Diagnose yourself from your dorm room

By Jennifer Davidson | 11/21/11 3:03pm


 

Win­ter is right around the cor­ner, and with that, get­ting sick be­comes al­most in­evitable. With so many over­lap­ping signs and symp­toms, some­times it’s hard to know when it’s time to trek to Dick’s House or when an ibupro­fen will do the trick. Here are a few point­ers on what you should know about the most com­mon bugs you’ll catch.


  1. The Com­mon Cold or Upper Res­pi­ra­tory Ill­ness.

Symp­toms in­clude a runny nose, a cough, a low-grade fever and a sore throat. This can be treated with over-the-the-counter med­ica­tions. If symp­toms get worse or per­sist for more than 5-7 days, you should go to Dick’s House.

2.Strep Throat.

If your symp­toms are only a sore throat, a fever and swollen glands, this could be strep throat, which will re­quire an­tibi­otics. Go to Dick’s House.

3.The Flu.

Body aches, a bad cough, fa­tigue and high fever are the tell­tale signs of the flu. A stuffy nose, sore throat, gas­troin­testi­nal prob­lems and sneez­ing are some­times pre­sent. You will also have a fever of 100+ - no fever, no flu. If you ex­hibit these symp­toms, you need to go to Dick’s House.

4.Mono.

Mono starts out with fa­tigue and a slight sore throat. This can progress to a se­vere sore throat with swollen glands, es­pe­cially in the back of the neck. If you’re given an­tibi­otics for a sore throat when it’s re­ally mono, you may get a red rash all over. If you think you have mono, go to Dick’s House to be tested.

The tried-and-true method of wash­ing your hands fre­quently still holds up as the best way to avoid ill­ness. If you do come down with some­thing, stay­ing hy­drated and get­ting plenty of rest is key.

Most im­por­tantly, when in doubt, go to Dick’s House. The In­ter­net is a great way to help you get an idea of what’s going on, but the only per­son who can truly di­ag­nose you is an ex­pert in the med­ical field.


Jennifer Davidson