Keeping healthy on campus

Jeff Broddle | Cadillac News Diana Kaminiski does coursework for her keyboarding class at Baker College in Cadillac. With students going to college in the next few weeks, it is important for them to be up-to-date on health issues.

Students may have many different worries before leaving for college.

It might be wondering how they will get along with a roommate, worrying about difficult classes or hoping to find a job. One thing students tend to forget about are health issues when going to college.

For those students planning on living in a dorm or in a house with many other students, it is especially important to keep up to date on vaccinations and shots.

“When you live in a communal living arrangement, you have a larger chance of catching the flu or other diseases,” said District 10 Public Health nurse Bonnie Campbell. “Many public colleges don't require immunizations, but it is a good idea to keep up to date on shots anyway.”

Although viruses such as influenza and a common cold are usually not life-threatening, some diseases such as meningitis can be deadly.

According to the American College Health Association, the disease is a rare but potentially fatal bacterial infection that strikes as many as 125 college students each year.

“It is a scary disease that really started getting awareness in the 1990s,” Campbell said. “We urge college students to get the meningitis vaccination. Once a person contracts the disease, the person can die within hours if it goes untreated.”

After vaccination, immunity develops within 10 days and remains effective for three to five years. The vaccine is safe with mild side effects that can last up to two days.

According to Dr. James Wilson, medical director of the District Health Department No. 10, other vaccines students should get are hepatitis A and B, tetanus and MMRs (mumps, measles and rubella).

“With the tetanus shot, you can get that with a vaccine for whooping cough as well,” Wilson said. “Although they only recommend the meningitis vaccine, it is a good idea to get these as well.”

For students who become sexually active when going to college, Campbell urges students to check into family planning and be tested for sexually-transmitted diseases.

“This is something that students don't want to talk to their parents about, but there can be huge health risks if students aren't being safe,” she said. “Talk to your family doctor or go to the health department.”

Wilson added that it is important for students to eat healthy, exercise and stay away from drugs and binge drinking.

“Don't put yourself in a bad situation,” he said. “Especially women, who should only drink things they have opened themselves or gotten from a legitimate bartender. It is easy for someone to slip stuff in drinks.”

Besides unhealthy eating and inactivity, alcohol also leads to students being overweight.

“College is a time where you are free to make your own choices, but wrong choices can lead to consequences,” Campbell said. “So many students put on the Freshman 15. Nutrition is an issue and there is help for those who need it.”

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Meningitis is an infectious disease where, although can strike at any age, young adults - especially college students - have the greatest risk for contracting the disease. To reduce the risk of meningitis, the American College Health Association recommends incoming college students (as well as high school students) get a vaccination.

€ Meningitis strikes about 3,000 Americans each year and claims as many as 300 lives.

€ Between 100 and 125 cases occurred on college campuses each year, with between five and 15 college students dying as a result.

€ The disease can be spread through air droplets and direct contact with an infected person; or contact such as shared drinking glasses or cigarettes or intimate contact such as kissing.

€ Symptoms of the disease include two or more of the following symptoms: high fever, rash, vomiting, severe headache, neck stiffness, lethargy, nausea and sensitivity to light.

tberkebile@cadillacnews.com | 775-NEWS (6397)