Sniffles, Sneezes Fill the Classroom

Even the professors are noticing. A sniffle here, a cough there, a massive sneeze that echoes through the lecture hall.

"I've never heard so much wheezing in one room before," says Feldberg Professor of Government Timothy J. Colton. "It's really quite bizarre."

"I felt kind of strange this afternoon myself," he adds.

Yep, they're back--those nasty viruses and allergies that strike you while you're down and cause endless misery. And they might just decide to hang around for the next few weeks or so.

"It's kind of a mixed bag of things at this time of year," says Donna V. Campbell, ambulatory care coordinator at University Health Services (UHS). "Any of the bugs going around tend to cycle around."

The fluctuating autumn weather in New England is the undoing of many students, says UHS Director Dr. David S. Rosenthal '59.

"Upper respiratory tract infections are very common at this time of year when there are rather abrupt temperature and pressure changes," Rosenthal says. "You're out in Bermudas one day and in a sweat-shirt and overcoat the next," he says.

UHS typically sees a 10 percent increase in virus and allergy sufferers at the start of every academic year, and this fall is no exception, according to Rosenthal.

"The added stresses of having to perform in reading classes and athletics also makes us more susceptible," Rosenthal says.

And living in dormitories isn't helping any.

"We always get an upswing when people come back," Campbell says. "You're putting people in a group setting and viruses are spread from person to person easily."

The trick, then, is not to get sick. "Get plenty of rest," reads a brochure published by Kathleen M. Kniepmann of the Office of Health Education at UHS. Students are also advised to wash their hands frequently, air out their living quarters occasionally, and avoid sharing utensils.

UHS officials said that even these preventative tips do not guarantee good health. "Obviously we want people who aren't feeling well to come in," Rosenthal says. "But for minor symptoms they should drink a lot of fluids, get a lot of rest and, to prevent them from getting too dry when the heat comes on, put buckets of water around the room."

Some students stricken by seasonal maladies question this advice, however.

"How much bed rest can you get when you've got 27 hours of reading per day to do and 36 hours of partying to do every night?" asks David A. Pentlow '95. "I have no idea how we're supposed to not overtax ourselves.