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….

Mine way OOS got mono. I said go to student health. She did. Her roommate (triple) thought she had it and went to student health. Covid but not mono. The other roommate was fine probably due to excessive alcohol in her system.

They were fine. They went to class because everyone is sick freshman year and no one cares especially professors. Mine was monitored for her liver by student health and sick as a dog for weeks.

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.

Nothing for the parents to do and they deal? No. You help your kids through this and make sure they get through it.

I'm impressed they wore masks though - very responsible!

This was the hardest part of having my kid be so far away. Send them with a bag of supplies for when they get sick. Everything from Gatorade to cough meds to a thermometer. Research nearby medical facilities ahead of time. The health clinic may be closed on weekends or appointments may not be available, so look for nearby urgent cares and figure out how they will get there. Some campus shuttles will take kids there, there's also Uber. And then when they do get sick, be in close touch and coach them through it.

OP - thanks for asking this. I am now super worried - but will be more prepared.

They all get really sick their freshman year. It is bad. Just get ready. Especially boys. DS suitemate was in bed for a week and his parents finally came down and put him in a hotel. He had flu and strep.

My ds got mono his sophomore year. That was terrible. He took himself to the hospital twice. I was thisclose to booking a flight but didn't end up going. I did doordash the heck out of soups and pharmacy/grocery supplies though. I would have gone if it was his freshman year for sure but he had his own room sophomore year and great suitemates who helped him.

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.

Barf bags. Seriously - if they’re are in a hall-style dorm but even if they are in a Jack-and-Jill or suite with a shared bathroom, it can be hard to get to a toilet in time if they have the flu (or food poisoning, or a hangover, or whatever).

https://a.co/d/8xM57DM

Make sure they know to drink - water, but better Gatorade or something with electrolytes (or add the powdered stuff to their water bottle) and teach them signs of dehydration.

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

op here - thanks.

yeah the comment about choices didn’t feel really helpful - but thinking a bit more. That’s one factor that could help mitigate getting a cold or just catching a bug.

but yeah, overall it’s gonna be tough. I can see that. on top of that with Mr. Kennedy at DHS we probably won’t have an updated flu vaccine for this fall so who knows how that’s gonna be impacting the effectiveness of the flu vaccine.

Mine had the flu shot in the fall. Got terrible flu in February and again in late March. I made them an appt at the clinic, told them to get Tamiflu and start immediately. That helped somewhat. They still missed nearly a week of class. It was really rough. Hoping that sleeping in a single this year will help but they’re on a sports team so lots of germs are inevitably still being spread.

You make sure they get the flu shot in mid-Sept. We have been doing this for 15 years and haven't gotten the flu in 15 years.

Choices - yes, okay…

But kids get sick regardless of “choices.”

It’s hard being far away. My kid didn’t get the flu or Covid last year. But they did get food poisoning. All you can do is make sure they have basic meds on hand and support them if they need to go to the doctor. We sent food too one night.

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.

This is getting real!

DC is going to an OOS school, where we can only have to fly to.


When ur DC came down with cold flu etc.. how did it work out in the dorm, sharing close spaces with 2 or 3 other students?

How did u as a parent handle it?