How to fight off Freshers flu

August 14, 2012
By: Erika Harris

It’s nearly that time again: start of term. No matter whether you’re a fresher, third year student, or starting your Master’s degree – as soon as you’ve braved those first few weeks back at university, the tickly cough starts to set in and it’s all downhill from there.

After meeting lots of new people, drinking until the early hours of the morning, changing your sleeping pattern to fit around your partying and the stress of settling into a new home, new course and new lifestyle can weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to illnesses. Nevertheless, Freshers flu is nothing to worry about as it is usually just a bad cold, but make sure to register with a GP when you get to university, so that you can get checked out in case your symptoms start to get worse.

Symptoms of Freshers flu

Cough

Headaches

Sore throat

Runny / Blocked nose

Feeling unwell / Lethargic

So instead of spending the whole year with a recurring cold, why not stock up with the essential items that HerUni recommends for getting rid of Fresher’s Flu for good!

Remedies for Freshers flu

Night Nurse. Take a few days off from lectures (you were going to anyway) and get lots of rest. We know how hard it is for students to sleep sometimes, especially with the new awkward sleeping patterns we often get into during first year. Night Nurse is available in capsules, or liquid and works wonders!

A cheap cough medicine. After looking on the labels of various cough syrups, it soon becomes clear that they all have the same basic ingredients, so don’t bother breaking the bank for a ‘specialised’ cough medicine; Especially since all they really do is soothe the throat!

Throat sweets. Even if you don’t like menthol, it’s wise to at least try and manage some throat sweets to relieve the pain of a sore throat. They’re also incredibly handy after a particularly wild night out!

Hot Lemon Drinks. These can help as a decongestant, and can be made with the sachets of lemon powder, or by warming up some lemonade in the microwave! Other hot drinks can work too, just as long as they aren’t too thick or creamy, such as hot chocolate and coffee, as these will make you feel just as stuffy as before.

There are lots of other helpful items to include in your first aid kit, especially for those bumps and bruises you might notice whilst nursing a hangover…

Plasters

Paracetamol / Ibuprofen

Indigestion tablets (Rennie does a great orange flavoured tablet for those who don’t like mint!)

Antiseptic cream (Savlon and Sudocrem are really good)

Contraception (For girls, the pill and the implant are very popular methods of birth control, but everyone should carry condoms, just to be safe)

Gum and ulcer gel (Anbesol is a popular brand that works wonders for wisdom teeth!)

Always make sure to shop around for these sorts of items. As the ingredients are usually the same in every brand, you might end up paying extra just for the brand name!

Also, don’t feel too pressured to try and keep up with your regular routine when you do become ill. It may just be a common cold, or that pesky Fresher’s flu, but your body won’t have chance to fight the illness if you’re striving to keep up with classes and your workload. Just email your tutors and let them know you’ll be taking a few days to rest and recuperate – they’ll be more than happy to email you any work you missed and provide you with extra support. That’s what they’re there for!