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It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s your first year or final year, freshers flu catches us all. Freshers\u2019 flu is the dreaded \u2018lurgy\u2019 that most students get in the first few weeks of term. Freshers\u2019 flu isn\u2019t one \u2018disease\u2019 and can manifest itself in any number of ways depending on \u2018what\u2019s going around\u2019. This might be the flu, or cold like symptoms or if you\u2019re really unlucky some serious vomiting and diarrhoea\u2026 well, that\u2019s not induced by normal fresher\u2019s week festivities.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s probably not rocket science to figure out that bringing large amounts of people from all over the place to live, work and party in confined spaces is going to be a recipe for bringing in bugs and transmitting them easily.<\/p>\n
Even for the most well-prepared immune system, the combination of consistent exposure to a vast number or bugs, lack of sleep and less than ideal nutrition is a recipe for the body to \u2018crash\u2019 and pick up any illnesses going around, and if you\u2019re really unlucky, this can sometimes take a few weeks to fully recover from, especially if you are invaded by a few different nasties at the same time.<\/p>\n
However, no matter how futile it might seem that you will inevitably pick up some form of illness whilst your immune system toughens up (and you get back to some normal eating and sleeping patterns), there are ways to potentially prevent and at the very least limit the extent and duration of the dreaded freshers\u2019 flu.<\/p>\n
Although it might seem like a battle you can\u2019t win, there are a few things we can do to help prevent freshers\u2019 flu, or at least take the edge off if we do get it!<\/p>\n
Although working out does cause short term stress which can put \u2018pressure\u2019 on our immune system (so working out hard when ill isn\u2019t a good idea), the long-term effects of exercise are to promote overall health and immune function.<\/a><\/p>\n There is also some evidence to suggest that working out when ill, at least gently, might help shorten the duration of illness. However, if you are ill our advice is to stay out the gym, have a bit of courtesy and stop potentially spreading your diseases to other poor unsuspecting people!<\/p>\n Ok, this is a biggie, and although even the healthiest of eaters might pick up the odd bug, a diet rich in immune boosting vitamins and minerals is always going to give you the best chance of preventing and reducing the impact of fresher\u2019s flu.<\/p>\n This means plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables to get in your vitamin C and other immune boosting nutrients, lots of good fats (especially those found in nuts, seeds and oily fish which are rich in antioxidants) and lean sources of protein to help support recovery if you do get poorly.<\/p>\n Although fresh fruit and vegetables may be expensive, frozen and tinned varieties can more than do the job. However, for those who really do struggle to eat enough of the good stuff, there are always supplements that can give you a helping hand.<\/p>\n Multi-Vitamin<\/a> and mineral supplements<\/a> can certainly fill the gap if required, however whole foods do tend to have added extras like fibre which help promote overall health including supporting immune system function, so whole grains and other fibrous foods should not be neglected.<\/p>\n Vitamin C<\/a> is the most \u2018famous\u2019 vitamin when it comes to preventing cold, flu and other bugs. It certainly plays a big role in immune system function as an antioxidant but unfortunately using mega-doses of vitamin c might not be mega-effective at preventing illness.<\/p>\n However, we shouldn\u2019t write a high dose of vitamin C off just yet. High doses may not prevent freshers\u2019 flu, but it may well help reduce the duration and severity. So, increasing your vitamin C intake to 2000mg a day<\/a> over your first few weeks of term might work, and it\u2019s worth a try as it\u2019s not exactly going to break the bank even on the tightest of student budgets.<\/p>\n Stress is a bit of an \u2018odd one\u2019 when it comes to the immune system. It can in the short term boost our defences, but too much stress and these barriers are easily breached, especially when it comes in combination with a lack of sleep, poor nutrition and alcohol.<\/p>\n The best way to handle stress is through not going too \u2018big\u2019 in freshers\u2019 week and looking after your nutrition, sleep and regular exercise so that the impact of any stress associated with starting at university is reduced and our \u2018stress cup\u2019 never gets to the point where it overflows and makes you more susceptible to illness.<\/p>\n Several supplements can also help, these include tyrosine<\/a> and gingko biloba<\/a>, which has some other interesting properties that may help us in promoting restful sleep.<\/p>\nDiet<\/h3>\n
Supplements<\/h3>\n
Stress Levels<\/h3>\n
Alcohol<\/h3>\n