Our top tips for avoiding & managing the start-of-semester sniffles
You’ve made friends with your new flatmates, gotten stuck-in at your intro lectures and started exploring the city, but then, the infamous fresher’s flu hits.
Fresher’s flu isn’t a specific illness, but rather, the massive mix of colds and flus that spread from person to person in those first few weeks of the first semester. It isn’t always a flu and it doesn’t just affect first-year students – really any of the student population can catch a virus when they start, or start back, at uni.
Sometimes, getting fresher’s flu is unavoidable, but like any cold, there are things you can do to try and reduce your chances of catching any bugs.
How to reduce your chances of catching fresher’s flu
Reducing your chances of catching fresher’s flu is the same as trying to avoid getting a cold. But there are some factors that you may want to consider to help reduce your chances of getting poorly.
Hygiene
Fresher’s flu is a result of lots of people from around the country (or world) mixing when they get to uni, spreading different germs that other people may not have been exposed to before. While you can’t avoid meeting new people (and the possibility of getting poorly shouldn’t deter you from socialising and making new friends), practising good hygiene can help prevent the spread of germs.
Wash your hands regularly (especially before handling and eating food), and if you can’t, use hand sanitiser. You should also avoid sharing towels and kitchen items (like glasses or cutlery) with flatmates, especially if they have a cold.
Stress
Moving to uni is a massive life event, so it’s completely natural to feel nervous or anxious.
Feelings of anxiety can affect your immune system’s functions, and while you can’t always help feeling anxious, you can sometimes manage it. Try to take some time to yourself through fresher’s week, and remember that you don’t always have to be super busy and go to every single event.
You might want to pack some lozenges which you could use as part of a relaxing regime whilst on-the-go, or spritz a relaxing pillow mist to help unwind in the evenings as part of your bedtime routine.
If the feelings of anxiousness are continuing throughout the semester, you might want to discuss this with your university’s mental health service or your GP. You may also wish to consider accessing a private service such as the Boots Online Doctor Depression and Anxiety Treatment service.*
Diet & exercise
We know, we know – a healthy diet can go out of the window during fresher’s week. From the pizza takeaways offering student discount to the post-club kebab shop trips, it’s easy to forget about the frozen peas your parents bought you.
Although it feels easier to rely on takeaways and convenience food, it’s really important to try and eat a balanced diet. This is because eating well helps your immune system work properly, helping it fight against any fresher’s flu germs.
Eating a balanced diet simply means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions. Getting your five-a-day of fruit and vegetables is key, as is eating enough fibre and protein. This doesn’t mean you have to cut out sugary or fatty foods altogether, it just means you should have these less often, and in small amounts.
A big part of a healthy diet is drinking enough water. You might want to take a water bottle to lectures so you can stay hydrated all day long. (This is also super important if you’re drinking alcohol, because alcohol is dehydrating!).
Exercise is crucial to supporting your immune system, even if it’s just walking from your accommodation to your lectures. You might even want to join one of your uni’s sports societies or a nearby gym so you can stay active throughout the semester. You could also go on walks around campus or your new city so you can get your bearings whilst getting some exercise – it’s a win, win!
Alcohol
Stereotypically, fresher’s week (and all of university) is paired with regular heavy drinking. But drinking too much alcohol can weaken your immune system, making you more susceptible to getting poorly.
The NHS recommends drinking no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, spread across three days or more. This is around six medium (175ml) glasses of wine or six pints of 4% beer.
We know it’s easier said than done, especially with the amount of fresher’s week events that centre around alcohol, but try to have a break from drinking some nights. You could even suggest a movie night to your flatmates or have a solo self-care night instead.
Remember too, that it’s okay if you decide you don’t want to drink alcohol at all. Whether it’s for cultural, financial, health or many other reasons, plenty of students choose not to drink alcohol. You can still have a great student experience and just as much fun while staying sober at university, so don’t feel pressured into drinking if you don’t want to.
Sleep
With the nights out followed by early-morning lectures, you might find you’re not getting enough sleep. The recommended amount of shut-eye we should be getting as adults is between seven and nine hours a night.
