Friday, November 23, 2012
Cold and Flu A Pound of Prevention
Occupational Health & Safety: Every year, cold and flu viruses strike with a vengeance. Children stay home from school, colleagues drop like dominoes, pain and misery ensues. While flu shots are available, they don’t always target the precise strain of the virus that’s being transmitted. And with colds, we’re pretty much on our own.
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11 comments:
If only this had been posted a week ago ... I have the flu now, and man are my fever dreams confusing! All of this stuff is pretty basic, but it's true that we (as college students) don't take care of ourselves properly. We are high risk for all sorts of nasty things since we are constantly in densely populated areas and sleep way less than normal humans, but we ignore a lot of the basic preventative measures. Getting sick is pretty inevitable, but even so, it would behoove all of us to be a little smarter about our bodies.
In our busy lives, getting sick is a time-consuming, difficult thing to conquer. In the first place, it is difficult to learn how to eat healthy, get enough sleep, and exercise in order to prevent sickness. As a result of lack of sleep, healthy eating, and exercise, sickness ensues. When we get sick, we must take time out of our busy lives to get better, and we often look back cursing ourselves for not taking better care of our health in the first place. It is difficult to remember this, and to keep in mind that the loss of time due to illness is far worse than the loss of time used towards staying healthy. This is a realization that many people have, but few actually take action towards. Luckily, there are many easy and quick ways to prevent illness, and just take a conscious effort in order to pursue.
I'm right there with Abby, already too sick for much of this to help. But I will definitely take it all into consideration when I get back to school and my crazy schedule. I will look into MCP much more, it sounds like it can do some amazing things for the body, and I shall be even more wary of flu shots than I already am (which is saying quite a lot, as I have never felt comfortable enough with them to get one). Of course, it is impossible for us as college students to get the amount of sleep health experts have deemed necessary for people our age, but being aware and using preventive action is a very good way to stay healthy. Noticing when people are sick and boosting your immune system with supplements and much hand washing are small actions that can go a long way towards keeping healthy, especially in the close environment in which we work.
WHY WAS THIS NOT UP LAST WEEK! i got the flu this past week and i forgot just how absolutely miserable it is. i havent had it since i was 6 and that was also the last time i got a fever. The fever was probably the worst part of it. Ive never gotten a flu shot before and up until now but i really wish id gotten one last week to prevent e having to go through what i went though. especially being in college and being exposed to everyones germs that im not used to with my localized immune systems coupled wit ha huge lack of sleep andy advice in keeping up my immune system is greatly needed.
I think what kills us the most is simply the food on campus is extremely processed so anyone who lives on campus is immediately at a disadvantage nutritionally. I think it's interesting with the specific vitamins what are best to take in times of sickness. I knew that vitamin C was one and any time I take it when I am sick it seems to make a huge difference. Next time I am sick I will definitely try the other vitamins listed and see how much of a difference it makes.
I agree that it is sometimes very difficult to find enough time in our busy lives to take all of the precautionary steps that we would like to help us avoid the flu. I know that personally often one of the first things that fall by the wayside when I am busy is sleep and proper nutrition. It is no wonder that college students seem to get sick so much. One of I think that was particularly interesting about this article was the part about medicinal mushrooms. This is something that I don’t know much about and would be interested to learn more in the future.
Well, I did get my flu shot. My mother is a nurse so that was ingrained in me my whole life! I agree with this entire article and how if we take better care of ourselves, we can definitely prevent a lot of potential illnesses. Some of them are so simple to do like drinking a lot of water. Eating right is more challenging because it takes time to cook a healthy meal, which with our schedules is close to impossible. Sometimes I barely have time to eat at all, much less cook it! I also take a daily multi vitamin, which I'm sure helps. However, sleep is a sore spot with me. I don't think I ever get enough and although I know how much it helps, I can't seem to fit in the allotted 8 hours a night that is recommended. I think avoiding people that are sick is huge in preventing illness. I think we have all been around others that were sick, but making a conscious effort to keep our distance is very wise! I always hit up that air borne if I think I might be in an environment that isn't the most healthy! This article was a good reminder on how to avoid illness and stay healthy.
For some reason, I have never gotten a flu shot, but I have been sick multiple times this year. This article would have been helpful a while ago before I got sick! I think with our crazy schedules, we need to find time to eat healthier and rest, as well as exercise. We are also CONSTANTLY surrounded by others when they are sick...therefore, the colds go around quickly! I have always been weary about flu shots from random places like CVS and health clinics. I am not comfortable getting shots from places that are not hospitals or a doctor that I am comfortable with.
I wish this article was posted earlier! I have been sick in bed for days, and for weeks I had ignored it thinking it was just a cold and, just as the article said, the amount of work I had piled up in my mind and I never took time to take care of myself. Now there's only two weeks of school and numerous final projects, and I have fallen behind! I am always discouraged when I am told that stress is a big cause of immune systems breaking down, and it's time to really start taking care of our bodies in such a stressful program! And of course there's the whole "you need sleep!" insistence. Sometimes these tips all seem impossible but they really are not. It's better to do all this throughout a semester rather than being forced to do so when the immune system completely breaks down at some of the most stressful times. I'm also grateful that this article stresses the need for people to stay home when they are sick; it's so easy to spread sickness!
What I don't understand about article like this is we are being told how to take care of ourselves and often it is helpful information that we should follow. However we still need to work. we need to support ourselves we need to still get work done. So when articles like these say we need to get more sleep it is not something I think about doing. I feel like I just need to work through the sickness. Another things is the article tells us to frequently wash our hand as well as otherwise to prevent being sick, but shouldn't we do that whether or not it is flu season. I feel like we have lots of unhealthy habits then add to us being sick but in the end we only change these when we are actually sick.
Looking at the comments written about this article, it sounds like just about everyone is some kind of sick to at least some extent right now. And I mean, I am too, and I too wish I'd been taking better care of myself lately, because I can't say that taking a plane with a fever really was how I wanted to spend my first day of Thanksgiving break. I guess what I have to say about this article is, it'd be really nice of them to make a college student-friendly version. Like, how to stay healthy while eating bad campus food and running on limited amounts of sleep. Ya I'd really like to know how to do that.
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