By Kiley Garrett
With Flu season upon us and the Coronavirus declared a public health emergency, its important to do everything you can to stay healthy. There are several things you can do to keep the germs away:
- Wash your hands
While it’s something that everyone is told from a young age, not many realize how important washing your hands is. Frequent hand washes, not just when you use the restroom, are an important and easy step in preventing illness. - Hand Sanitizer
Washing your hands is a huge part in staying healthy but using hand sanitizer regularly can help just as much, especially in public places. It is a fast and convenient way to clean your hands. - Face Masks
If you know someone around you is sick or you’re worried that you are coming down with something, stop by your doctor’s office or the campus health services and pick up some face masks. Preventing germs from getting into your mouth and nose is a great way to prevent illness or keep others safe if you’re sick. - Multivitamins
A daily multivitamin can be beneficial and is one way to help your immune system stay strong. With all of the germs that go around, especially on a college campus or in tight quartered dorm rooms, your immune system could use all the help it can get. Be sure to consult your doctor about what kinds of vitamins are the best for you. - Eat healthy
Making sure what you’re eating is nutritionally balanced can help boost your immune system and make it easier to fight off illness, should you happen to catch a cold or the flu. - Vaccinations
During Flu season, the flu shot is both yours and everyone else’s biggest ally. For those who can’t get their flu shot or are compromised regardless of whether they get it or not, like cancer patients and pregnant women, it is important for the people around them to stay up to date on their flu shots. And just because you had a flu shot last year doesn’t mean you’re still covered; a yearly flu shot is recommended by most physicians to reduce your chances. For students living in the dorms or another public housing situation, ENMU health services recommends making sure that you have your meningitis and MMR vaccines. - Go to the doctor
One of the best things you can do to make sure that you stay healthy is to go to the doctor when you start to feel off. Don’t blame that earache or sore throat on the weather, you’re better off going to the doctor and getting checked out just in case.
Keeping your health in mind is the best way to power through the semester without any unnecessary complications. ENMU has an on-campus health clinic that is open Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm. They offer a variety of services from a women’s health specialist that is on sight on Wednesdays, to their regular Nurse Practitioner that is there daily to help with your health needs.
