how did ur DC handle flu etc?

[Anonymous]

This is why I’m nervous about my youngest going far away. Obviously, most kids survive just fine. However, my older kids went in state and both ended up very ill to the point of my having to retrieve them from campus - mono, COVID, a newly diagnosed chronic health condition, etc. They’d been super healthy and rarely missed a school until college so I didn’t expect it. I won’t be close by with the next one so I’ll just have to hope for the best but at minimum I will send a thermometer, Advil, masks and identify in-network healthcare near campus. If they get COVID or flu, I’ll have them move to a hotel if in a shared dorm room. I’m also prepared to retrieve them if needed.

[Anonymous]

^ we die t two separate weeks up in an air b nb with him- son e couldn’t walk as far fi class initially…and second time after surgical wound infection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine had appendicitis. Uber’d by himself to the ER. After health center dismissed it as gas. Had to pack a surgical wound for 6 weeks after in a dorm room with no sink.

This was a kid who never had been sick, had the flu or even been on antibiotics.

Turned out to be incredibly resourceful and I taught him to trust his gut/own instincts.

Looking back- the flu or step I imagined never happened, didn’t expect a surgery and organ to be taken….

So, so important!!!! My kid got brushed off by health center and has a strong pain tolerance…he knew it was serious and was smart enough to bypass campus health and go on his own to the ER, as a freshman by himself. I was very proud of that. He was admitted immediately and in surgery hours later. If he listened or could have burst in dorm room and gone septic.

[Anonymous]

omg. finally a real useful thread here! A scary one too!

[Anonymous]

College Crud, Frat Flu, they all stay up too late, don't get enough sleep, don't eat properly, etc. Don't you remember when YOU were in college?

You send them with all the stuff in their medicine box:
Cough drops
Sudafed
Chloraseptic spray
Advil
Acetaminophen

And when they are miserable, you send boxes of Tea via Amazon or Spooonful of Comfort (soup) to make them feel better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You teach them how to stay healthy. The hardest part for them is getting plenty of sleep.

You allow them real world experiences for bad lifestyle choices. And the benefits of wise choices.

Wow. Sounds like you blame your kid when they get sick. Nice.

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine was an on campus Nurse Practitioner and her advice was the importance of fluids and don’t rely on your roommate who is heading to class all day. She would encounter late arrivals at the health center, and the patient was dehydrated and she had to send them to the ER for IV fluids. Send your student with a thermometer and flu meds, Tylenol etc. Make sure they know the health center exists, hours of operation and how to secure an appointment. And, of course, keep in contact with your student.

[Anonymous]

We all did it. I went to college and never looked back and did it.
But this thread makes me hope my DC doesn’t go too far away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College Crud, Frat Flu, they all stay up too late, don't get enough sleep, don't eat properly, etc. Don't you remember when YOU were in college?

You send them with all the stuff in their medicine box:
Cough drops
Sudafed
Chloraseptic spray
Advil
Acetaminophen

And when they are miserable, you send boxes of Tea via Amazon or Spooonful of Comfort (soup) to make them feel better.

Agree. Theraflu is good to send too. Bugs are rampant especially in the Fall

[Anonymous]

Ugh, I remember my DS got the flu one year and he was put on Tamiflu. The medicine made him extremely ill and he became very dehydrated. All this happened and he never contacted me until he had recovered. He didn't want me to worry. He had many friends there helping him with his needs.

[Anonymous]

You prepare by sending with the medicine they will need, Theraflu, etc., Remember they are 18 and may not be able to buy certain OTC meds in some states.

Then be supportive when they get sick. It is going to happen. Does every year for freshman. Your are bring people together from all over the world and putting them in confined spaces. They don’t get enough sleep. Fresher flu happens every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why I’m nervous about my youngest going far away. Obviously, most kids survive just fine. However, my older kids went in state and both ended up very ill to the point of my having to retrieve them from campus - mono, COVID, a newly diagnosed chronic health condition, etc. They’d been super healthy and rarely missed a school until college so I didn’t expect it. I won’t be close by with the next one so I’ll just have to hope for the best but at minimum I will send a thermometer, Advil, masks and identify in-network healthcare near campus. If they get COVID or flu, I’ll have them move to a hotel if in a shared dorm room. I’m also prepared to retrieve them if needed.

