How To Avoid (Or At Least Cope With) Freshers' Flu

The freshers’ flu phenomenon is at least partly due to the fact that lots of people are suddenly plunged into close proximity, bringing with them germs from around the world. But it’s also a question of lifestyle.

This is an exciting but turbulent time, and pretty much all your old routines are likely to be broken. Combine disrupted sleep and diet patterns with the stress of so many new things (plus perhaps just the odd one or two alcoholic beverages) and your immune system defences are likely to be way down.

The solutions here are a little dull and predictable, but effective! Get plenty of sleep, eat healthily, and generally take care of yourself. If you try and go to every single social event, while also studying eight hours a day, then yes, you’re probably going to hit burnout.

I realize that telling people not to worry is one of those really annoying ‘easy for you to say’ things. However, I would hate for my initial scaremongering tactics (rule number one of the blog post: grab the reader’s attention) to actually leave anyone feeling worried about getting freshers’ flu.

First, if you let yourself get into a tizz about it, you’re actually more likely to become ill – that stress will bring down your immune system from the inside.

And second, while taking good care of yourself will definitely help, there is a limit to how much you can do. Well, yes, you could turn into a vitamins-obsessed recluse and start each day by examining your own stool samples (as per the Gillian McKeith school of health)…

But that’s a little extreme for the sake of avoiding what is, in most cases, nothing more sinister than a common cold, aka. the perfect excuse to snuggle up with your favourite DVD, a [healthy] takeaway, and an early night – all that new stuff will still be there in the morning.

What are your top tips to avoid getting ill at university? Tell us in the comments.

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