University students are sick — they’re coughing, aching and tired — but despite how bad it may seem for those suffering from colds, the University Health Center reports this cold season is no worse than others.
Monica Hernandez, a sophomore math and computer science major, is one student who is suffering from a cold.
“I’ve been sick the whole term, and I don’t feel like I’m getting any better,” she said, adding that she has missed three days of school and work.
Hernandez is not alone. Pat McCormick, supervisor of medical records at the University Health Center, said 20 percent of the center’s recent patients had upper respiratory problems such as colds. Although these are minor illnesses, they are enough to make life uncomfortable, she said.
Julie Dewsnup, the health center pharmacy manager, also said many people are sick right now, but the pharmacy has not been particularly busy.
There is no cure for colds, she said, so most people are probably handling their sicknesses on their own.
There are several reasons why so many illnesses are going around, said Dr. Gerald Fleischli, director of the health center. One is that students go all over the world during vacation breaks and pick up several different types of germs, he said.
“The University setting is not like working in a 50-person office,” he said. “Students are exposed to thousands more people on campus.”
Fleischli said the cold weather is another reason for illnesses because people have moved back to the “indoor air season” and are in closer contact with others, making it easier to contract germs.
Fleischli said it is important to practice healthy habits, such as washing one’s hands and not sharing food or drinks, because colds can last up to two weeks.”People need to have a paranoia about germs to protect themselves,” Fleischli said.
Despite the number of colds going around, Fleischli said he is not aware of the center treating any “true influenza” cases this year. This is good news for the health center, since its shipment of flu vaccines has been delayed.
Fleischli said the center’s pharmaceutical supplier assured him that the center would receive 16 percent of its vaccine order by the end of October. However, Fleischli said, the vaccines are still not available and probably won’t be for several weeks. This nationwide inconvenience results from the slow replication of one of the three strains used to make the vaccine.
“We have no idea when we’re going to get it,” he said.
Fleischli said he hopes the health center receives the vaccine soon, because students will be traveling during winter break and will pick up a lot of germs. This could be a real problem in January, he said.
In addition to the health center, Lane County Public Health Services also has not received the vaccine. Once the vaccine is distributed, both facilities plan to give the vaccine based on who needs it most, such as people older than 65 or those with serious medical problems.