good grief they do not need to move to a hotel for any germ even mono. by the time they feel the first symptom they have typcially already been contagious for 6-24 hrs. If their roommate has significant underlying issues such as a compromised immune system the colleges give them a single or alternative housing. I do paperwork every year for these very valid issues, and their specialists have specific meds these kids can take for the duration of flu outbreaks etc. healthy college kids stay in rooms with roommates when sick and try not to cough on each other/masks if the two of them agree to that. college kids get parainfluenza, rhinoenterovirus, flu, covid, norovirus, and walking pneumonia"(mycoplasma). all the time. especially freshman not used to the huge variety of germs in a dorm. germs are a part of life. just get them symptomatic meds that help them some and teach them not to combine too many(ie cough drops, tea, advil, nyquil, theraflu). encourage them to get flu and covid boosters, it absolutely decreases severity and duration of these illnesses which means less class missed and less misery. encourage them to recognize the start of a germ(almost always a sore/scratchy throat) and not stay up late or overdo it when they get that first symptom. encourage them to hydrate well with electrolytes especially if it is a vomiting illness and make sure they know how to get in to student health which should be well covered at college orientation.
-signed a pediatrician married to a teacher who are on our third rodeo sending a kid off. the kids build immunity over time just as teachers docs and nurses do in our first couple years of career.

[Anonymous]

My oldest has a strong immune system, didn’t catch both times roommate was sick. Did get sick once. They slept with windows open when sick, did not have an air purifier. Good sleep, eating habits, exercise and lifestyle choices can help. Bring supplies so they don’t have to go out when sick to track down medications.

Also, my kid is an EMT and it shocks me the amount of calls they get from kids who are sick for first time away from home and freaking out. Nothing serious, but their minds must spiral in the night. So, there’s alway that route too for better or worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I’m nervous about my youngest going far away. Obviously, most kids survive just fine. However, my older kids went in state and both ended up very ill to the point of my having to retrieve them from campus - mono, COVID, a newly diagnosed chronic health condition, etc. They’d been super healthy and rarely missed a school until college so I didn’t expect it. I won’t be close by with the next one so I’ll just have to hope for the best but at minimum I will send a thermometer, Advil, masks and identify in-network healthcare near campus. If they get COVID or flu, I’ll have them move to a hotel if in a shared dorm room. I’m also prepared to retrieve them if needed.

good grief they do not need to move to a hotel for any germ even mono. by the time they feel the first symptom they have typcially already been contagious for 6-24 hrs. If their roommate has significant underlying issues such as a compromised immune system the colleges give them a single or alternative housing. I do paperwork every year for these very valid issues, and their specialists have specific meds these kids can take for the duration of flu outbreaks etc. healthy college kids stay in rooms with roommates when sick and try not to cough on each other/masks if the two of them agree to that. college kids get parainfluenza, rhinoenterovirus, flu, covid, norovirus, and walking pneumonia"(mycoplasma). all the time. especially freshman not used to the huge variety of germs in a dorm. germs are a part of life. just get them symptomatic meds that help them some and teach them not to combine too many(ie cough drops, tea, advil, nyquil, theraflu). encourage them to get flu and covid boosters, it absolutely decreases severity and duration of these illnesses which means less class missed and less misery. encourage them to recognize the start of a germ(almost always a sore/scratchy throat) and not stay up late or overdo it when they get that first symptom. encourage them to hydrate well with electrolytes especially if it is a vomiting illness and make sure they know how to get in to student health which should be well covered at college orientation.
-signed a pediatrician married to a teacher who are on our third rodeo sending a kid off. the kids build immunity over time just as teachers docs and nurses do in our first couple years of career.

In the case of my ds' suitemate who went to a hotel after a week he did so mainly out of consideration for the roommate's sleep because he was constantly coughing, etc and keeping him up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They handle it. They and their roommates/suitemates mask as much as possible. Flu shots. Nothing for the parents to do. They can deal.

This. This is where they learn to grow up. As long as they had their flu shot, a heathy teen/20 something can weather through it without any assistance. Room mate can check for signs of life.