How to cure your freshers’ flu

We’re at the end of week four and your immune system has hit an all time low. Don’t worry, here are some fun ways to try to cure freshers’ flu in St Andrews. As someone who’s been affected by the cold since I arrived here, I’ve picked up some top tips.

1. Escape germs by avoiding human contact at all costs

This one is particularly fun because it’s a perfectly valid excuse to miss your lectures, which have started to sound like coughing choruses. You’ll also earn brownie points for being considerate and not passing your illness on to everyone else. Unfortunately, this option is unrealistic, so you might as well just invest in some antibacterial gel and avoid persistent coughers in the library.

One of these might look cute in your house?

2. Actually try to get some sleep

Sleeping well for two nights in a row might actually be all you need to restore your health, even if this doesn’t fit in with your idea of a typical ‘unaaay’ life. Sleep is good. If you can hit the hay before 12 am for a few nights instead of making impromptu trips to the Lizard, your body will definitely thank you.

3. Vitamins, vitamins and more vitamins

Boost your natural defences by splurging out on some overpriced supplements at Holland & Barrett. Failing that, Tesco Value Oranges will go down a storm. This means you can keep drinking through your cold because all the vitamin C cancels its damaging effect, right?

Overindulge on oranges

4. Go home

Let’s face it, the hot bed of germs, the small town that we live in, is not the easiest place to get better. So, if you’re lucky enough to live within reasonable distance or have enough cash to spend on a last minute flight home, then home comforts and some family TLC is the perfect way to get back to full health. However, going home can cause a serious case of FOMO to replace your recovered freshers’ flu, so a Skype date with your family may be more appropriate.

Mum’s homemade brownies ought to do the trick

5. Chewing raw garlic – rank but effective?

Natural remedies are sometimes the best, but this one definitely has its downsides. Embarrassingly enough, my flatmate and I tried this last week. Neither of us got much better. It burned and everything tasted like garlic for two days. However, upon further research (bless google!) we discovered that you have to chew A LOT for it to work. Not the best option if it’s a Thursday night and you’re hoping to get lucky at the weekend, or at least have people stand closer than three feet away from you.

All remedies affect us in different ways, but if anyone finds a long-lasting cure for their freshers’ flu, please, tell everyone and end the St Andrews epidemic. Good luck and stay healthy.

All images courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org/wiki