how did ur DC handle flu etc?

[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.

[Anonymous]

Put together your ‘Bucket o Meds’ - a Rubbermaid container with all the stuff- Imodium, Tums, Tylenol, NyQuil, Sudafed, condoms, etc. I wrote on the outside of the packages so my kid would know what the generic stuff was, I also put a sheet of paper on the inside lid that had the numbers for Health Services and the address and phone number of the closest ER, along with their health insurance info. Did most of the stuff come back unopened? Yes. But when they did get the crud freshman year it was very appreciated

[Anonymous]

Agree with the others to send a box of meds with instructions in sharpie on each med as well as taped to the inside of the box. Include what you'd want them to have in a pinch, without needing to go to the store. You don't want them calling you in the middle of the night just for you to tell them to take pepto for nausea, for example, or ibuprofen for a headache, though that might happen too, if they forget that they even have the box of meds, lol.

This is the beginning of their own medical decision-making. Send with them whatever you would give them at home if they were sick.

Make sure they are aware of the student health center and in what circumstances they would go there.

[Anonymous]

I would recommend that your student go to urgent care nearby campus instead of student health sometimes, because they get better treatment or get treated like a regular adult.

My son had a three day wait for the student health services when he was sick at an out of state public, but then went to a private urgent care. Five minute walk from his dorm and got great service and then the pharmacy nearby at CVS just took our insurance. Total cost of about 30 bucks.