Being Prepared – Sick at school
Head colds, headaches, and the flu are common ailments among college students. You should be prepared with any kind(s) of insurance information that your parents have for your medical treatments if ever needed. If you do not have insurance, the doctor’s office will either charge you or ask you to pay with cash.
Being prepared to go to the doctors’ office is also another subject that needs to be discussed. There are always the questions of your family medical history. You should know about the major illnesses in your immediate family if nothing else, for example your parents, brothers, and sisters. This will give a doctor a better insight in to your medical composure or symptoms to watch for as well.
Over the counter medicine will most likely be available at your campus bookstore, or at many local stores surrounding the campus. Try not to buy only a one time consumption amount – like two head ache pills in a package will cost you almost a dollar and when you buy a bottle of aspirin it will most likely cost you around three dollars for somewhere about fifty pills. You know you will need more in sometime during your stay at the college so it is good to have on hand.
If you have been sick more than three days, and unable to attend classes you should get in touch with classmate or professor, he or she will be able to advise you as how to get caught up in your classes and what steps you should take next. If your symptoms are continuing beyond three days and you have not gone to the doctors, you may want to seek medical advice to ensure you do not have a more serious condition besides those listed above.
Living in the dorms and in a variety of housing for college students – you will be in close contact with a variety of people, with a variety of germs. Never drink after anyone, no matter how well you know them. If you are visiting some one, do not eat anything that you cannot identify or if you do not know where it came from just to be on the safe side.
Always use your own toothbrushes, returning your items to your room especially if you are sharing a bathroom with a variety of other students. It is a fact that the majority of the germs in a bathroom come from when the toilet is flushed, as gross as that may be.
Just in review, have you insurance cards or at least numbers with you while you are away at school if available – keep your self healthy, and if you do get sick more than three days get in contact with you advisor and a local doctor. It is always better to be safe that to end up missing weeks of school for minor health’s issues that have run wild in your body.
