How to: Survive Being Sick in College

Just as I say I am back and ready to do more posts, I have come down with the flu! Such is the luck of my life, as I get sick pretty regularly. No one in my family has a good immune system (except for my mom, but I’m convinced she’s not human due to her impeccable healthiness and ability to make everything perfect), and of course I inherited that as well. Instead of just taking this week off from posting, I thought I would give you all some tips on how to survive being sick in college, as I have done so many times (and I’m sure you will, too!)

1. Have one solid day of rest.
This can be so hard to do, especially when you are worried about missing classes. If it won’t be the absolute end of the world to miss some of your classes, stay in bed for the day! A lot of my classes are recorded, so it’s fine to miss a couple and just catch up online. Having one day of full rest can give you a head start on the whole getting better process. If you absolutely can’t miss class – I definitely have some of those classes – just try and rest in between, and make sure to go to sleep early and take some naps during the day. This leads me to my next tip…

2. Make sure to get lots of rest!
Go to sleep early. Take a nap after classes. Whatever you have to do to get enough rest is worth it! Sleeping allows your body to heal and get better, so make sure you give it enough time to do so. It’s so important to get at least eight hours a night, especially when you are sick. Trust me on this one, sleeping for longer than usual when you’re sick can really help you get better quicker. Gone are the days where you yearned to be sick in order to miss a couple of days of school; in college, it’s so much harder to take a sick day! Getting better faster will be your best option for not falling behind.

3. Try and get your homework done early in the day.
If you get your homework done before nighttime, you will be more focused, not worried about falling behind, and again, you will be able to sleep more! Once all of the work you need to do gets out of the way, you will be able to relax a lot better, which will also help your body heal. Sitting around worrying about all of the work piling up will help no one, so make sure and get it done before you are too far behind. If it is work that can wait a day or two, don’t worry so much, but try your hardest to not fall behind.

4. Drink lots of fluids.
I know your mom and doctor have told you this before, but it really is important. I carry my water bottle around with me pretty much everywhere I go, and even more so when I’m sick. Drinking more fluids truly does help you get better faster, which is what we’re working for here, if you haven’t noticed. Emergen-C is also a great thing to add to your water, because it loads your body up with the vitamins it needs to get better.

5. If your throat is killing you, invest in some sore throat tea.
Having the flu right now, my throat has been extremely sore. I couldn’t eat anything without my throat hurting the first day I got sick, so I got some sore throat tea, and it helped immensely. If you can’t find a tea specifically for sore throats, peppermint tea is really good as well as lemon-ginger tea. I’m not the biggest peppermint fan, so I usually go the lemon-ginger route, and it really works wonders!

6. Get cough drops before you start coughing.
You know when you get to the coughing stage of being sick, and you become that person coughing during lecture? Make sure to avoid this whole situation, and get some cough drops before this stage occurs. Having mild asthma, I usually get a pretty bad cough while I’m sick, and I won’t be caught dead without my honey cough drops. They help a lot, and also relieve sore throats, so really you can’t go wrong with them. Try to avoid the super sugary one, because they really aren’t that great for you and are basically candy.

7. Take cold medicine during the day, and at night if need be.
I get to worst sleep while I’m sick, so I always take some kind of nighttime cold medicine. This helps a lot, because you are actually able to sleep, instead of just toss and turn all night. Cold medicine also helps a lot with body aches, which I have been suffering from with this flu. They are pretty miserable and make walking to class even more difficult! I don’t really like to take a lot of medicine, but when it really comes down to it, cold medicine can help out a lot if you are feeling really under the weather.

8. Eat food that will sit well with your stomach.
Generally, I don’t have much of an appetite when I’m sick, so I like to stick with things that won’t upset it. Toast, eggs, oatmeal, crackers, and soup are all really great options. I don’t know why, but every time I’m sick, my mom fixes me boiled eggs and toast, and it does wonders. Being at college, however, I don’t have my mom to take care of me, so I just stick with really simple and easy to make food, like microwavable soup.

Well, those are all of the tips I have, and how I survive being sick in college! Getting sick for the first time away from home can be pretty brutal, but if you follow this guide, I’m sure you will make it through. You can always give your parents a call, and beg them for a care package to help you make it through. Flu season truly is the worst, and with all of the germs in college, it makes catching a cold that much easier. Hopefully I get over this one soon!

Also, check out the video I did on my channel about being sick in college!

Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day! 🙂