It’s essential that your body gets enough rest – in fact, not getting enough sleep can make your immune system work less effectively. Try to have a couple of early nights to get some much-needed rest.
If you’re struggling to drop off easily, there’s a few things you can do to help yourself get to sleep. Limiting screen time an hour before bed is important as the blue light from phones and laptops can keep us up at night. Practicing relaxation techniques can also be helpful, whether that’s meditating or using calming essential oils, and activities like reading or listening to soft music can help us drift off too.
How to manage fresher’s flu
Of course, despite your best attempts, sometimes you still get fresher’s flu. Treating it depends on what illness you get exactly, but the NHS’ general advice for managing a cold is:
- Get lots of rest
- Drink plenty of fluid, especially water
- Eat healthy food
If suitable for you, you can help relieve symptoms by taking paracetamol, ibuprofen or cough and cold medicine. Make sure to read the instructions before taking, as a lot of cough and cold medicines contain paracetamol or ibuprofen, and should not be used at the same time as other products containing the same ingredient.
Getting fresher’s flu might be your first time looking after yourself when poorly, without family members being around, and it’s completely normal for this to trigger homesickness. You might want to call a loved one, or when you’re packing for uni, remember to pack some home comforts like your childhood teddy or blanket. Homesickness isn’t anything to feel ashamed about, and most students feel it at some point.
You might want to consider having the flu jab to help protect yourself. To find out who may be eligible for a free NHS flu jab¥ see boots.com for details. Flu vaccination eligibility - Boots
If you aren’t eligible for the free NHS flu jab¥, our private Winter Flu Jab Service¥ can help keep you protected.
Should I go to the GP?
If you have a cold or flu, you normally don’t need to go to the GP and you’ll get better by yourself over time.
But sometimes, fresher’s flu-like symptoms can actually be indicative of a more serious illness, like meningitis, mumps or glandular fever. If you’re feeling unwell and your symptoms don’t improve or you start to feel worse, we’d recommend going to see your GP.
It’s a good idea to sign up to a GP in your new city as soon as you start uni, so that if you do become unwell at any point, you’re able to quickly get the support you need.
Meningitis
Meningitis has symptoms similar to fresher’s flu, and so can sometimes be mistaken for it.
It also has more severe symptoms like:
- High temperature
- Severe headache
- Light sensitivity
- Neck stiffness (you can’t move your head to make your chin touch your chest)
- A rash that looks like small red or purple ‘pin pricks’
Meningitis can cause long-term health problems and can even be fatal, so it’s important that if you suspect you have it, you call 999 immediately. You don’t need to have all the symptoms for it to be meningitis.
You might want to consider the Boots Meningitis B Vaccination service** as an extra precaution. The NHS also offers a free MenACWY vaccination for students who haven’t previously had it, which protects against MenA, MenC, MenW and MenY meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia.
Mumps
Mumps has similar symptoms to fresher’s flu, but the main indicator is if the sides of your face underneath your ears are swollen, creating a ‘hamster face.’ Thankfully, mumps tends to go away on its own.
While mumps isn’t usually serious, it is contagious, so you should stay away from any lectures or social events for at least five days after your symptoms first develop.
If you do think you have the mumps, it’s important to contact your GP so they can make a diagnosis. Make sure to let them know in advance if you’ll be going into the surgery so they can make any necessary precautions to prevent the spread.
Most children in the UK get the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination, but if you didn’t, speak to your GP about getting this before going to university.
Glandular fever
Glandular fever is similar to a cold or flu, but you may also get swollen glands on either side of your neck, a very high temperature or a severe sore throat. If you have any of these symptoms, make sure to see your GP, and get lots of rest and drink plenty of fluids.
While it’s known as the ‘kissing disease,’ you can get glandular fever by spreading saliva in any way, including sharing cutlery and glasses.
Learn more about other types of sore throats.
So, along with having a great time, make sure to take good care of yourself during your time at uni, to help reduce your chances of getting poorly. Try to eat well, get enough sleep, exercise regularly and manage anxiety levels as much as you can.
