We spoke to a GP about how to avoid freshers’ flu

It’s Freshers’ Week, and everyone is returning to Oxford or arriving for their first year. Not only are they bringing carloads full of stuff, they’re also bringing all their local diseases.

However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. This article will help you avoid the flu, and then when that stops working, deal with it. The Tab asked our medical advisor for tips for avoid the flu, and this is the advice he gave us.

Our medical advisor

What can you do to avoid getting an infection?

Using antibacterial hand wash is a good way to kill infectious bacteria and viruses that you may pick up. Airborne pathogens and those that spread by droplet infection, coughing and sneezing, are harder to avoid. I would avoid packed, poorly ventilated rooms and try to limit exposure to people you know are sick.

Hello painkillers, my old friend…

What sort of behaviour would help avoid infection?

Drink plenty of fluids, try and eat healthily and stay fit. The better condition your body is in, the less you will pick up any diseases and will recover faster.

Any other health tips?

Some students may be eligible for flu vaccinations from their GP, mostly those with chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes. I would also advise against drinking too much and sharing bottles. Also, kissing spreads infection very effectively, so if you are sick please be considerate to others.

One of the few times you can have tissue next to a laptop without it being suspicious.

In the event you do fall ill, what would be your advice?

Just common sense things, like drinking plenty of fluids, avoid alcohol, avoid overexerting yourself at a club or in sports. If the infection persists, see your local GP.

Even if you follow all this advice, you will probably get sick eventually. Sharing bottles and kissing randoms is just part of the fuzz life. This article has some tips on treatment, but other than general common sense, you will just have to be ill until you’re not. There are plenty of pharmacies in Oxford selling cough medicine and the like, so use them. Every fresher goes through this, so bond over it. Just don’t be that person who coughs more than three times in a lecture. People will judge you.