Sick and Far Away from Home

My  first time to be away from home was during my university days. For four years, I lived in a ladies’ dormitory within the university campus. I grew up in the lowlands and when I moved to the mountains, my system adapted the colder climate. As a student and an intern, I did all my chores. After school, among many other tasks, I did my laundry, I cooked my own food, grocery shopped, and others. I got tired and exhausted and sometimes, I got sick. Since there were twenty four of us  (interns) in one room, there was a great chance that I might pass my colds and flu to my roommates.
Here are a few tips to stay healthy and avoid getting sick with the changes in temperature:   Keep Yourself Hydrated Drink lots of water. Not soda, not even iced tea and definitely no alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverages are diuretic in nature that makes you pee, not a liquid laxative. This can drain your body of vital fluids.
Visit your University Physician Do this the moment you don't feel well. Have your university physician or medical assistant check on what you have and what medications are needed to get rid of it. Do not go after a couple of days, for you may have struck infections by then. And that means, you will miss your classes while you wait for the medicines to kick in.
	Email your Professor Should You Need to Miss your Class Secure for a medical certificate from your university physician, scan it and email it to your professors. Tell them that you will miss your classes. This will give your professors the impression that you care about being in their class.
Take Your Daily Cs and Other Supplements Aside from hydrating yourself by drinking water, it is also important that you take your daily vitamins and supplements. If you suspect or you feel you have a fever, take paracetamol.  If however, your system is too weak to battle the virus, visit your physician immediately. If he gives you some medicines to take, make sure that you complete the entire dose. It is possible that an infection could recur because you did not finish the dose. One thing worse than being sick is being sick AGAIN. Take the Needed Rest How well can you study for a test when you are sick? If you feel that you are under the weather, get some rest. People who take off when they are not feeling well live longer than those who don’t.
Eating Right Eating right is the key. But if you live in a dormitory like I used to, this is really difficult   to do. For the fact that we don’t have a full kitchen and a stove in our room, microwaving our food won’t give any healthy options. Even the foods served in the university’s cafeteria are not much better. The best thing you can do is get some fruits and stuff like that and store in your personal fridge. The minerals and vitamins will help you feel better.
A final tip to stay healthy is to practice prevention. Don't wait until you get sick and search for a cure. Do the things listed above. Practice prevention. Remember, an ounce of prevention is better than cure.

Prepared By: Liezel Magno Castro