Every year in September, thousands of students from all over the UK and abroad return to universities across the UK. Some of which are making the journey for the first time. This mixing of students from all over the country and world creates a phenomenon known as freshers’ flu.
Freshers flu is the mixture of viruses and contagious diseases brought together from all over the world. It is inevitable that if you are a student, you will get freshers flu by the time the semester ends. So, if you are starting university for the first time this year what can you do to make this easier?
Register with your local GP. Being already registered helps a lot when you are sick. Some universities even get practices to come along to freshers’ fayres to make registering that much easier.
Remember, in Scotland they use the CHI number instead of an NHS number. They do the same thing but are not necessarily the same.
Another thing to check is if you are up to date with your vaccines. Requesting your vaccination history from your local GP before going to university can tell you this. The government recommends making sure you have had the meningitis and MMR vaccine before you go. It is also recommended that if you are biologically female to have the HPV vaccine as well.
Freshers’ week can feel like that first bit of freedom, for many of us it can be a baptism into our independence and adult life. In order to keep at your healthiest, remember hygiene, clean meals, and sleep regularly. Alcohol and neglecting these things can lower your immune system, making it much more likely to contract fresher’s flu.
If and when you get freshers flu make sure it is actually freshers flu and not covid or meningitis. Meningitis is an infection in the layers around the brain and can become deadly very quickly in its bacterial form. Its symptoms include runny nose, headache, fever, cold hands, cold feet, joint pain, drowsiness, and vomiting. Meningitis is known for its pinpoint rash, but it only appears in the later stages. Quite often the rash will not appear at all.
University is an amazing time of learning, friendship, independence, and new experiences but please keep safe.
Could you stomach a live post mortem? Secure your tickets here! Be quick, our tour begins in Manchester at the end of September!
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