As much as we try to avoid it, getting sick in college is inevitable. While it’s understandable to be nervous after hearing about scary illnesses like mono, meningococcal or gross fungi from communal showers, I am here to tell you that you are in more danger of getting colds or the flu while at school than contracting any of those more serious illnesses. While being sick is never fun, getting a cold is far less scary than other stuff they talk about on the news. In any case, you still need to know what to do if you are too sick to go to class or work for more than a day or two.
Here are some options if you are sick during your semester and cannot go home to your regular doctor:
Health services
Your campus will have a center with nurses and, sometimes, doctors. This is where you can go for medical advice or prescriptions in non-emergency cases. Depending on where you go to college, you can use insurance for this type of service.
Hotlines
When health services is closed, there is usually a hotline that you can call for information about where you can go for help and can even talk to a medical professional. Again, this is for non-emergency cases but I would not use the hotline unless I was seriously worried about my illness. However, don’t confuse hotlines with Googling. Never research your potential illness online — you’ll likely just make yourself more nervous than you need to be!
Urgent Care
These places are a cross between doctors’ offices and hospitals. In a clinic setting, Urgent Care provides prescriptions and treatments when you cannot wait for a regular doctor’s visit. These are for cases that health services cannot help you with. Usually, these places take insurance.
Emergency Room
Obviously, these are for emergency cases only. If no other treatment is working or you are suddenly sick on a weekend or in the middle of the night, call 911 or have a friend drive you to the hospital.
Campus safety
This option is only for physical injuries and other debilitating factors. You would not call them if you have the flu. Instead, call campus safety if you have fallen and badly hurt your leg or have experienced something similar. In most cases, a security officer will come for you and find a way to get you to the hospital.
Do all of the do’s and don’ts listed above make you nervous? Are you afraid you still won’t know what to do if you get sick while away at college? Consider a program like CampusMD. This service is membership based and connects you directly to a doctor every day of the year, 24 hours a day. As you register at NextStepU.com to set up your free account to receive your customized path to success, click on the button for CampusMD to receive a membership discount and access to your own mobile doctor every day that you are away at school.
Just one more way NextStepU is looking out for your overall college experience!
Written by Rachel Montpelier. Rachel is a senior at Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y. and is the editorial assistant at NextStepU.
> Looking for more advice on navigating your senior year? Register at NextStepU.com and customize your path to success.
