They echo through lecture halls, they are stifled in small classrooms, they are taunting and annoying nearly every Dartmouth student - they are coughs.
Now that the snow has finally melted, everyone on campus seems to be getting sick. But despite common belief, the sudden influx of illness is not because of changing weather, Director of College Health Services John Turco said.
Turco said "viruses are always going around" but in order to get sick, one must "come into contact with an infectious agent and weather doesn't really do that.
"On a campus this big when people are interacting, it's hard not to come into contact with [viruses]," Turco said.
The average student gets three to six viral infections each year, according to Turco.
Students are more prone to illness toward the middle and end of the term when stress and little sleep make their immune systems more susceptible to infections, Turco said.
But Turco said these viruses were originally brought to campus by students returning from vacation and bringing illnesses from home.
"Viruses get on campus and spread very rapidly," Turco said.
Barbara Gherardi, technician and part-owner of Eastman's Pharmacy, said she has also noticed a trend in sore throats and coughs since Dartmouth students have returned from vacation.
She said students are opting for liquid medications such as Thera-Flu - rather than tablets or capsules - to relieve their symptoms.
Dick's House is flooded with patients suffering from sore throats and coughs. Turco said, "the worst symptoms are gone in a couple of days but sometimes they can linger on."
Ninety-nine percent of the illnesses are not bacterial so the doctors cannot prescribe antibiotics. Turco said his only real prescription for those with sore throats is to drink lots of fluids.
One sick freshman said "I've definitely had to get more sleep to survive and I've been drinking so much Vitamin C to get well."
Turco said myalgias, the aches and pains usually associated with the common cold, can be combatted by taking Tylenol or another form of acetaminophen.
But he does not recommend aspirin because of the links found between it and children's high fevers.
Turco suggested many common-sense tips for prevention of viral infections, including maintaining a well balanced, nutritional diet and getting lots of sleep. Basically, "try not to get run down in general," he said.
But for the many students frequenting Dick's House and roaming the campus spreading their germs, preventive measures are no longer helpful.
After two weeks of sniffling, one student said, "I am finally feeling better but it has definitely lingered longer than I had time for."
