1 to spread from one or two sick students or teachers to everyone else in close proximity.
• When was the last time you washed your hands?  You can’t really avoid touching the same surfaces that hundreds of other people before you have already touched.  And it isn’t just door handles and your roommate’s duffel bag, but, buttons on vending machines and ATMs, bats and balls in the gym, the surface of your desk and the utensils in the dining hall.
• It’s midnight.  Do you know where your dorm is?  College-age people aren’t the best at getting proper sleep and nutrition.  Late nights, junk food, and too much alcohol weaken the immune system and make it more vulnerable to viruses it would normally ward off.
• Close Quarters Revisited.  Lots of physical activity, hugging, sharing sodas, using each others toothbrushes, or towels, increase chances that you’ll pick up a virus.

There is a lot of material out there about how to avoid the H1N1 virus.  Flu shots, if you want to go that way, are fine, but the immunity they provide can take four or five weeks to kick in.  By that time the first quarter will be over and you’ll be back at home.  The best way to avoid getting sick is to take care of yourself.  Get adequate rest, eat healthy foods, avoid people who are ill (if possible), wash your hands often, use hand sanitizer and use paper towels to open doors or touch surfaces, at least until the virus abates.

But life being life, stuff happens.  You might just get sick no matter what you do, especially if you’re new to the university and still getting acclimated to your new surroundings and classmates.  That’s when prevention mode, morphs into survival mode.

If you do come down with symptoms, go to the clinic and get the treatment your doctor feels is most effective.  Then go to bed and stay there, until you are feverless for at least 24 hours.   

Even though the strains have lessened in intensity, and the flu will probably only be a three or four day inconvenience for you, keep one thing in mind.  The H1N1 virus has already killed people – a lot of people – and not just young children or the elderly.  It’s taken out young, healthy, vital people who were not in that “at risk” category – not by a long shot.  That’s why we used the word survival.  The people who died from H1N1 didn’t expect to end up in the hospital.  And they certainly didn’t expect to end up fighting for their lives.   

Which brings up another important point. 

Most colleges don’t have the time, personnel or information to send a medical history or emergency contacts to the emergency room along with a student, every time one of them ends up in the hospital.   So if you or your friends end up in the hospital, it’s up to YOU to make sure that the doctors treating you know your medical history, including allergies, sensitivities and past illnesses.  If you’re allergic to a certain medication, or to a certain food or plant (which can also be an ingredient in a medication), a doctor treating you needs to know about it.  And if you’re too sick to tell them, who is going to do the talking for you?  Wouldn’t it be terrible to hospitalized for the flu, only to become critically ill from a reaction from a medicine you were allergic to?  Those things happen every day – more than most people realize.  

The easiest way to keep that from happening is to write your medical history, allergies and emergency contacts (parents, nearby relatives, people who could make medical decisions for you if necessary) down on piece of paper.  Then instruct your roommate or a close friend that if you ever end up in the hospital, it’s their job to bring that piece of paper with you.  In fact we have a special set of forms, wallet cards and tools for college students in our Safe Student Action Plan, that gives you a place to store all that info, ready to Grab and Go whenever necessary.  

But the point is, flu epidemic or not, you never know what can happen, so the trick is, to ALWAYS be prepared.  A few minutes of work now, can save a lifetime of regret.  When you have the information you need at your fingertips, a doctor treating you will be able to take care of you with your history and needs in mind.  And just in case things get serious, the hospital will know who you want called in an emergency. 

Just remember that you’re an adult now.  Making sure you’re taken care of in an emergency isn’t up to your university, it’s not up to your parents and it’s not even entirely up to the hospital.  It’s up to you to do what it takes not just to survive, but to thrive.   

Keeping your students safe isn’t up to the university, it’s up to YOU! 

Preparing for H1N1 and other pandemics is just ONE way to keep you and your college student safe.  We have many more...

How about Grab it and Go Forms to capture your student's medical history, insurance, financial and vital documents, that can be filled out by hand, or by computer, secured and ready whenever you need them?  Or customizable emergency action plans, dorm inventory, tips, checklists and  printable wallet cards.  Check out Don't Lose All Your Stuff At College - Parent Edition.

Laura and Janet Greenwald, are the founders of The Next of Kin Education Project and Stuf Productions.  The mother & daughter team were not only instrumental in enacting three Next of Kin Laws in California and Illinois, but created the Seven Steps to Successful Notification System, which teaches quick, easy, next of kin notification skills for trauma patients to hospitals like Dallas’ Methodist Medical Center.