Swine flu is now dangling over students’ heads like a biological sword of Damocles, and flu vaccines are now out of stock. Unfortunately, most busy students don’t have the luxury of staying in bed all week to recharge and re-stabilize. But fear not, Wildcats: your newspaper has some tips to defend against the flying pigs.
If you feel sick, stay off campus and, out of courtesy, refrain from contact with anything public. If you have the flu you’ll be too lightheaded and busy sneezing and coughing all over the place to take good notes anyway.
Also, if you feel the need to sneeze or cough, cover it up — with overloaded classrooms and seats that barely leave shoulder room, everyone within five yards will despise you for the rest of the semester if you don’t. Be sure to cough into your arm rather than your hand, as you come into physical contact more often with hands.
Wash your hands often, especially before and after activities such as nose-blowing, eating and rubbing your eyes. Surgical masks are a tad too extreme and lacking in Ed Hardy designs for us to suggest wearing them, but we wouldn’t tell you not to use them. Besides, for the next week, you can pretend your mask is a part of your Halloween costume.
Get your vitamins. We’re lucky in Arizona to get plenty of vitamin D from the sun, but vitamin C is especially helpful for the immune system and is difficult to sufficiently acquire from a diet of nachos, Pop Tarts and midterm-inspired Starbucks.
Furthermore, look out for too much sugar intake from candy and energy drinks. Significant amounts of sugar can temporarily weaken the immune system, and this is especially troublesome if you’re stressing your system by staying up late and not resting enough.
Another immunity killer is excessive exercise. By all means, work out, but don’t overdo it. In addition, don’t wipe your nose with your hands and then rub them all over the dumbbells in the weight room. Almost every structural pillar inside the Student Recreation Center has a disinfectant foam dispenser — take advantage of it.
Lastly, avoid any game one might call “”beer pong”” or “”Beirut.”” Alcohol isn’t going to kill the virus in your system. The high-risk combination of immunity-suppressing alcohol and germs galore could easily result in the swine flu going through your immune system like Tom Brady through the Tennessee Titans’ defense.
Stay as healthy as possible during midterms month. Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Break are still a long way off, and during the sick season, all you can do is take things day by day and hope to avoid damaging your health.
— Editorials are determined by the opinions board, which includes Alex Dalenberg, Justyn Dillingham, Laura Donovan, Daniel Greenberg, Heather Price-Wright, Dan Sotelo and Anna Swenson.
