Chapter 4
Health
At uni, with work, socialising and looking after yourself, you’ve got more to do than ever before, so you kind of hope that lurgies will stay away just because they’ll see how busy you are. Unfortunately, they don’t. The good news is that in the experience of my friends and I, the bugs tended to wait until after you’d handed in your big coursework assignment before knocking you back for six. The bad news is, in your itsy bitsy uni room there’s no mum around to give sympathetic pats or endless cups of hot ‘Ribena’. Sometimes there’s not even a TV in the room to indulge in daytime re-runs of ER.
So here’s a guide to keeping well and – if that goes wrong – to helping yourself to get better when you’re living away from home at uni.
Before you go
New students are advised to have the MMR jab (a three-in-one measles, mumps and rubella vaccination) before arriving at university, since students are common victims of measles and mumps, especially freshers who live in close contact with hundreds of other students. You’ll have to have two jabs of the vaccine (though most people had one as a baby) to be fully immunised.
TIP
‘Check you’ve had your second dose of MMR, as well as the one you might have had as a baby, or you may be spending your first term – or your holiday back at home – getting mumps and watching your face swell up.’
Mike, 22, Hull
You should also be vaccinated against meningitis C. If you’re a sufferer of asthma who uses inhaled steroids, or have a serious long-term condition such as kidney disease, you should also have an annual flu vaccination.
Registering at a doctor and dentist
It’s a really good idea to register at a doctor or dentist in your university town, so that if you fall ill and need to book a visit, they can have your notes to hand and know your medical history. You should be especially quick to register with a doctor if you have a pre-existing health condition, since you might need repeat prescriptions or similar help.
Most universities have medical centres on campus that will be used to registering students and will have the forms readily available. At others, the Students’ Union and university admin officers will be able to point out the NHS surgery that is affiliated with the university.
Student surgeries will usually provide free medical certificates, and organise nurse drop-in clinics for services like vaccines, contraception and sexual health advice and general health advice. Doctors can’t help with dental problems, so you should register with a dentist who is near uni too.
A recent NUS survey found that one in ten students don’t visit their doctor with health concerns because they’re worried about the cost, and 10% of students aren’t even registered w... Click here to purchase the complete Guide to Uni Life |