While doing everything you can to avoid catching sick germs, escape to the cold and snow outside.
Yes, that’s right. Go outside.
Olin Health Center Educator Dennis Martell said the idea that cold weather causes people to get a cold or the flu is a myth.
“It’s the cold weather that causes people to stay indoors,” Martell said. “These contained environments make it easier to spread germs that go through the air and can be passed from hand to hand contact.”
The peak time for the flu is usually mid-January but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this year the peak of influenza has been delayed to later in the season.
As it continues to build, Olin staff members said they expect to see many more flu cases.
In an attempt to educate students on ways to prevent getting sick, Olin is distributing cold and flu survival packs.
Residence hall mentors who responded to an e-mail from Martell and other health educators will be getting about 20 of the kits today to distribute to their residents.
“The response from the mentors was overwhelming,” Martell said. “There aren’t enough to go around to everyone who wanted them.”
The kits contain sample sizes of products like tissue and hand sanitizer as well as prevention tips.
Martell said one of the most important things people can do in preventing a cold is washing their hands consistently. He said things like rest and eating well are also important.
The program, in its first year, was based on research Olin conducted last year.
More than 80 percent of students reported having a cold or the flu during the year, Martell said. Of those students, about 25 percent said it affected their academic performance in some way.
Social science senior Michelle Guevara is the student health advocate in charge of distributing the prevention packs.
“We are trying to push health issues onto campus,” she said. “We are giving them to mentors in hopes that they will pass the information on to their residents.”
Guevara said the kits will also be available in the Olin Primary Care Clinic, but stressed that the kits are for prevention, not people who are already sick.
