However, during the transition from living under parental supervision where healthy meals, clean clothes, regular check ups at the doctor and eight hours of sleep are encouraged, many college students seem to have forgotten how to keep the doctor away.
Along with the independence and freedom of the college days comes responsibility in a variety of different arenas, personal health being one of those. For some Auburn students, maintaining good health while at school has proven difficult at times.
“When I first moved into the dorms my freshman year, I caught a cold and I couldn’t seem to get rid of it,” said Lauren Saunders, a senior in human development and family studies. “I was always sick that year, probably because I didn’t know how to really take care of myself.”
Dr. Fred Kam, the director of the Auburn University Medical Clinic, said he believes there are five common health mistakes made by students which can cause illness, fatigue and a trip to the doctor. Kam’s list is based on his everyday dealings with sick Auburn students.
Consuming too much alcohol was the top mistake on Kam’s list.
“I know that sounds kind of funny, but alcohol lowers the immune system, and when students drink it is mostly in social situations where people are exposed to other people’s germs through sharing drinks and being in close proximity,” Kam said.
Kam advised to avoid sharing drinks with others because it is impossible to know someone else’s health situation, and germs are commonly spread this way. Also, he suggested using great moderation when consuming alcohol.
Second on Kam’s list was that students do not take enough preventative measures, like washing their hands, to avoid the spread of germs.
“Students need to wash their hands more frequently,” Kam said. “Think about a doorknob in a classroom and how many hundreds of people touch it in one day.”
According to WebMD.com, 80 percent of infectious diseases are spread through touch. This statistic proves how vital washing one’s hands is in circumventing catching a viral or bacterial infection.
“It’s really scary to think about how many things you touch everyday that so many others have already put their hands on and so many others will after you” said Liz Ard, a junior in musical theater. “A lot of the time I don’t even think to wash my hands after I leave a classroom.”
Lack of sleep placed third on Kam’s list of student health mistakes.
“Sleep is a restorative and repair mechanism of the body,” Kam said. “It boosts the immune system and helps the body process information. The typical student does not get enough sleep.”
The nocturnal nature of the college culture proves counterproductive because of the negative health effects. Receiving an inadequate amount of sleep makes the body more susceptible to infections because it is unable to restore and repair itself. Sleep deprivation over a long period of time can lead to serious health problems as well.
Unhealthy eating tends to be a trend among students, and this mistake was fourth on Kam’s list. He pointed out that most students don’t follow good dietary guidelines; instead they opt for fast food or meals that do not provide the right nutrition to maintain a healthy body. Insufficient nutrition predisposes the body to infections.
As harmless as it may seem, the act of sharing clothing, was the last health mistake on the list.
“Students often share clothes, and it’s not always clean clothing,” Kam said. “This opens you up to contracting skin diseases.”
Scabies and an array of different rashes are commonly spread through wearing other’s clothes.
