Nyquil, Benadryl, Cold Eeze and Robitussin. This is just the short list of medication students can get hopped up on with the hopes of quick relief from a stuffy nose or a crippling headache.
Getting sick prevents students from doing homework, going to class and even partying on the weekend. So the typical college student will go out of their way to find a speedy cure for their sniffles.
If handled well and treated from the start, coming down with a cold doesn't have to throw a wrench in your daily routine, according to Tabaraq Aljabbouri, a sophomore bioinformatics and engineering major, who believes that positive thinking is the best remedy.
"I give myself this hope that I'm not getting sick," Aljabbouri said. "Then I don't get sick."
For those who need a bit more than happy thoughts to shake the common cold or a persistent flu bug, remedies from home can sometimes work better than any antibiotic.
According to Elliott Betrand, a sophomore mathematics student, a concoction of Vicks Vapor Rub, wintergreen rubbing alcohol and Iodex, boiled and used as an inhaling vapor refreshes him and clears out his system.
Other students, including Herlynne Pierre, a junior finance and marketing major, recommends teas and other natural remedies to break up phlegm.
"My parents are from Haiti so tea is our best friend," said Herlynne Pierre, a junior finance and marketing major. "We put garlic, natural herbs, sugar and honey in (our tea)."
According to Pierre, when she was sick, she would rub L'huile Mascreti, or Castor Oil, on herself to feel better.
Dominique Burruss, a freshman nursing major, recalls the "old down South" home remedies that her great grandmother would use to cure her colds.
"One time I was sick, and (she) called the pastor, and he brought French-fry oil that he prayed over, and then put it on my head," Burruss said.
While these at-home remedies may be just the trick for some, many need more than a bowl of soup to beat the bug.
According to Dr. Mary Stock of Student Health Services, many of the things we assume will prevent or help relieve the common cold aren't actually effective as cold remedies.
"There is no data showing that Vitamin C or Echinacea will prevent colds or relieve symptoms," Stock said.
According to Stock, there is no treatment for the common cold, but the best prevention is to wash hands and keep from being in close contact with infected individuals. Stock also recommends keeping your hands away from the eyes and nose, as this is how infection can commonly spread.
"We don't have the medical data to recommend these (home) remedies but if it makes you feel better and it doesn't hurt you, then you can certainly try it," Stock said.
If anything else, students can look forward to some well-deserved rest and relaxation, should germs infect them.
"We had the Sick Couch," said Nick Rotella, a freshmen mechanical engineering major said. "You were a god when you were sick."
Others, like senior aerospace engineering major, never got to miss a day of school and are now looking forward to taking the day off and relaxing in their dorm rooms, should a cold strike.
"I never got to miss school (because) my dad is a doctor," Gulati said. "(It was the) tragedy of my life."
For some, a good sense of humor is just the thing to get them through cold and flu season.
"Humor is the most important thing when you're sick," said Ryan Linden, a freshman business major. "Laughing a little is the cure for a lot."
Cold season is approaching and most students agree that you should use whatever medication works best for you.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
