>>March
      2, 2001

      
Illnesses making rounds at UI, smokers
      beware

      
Although
      the flu's Reign of Terror on the University of Idaho campus is
      almost over, students should be aware of other diseases traveling
      around campus and take more conscious prevention efforts, said
      Jeanie Schneider, a registered nurse at the health center. 

      


      This year's flu fight nationwide was milder than usual, according
      to a January report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
      

      
Schneider said UI also experienced
      milder cases of the flu, a surprise to health officials who thought
      the delayed vaccine would result in a larger spread. 

      


      The UI flu season typically lasts three to four weeks. Currently,
      the UI Health Center is treating mostly upper-respiratory (the
      common cold, strep throat, etc.) viruses along with some gastro-intestinal
      viruses (whose symptoms include vomiting). Schneider said the
      UI community is a relatively healthy population, but what many
      students are not realizing is smoking and chewing, which a surprisingly
      large number of students do, are some of the main culprits for
      continued illness.

      


      "Smoking is very hard on the immune system," she said.
      "Basically anyone who smokes is very susceptible to disease.
      Students don't seem to get that at all."

      


      Out of students seeking treatment at the health center, there
      are twice as many smokers as non-smokers, Schneider said 

      


      Schneider said she is surprised by the number of students who
      smoke or chew tobacco (which is more harmful) because this generation
      has grown up with the knowledge of how damaging smoking is on
      the body. Also, students do not see the correlation between smoking
      and sickness.

      


      "Maybe why you're in [the health center] every week and
      your chart is 2 inches thick has something to do with your lifestyle,"
      she said. 

      


      But when students get sick, most do not think of changing their
      lifestyle. They automatically go to the doctor, she said. 

      


      One of the many things nicotine does is bond to Vitamin C, Schneider
      said, preventing the body from breaking the vitamin down and
      using it.

      


      Beyond susceptibility to disease, students can pick up viruses
      any number of ways. This includes the neighbor in class who coughs
      and sneezes, spreading the virus (which is carried through droplets
      like saliva and nasal mucous) as far as halfway across a classroom.

      


      The only remedy for this is to get up and move away and students
      in this condition might do better staying at home, Schneider
      said.

      


      For the flu, getting a vaccine is a guarantee against catching
      the bug. Schneider said some people complain of getting the flu
      even after having the vaccine, but they really just caught one
      of the other many viruses floating around. To avoid other diseases,
      students should limit contact with objects (shared drinking glasses,
      lent pencils and much-used doorknobs) where germs can live. Overall,
      the best prevention methods are eating well (not fast food),
      resting and avoiding smoking and alcohol (and places like bars,
      where both are in abundance). For fevers, taking Tylenol can
      be an easy cure.

      


      "You can treat a lot of things at home, and it's OK to do,"
      Schneider said.
 

      
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