Everybody knows that feeling when you wake up one morning with a headache, clogged nose, and a god-awful itch at the back of our throat. Two weeks ago, that was me. As soon as I woke up, I knew what I was in for. Luckily, I wasn’t alone in my struggles; if you are a Western student, you have probably noticed that EVERYBODY is sick right now. Every class, at any moment, there will be at least one hundred struggling, dying students coughing their throats out. I thought what would be a better time than now to share how I overcame my sickness – because chances are, you are probably sick right now too.
1. Eat properly
A cafeteria downstairs (if you are in residence) during almost all awake hours, has loads of cakes and cookies, a seemingly unlimited amount of money on your Onecard, and late nights getting back during O-Week. I caved to all that sugary and greasy goodness… which came around to bite me in the ass later. Yes, greasy foods are great for hangovers, but keep on eating those fruits and veggies! You need a balanced diet (no matter how hard it is with gelato staring you in the face) to prevent sickness, and to fight it when you are. If you are struggling, taking some multivitamins (get the gummies- no shame here) can help a little bit too. The bottom line is, make sure your body is getting all the nutrients it needs!
2. Stay hydrated
We have all heard this tip: stay hydrated, drink water, etc. from Instagram, WebMD, and every self-care thread. Stay hydrated to stave off sickness and – in the worst case scenario – drink lots of hot water and tea to soothe your sore throat and get rid of some of the disgusting phlegm. But be warned! Don’t drink too many sugary drinks- they will dehydrate you and hinder your ability to recover. THE SAME GOES WITH ALCOHOL.
3. Sharing food
Common sense is not all that common, but you probably don’t want to be sharing drinks or food. With the hype of O-Week and FOCO, you are bound to either end up sharing some of The Spoke’s iced coffee, or taking it straight from a bottle of Smirnoff. Needless to say, be careful how many times (if at all) you take a sip out of your friend’s drink or share a drink. If they are showing any symptoms, be careful! Almost everybody gets sick at least once near the start of university by sharing drinks.
4. REST
Make sure you are getting your eight hours of sleep in! No matter how tempting it is to go to class or do your assignments, sleep is more important! Make sure you are well rested before doing anything as nothing is more important than your well being. Allow your body to recharge and let your immune system do its thing!
5. Stay home if you are sick!
Two words… GERMS SPREAD! As important as your classes are, it is not worth getting everyone else in your class sick as well. You have probably already heard the amount of people coughing in your lectures; you do not want this to spread more! Always remember to always wash your hands.
So yeah, you have got a load of unhealthy snacks at 10:30PM, pop and perhaps bubble tea make up your daily fluid intake, you are downing alcohol out of someone else’s bottle at 3:00AM, waking up at 7:30AM for that 8:30 class, then suddenly you become sick. Most of us have been there, the whole thing being the O-Week experience and all that, but once you have experienced it once, you never want to again. Stay healthy and respect your body – you will thank your current self in the future a ton when you have a good sleep schedule and are not waking up hungover with freshman 15 a few months from now!
CSA Marketing Team