Disease Prevention on College Campuses

How Should You Beat the Flu?

Now that everyone has returned from break, be prepared to deal with this year’s cough, cold, and flu season.

It only takes a couple of weeks for a cold or influenza virus to spread across a college campus. The crowded lifestyle that students live, allows for this spread to occur quickly. The transmission of these viruses typically occurs through direct contact with the bacteria from another individual. The transfer of bacteria can occur through one of two ways. First, it can occur through direct contact where bacterial is physically transferred from one individual to another. The second way is through indirect contact, where you may touch bacteria on a doorknob or water fountain.

In order to lessen the chance of of these diseases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highly recommends increasing the number of times you wash your hands. Thoroughly washing your hands with soap and water is said to be the most effective method of disease prevention. Hand sanitizer has also showed to be a substitute for soap and water.