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Before leaving for college, I remember telling my mom, “I won’t get sick at school — I have a great immune system!” I honestly believed it too — I rarely ever get sick, and when I do, it’s usually nothing more serious than a cold.

But sure enough, within only two weeks of moving in I started to feel my first illness coming on. With so many people around, it becomes incredibly easy for diseases to spread. My disease, however, didn’t come from contact with anybody at school — I actually contracted it while at home, and it was hitting me for the first time. And, unfortunately, this was no common cold: this was mono.

Being sick at college can be pretty miserable

As I’m writing this, I’m finally getting over my illness, and it’s not a moment too soon. I’d like to share a few things that I’ve learned firsthand about being sick at college that might help you if you ever find yourself in a similar position as I was in (let’s hope not!).

Being sick when you’re away at college is completely different than being sick back home while you’re in high school. Back home, Mom could take care of you and you could more easily afford to miss several days of school in order to regain your health.

But when you’re sick at college, you’re on your own, and you have to manage on your own. When you first discover that you’re sick, this is definitely a bit daunting — it’s really tough being sick when you’re alone and away from home. But there are ways of managing! This post contains some pointers about how to manage both your health and your schoolwork while sick, as well as some other general tips to keep in mind while sick.

What do I do if I’m starting to feel sick?

If you’re starting to feel sick, it’s important to begin living healthy to help keep your immune system strong. By starting early, you may be able to curb the illness of some of its power, letting you recover faster or maybe not be as sick as you otherwise would be.

• Start sleeping more. Try to be in bed a little earlier than normal, and, if you have time, take a nap during the day. It’s rare that you’ll get enough sleep in college, but if you can manage to get an extra hour or two of sleep each day, that can help you a lot.
• Eat healthy. Maybe say no to that ice cream and instead opt for an apple. Find foods in your dining hall that are healthier, especially ones with Vitamin C (oranges are classic). You also might want to take vitamins to make sure that your body is receiving what it needs. When I got sick, I bought some Emergen-C. Whether or not it helped, I’m not sure, but I felt good to know my body was getting its vitamins.
• Keep a close eye on your symptoms. Is this something you’ve had before, like a common cold? As soon as any symptom because oddly severe or an unusual one appears, it’s time to see a doctor. You might have an unusual illness that can be treated. Don’t be afraid to see a campus doctor — they are there to help you.
• Talk to your parents. Let your parents know that you’re not feeling well. If possible, you may want them to come down and help you with some odds and ends that become especially bothersome while sick (laundry comes to mind). Going home for the weekend may be a good choice, but you shouldn’t stay home for the week unless you’re very ill — that’s a lot of class to miss.

Handling your classes

If you’re feeling especially awful, inevitably it’s going to interfere with your classes. If you’re not feeling healthy, missing a class can definitely be a valid option. However, since college classes are far less forgiving than high school classes, you need to choose carefully which ones to miss and not miss more than you have to. Luckily, professors are human, and most are more than willing to cut you some slack when you need it.

• Inform your professors once you start feeling bad. If you think you may have to miss a class in the future, talk to your professors and give them a heads-up. Tell them that you haven’t been feeling good lately, and that you may have to miss a class. If possible, do it in person — this is always more genuine, and they’ll be able to tell how sick you are. If you have to, e-mail will work too. Even if it’s a large lecture class, it’s always worthwhile to talk to a professor, since they may work out a deal so that you can miss class and recover.
• Decide whether or not to miss class. You have to decide if, by sitting in class, you’ll gain enough useful knowledge to make it worth the strain on your body. What might you miss? Can you receive the notes from somebody else? Will missing this class likely come back to haunt you? Also consider if you are a distraction to others: are you coughing/sniffling loudly, or are you likely to vomit?
• Choose which classes to miss carefully. If you have a discussion class followed by a lecture and you know you can only handle one, choose to attend the lecture. You may not be able to make every class in your schedule, but you might not have to miss all of them either. Do your best to attend your most essential classes.
• If you do miss a class, send an e-mail. If you just aren’t up for going to class, then you should send the professor an e-mail afterward to apologize. Hopefully you’ve already informed him or her that you’re sick, so this e-mail won’t be entirely unexpected. Simply inform him/her that you had to miss class because your illness finally became too much. Ask if there’s anything you can do to make up what you missed, and be sure to thank him/her.
• Don’t do more schoolwork than you have to. If you’re feeling terrible, it may be better to procrastinate the work to a time when you’ll be feeling better. Trying to do college homework while sick is tough even for the best of us. If you think you’ll feel better enough in a couple of days to try it then, then by all means put it off a little. If you don’t have that choice, do the exact opposite: spread out your work load, working on it in little sections at a time. This will keep you from being overwhelmed and allow you to rest in between sessions.

Being a good roommate

If you’re sick, it’s important to try not to spread your illness and to try to be kind to those who are living with you, not just your roommate, but everyone around you.

• Wash your hands. After you blow your nose, use the bathroom, or do anything else that could potentially spread the germs you have. If you blow your nose in the bathroom and come back to your dorm room, then the next time your roommate touches the handle, he/she already comes in contact with your germs. Try to keep your hands clean any time you interact with something that other people do — in the bathrooms, in the dining halls, and so forth.
• Be considerate when dealing with your symptoms. If you have a loud cough or are sniffling often, try not to be louder than you have to, especially at night when your roommate might be trying to sleep. On your own, don’t worry as much, but to the healthy, these can be very aggravating. Your roommate will remember that you tried, and when they are sick, hopefully they’ll extend the same courtesy.
• Don’t be cranky. If you’re napping at 4 PM and your roommate makes noise coming in, be understanding — chances are he/she didn’t know you were asleep. When sick, it becomes very easy to take out your frustration on those around you, but try to bite your lip so you don’t strain a friendship.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help. On the other side of the coin, if you’re doing your best to keep your roommate healthy and undistributed, it’s okay to ask for help now and then. If you need something from the dining hall, or maybe you need a paper dropped off, it never hurts to ask. Just be polite and make sure to thank him or her.

When sick, the best thing you can do is find a comfortable way of managing both your health and your studies. Do all that you can to recover — the sooner you’re healthy, the sooner you can return to your normal college life. In the end, time will cure most common ailments, and within about a week, chances are you’ll be good as new.

If you’re reading this and feeling sick, I hope you feel better!