It is not cold season, but many of MSU students are coming down with a cold. “There has actually been an increase in the amount of students needing to see a doctor. Currently, all appointments are booked,” Ella Frese, Nurse Administrator at the Longest Student Health Center, said.
“We are receiving approximately 150 to 170 appointments a day. We are actually having to double book some appointments in order to allow all the students that are sick to be able to see a doctor,” Frese said.
“A lot of the patients have sinus infections, but we are seeing a lot more pneumonia than normal, also. This is due to the out-of-area students moving in that aren’t used to Starkville’s weather conditions and surroundings,” Frese said.
There are ways to prevent getting this cold that is traveling around campus.
“I recommend that students maintain a regular sleep and meal schedule. Students should also avoid smoking and secondhand smoke,” Frese said.
Measures can be taken if one does start to feel symptoms of a cold.
“For students with a common cold, I recommend the cold pack that can be bought at the Pharmacy at the Longest Student Health Center. It contains four different types of medicines which include Goldine Genaphed nasal decongestant, Tavist allergy pills, Robafen DM cough syrup and Tylenol. We have actually sold about 20 of these since school has started,” Shannon Street, Pharmacy Director of the Longest Student Health Center, said.
“This cold pack only costs $8, so everyone should be able to afford it,” Street said. “We have a large variety of many different over the counter products for students with all types of symptoms,” Street said.
“For students that start running a fever, I recommend that they take a Tylenol every three hours. If the fever becomes higher than 101 degrees and/or the nasal congestion lasts for more than four days, they should make an appointment to see a doctor,” Frese said. “The longer a person keeps a fever, the longer it will take to recover, because when a person has a fever they are burning up their natural bodily fluids.”
“With the nasal congestion, sore throats are very common. To prevent a sore throat a lot of liquids need to be consumed until the person is better,” Frese said.
Students who need to make an appointment should call 325-7539 or visit the front desk on the first floor of the Student Health Center.