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Delivering crackers to your roommate who has been throwing up? Sitting in a lecture hall with a coughing classmate? Wondering why you’re under pressure to get a flu shot? College living offers frequent reminders that sometimes it’s not cool to go viral.

Given the intensity and pace of a school semester, getting sick can leave its mark—and not a good one. In a 2017 survey of more than 26,000 undergraduates, 15 percent said that having a cold, flu, or sore throat in the last 12 months had hurt them academically (e.g., a lower grade for an exam or course, according to the National College Health Assessment). That’s in addition to the serious health complications that can sometimes arise from commonplace illnesses, even in otherwise healthy people.

Most of us think we know how to avoid common infections, or at least minimize our chances of catching that cold or stomach bug. Even so, at Student Health 101, we learned a few things developing this quiz, and we figure you’ll learn a few things taking it.

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Science-Based Medicine: An influenza primer

How to prevent flu: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Good hygiene to reduce infections: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety

How to not get or spread a cold: CDC

The facts and science of handwashing: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Athlete’s foot: Mayo Clinic



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What was the most interesting thing you read in this article?

Have you seen at least one thing on that you will apply to everyday life?
Have you seen at least one thing on that caused you to get involved, ask for help, utilize campus resources, or help a friend?
If you could change one thing about , what would it be?
Are there any other topics or angles you would like to see in , that we haven't covered?
First name: ?

Last name:

E-mail:

I do not reside in Nevada Or Hawaii:

Want to increase your chances to win?

Refer up to 3 of your friends and when each visits , you will receive an additional entry into the weekly drawing.

Please note: Unless your friend chooses to opt-in, they will never receive another email from after the initial referral email.

Email 1:

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Have you seen at least one thing on that you will apply to everyday life?
Have you seen at least one thing on that caused you to get involved, ask for help, utilize campus resources, or help a friend?
Are there any other topics or angles you would like to see in , that we haven't covered?
First name: ?

Last name:

E-mail:

I do not reside in Nevada Or Hawaii:

Want to increase your chances to win?

Refer up to 3 of your friends and when each visits , you will receive an additional entry into the weekly drawing.

Please note: Unless your friend chooses to opt-in, they will never receive another email from after the initial referral email.

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Article sources

Tim Lahey, MD, associate professor of medicine and associate professor of microbiology and immunology, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire.

Paul Offit, MD, professor of vaccinology and professor of pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

American College Health Association. (2017, Fall). Undergraduate student reference group: Executive summary. Retrieved from https://www.acha.org/documents/ncha/NCHA-II_FALL_2017_REFERENCE_GROUP_EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY_UNDERGRADS_ONLY.pdf

Barrow, K. (February 13, 2013). The well flu quiz. New York Times. Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/the-well-flu-quiz/

CDC (2016, June). HIV in the United States: At a glance. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/overview/ataglance.html

CDC (2016, June). Norovirus worldwide. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/worldwide.html

CDC (2013, June.) Flu IQ widget. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/fluiq.htm

CDC (2016, June.) Group A Streptococcus frequently asked questions. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/groupastrep/about/faqs.html

CDC (2016, June.) Estimating seasonal influenza-associated deaths in the United States: CDC study confirms variability of flu. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/us_flu-related_deaths.htm

Coughcatcher.com. (2016). [Website]. Retrieved from http://www.coughcatcher.com/index.php

Kirvan, C. A., Swedo, S. E., Snider, L. A., & Cunningham, M. W. (2006, July 26). Antibody-mediated neuronal cell signaling in behavior and movement disorders. Journal of Neuroimmunology, 179(1–2), 173–179.

Hall, A. J., Lopman, B. A., Payne, D. C., Patel, M. M., et al. (2013). Norovirus disease in the United States. Emerging Infectious Disease, 19(8), 1198–1205. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1908.130465http://www.cdc.gov/Other/disclaimer.html

Hall, C. B. (2013). Influenza virus: Here, there, especially air? [Editorial]. Journal of Infectious Diseases. Retrieved from http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/01/29/infdis.jis774.full

Mayo Clinic. (2016). Strep throat. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/strep-throat/symptoms-causes/dxc-20165964

Nelson, L. (2004, June 24). Venomous snails: One slip, and you’re dead. Nature, 429, 798–799.

Nicas, M., & Best, D. (2008). A study quantifying the hand-to-face contact rate and its potential application to predicting respiratory tract infection. Journal of Occupational Environmental Hygiene, 5(6), 347–352.

Parillo, S. (2014). Rheumatic fever in emergency medicine. Medscape. Retrieved from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/808945-overview#a6

Public Health Agency of Canada. (2011). Streptococcus pyogenes. Retrieved from http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/lab-bio/res/psds-ftss/strep-pyogenes-eng.php

Schoff, W., Swett, K., Leng, I., & Peters, T. (2013). Exposure to influenza virus aerosols during routine patient care. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 207(7), 1037–46.

Tang, J. W., Nicolle, A. D. G., Pantelic, J., & Tham, K. W. (2011). Qualitative real-time Schlieren and shadowgraph imaging of human exhaled airflows: An aid to aerosol infection control. PLoS One, 6(6), e21392. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51469766_Qualitative_Real-Time_Schlieren_and_Shadowgraph_Imaging_of_Human_Exhaled_Airflows_An_Aid_to_Aerosol_Infection_Control

US Burden of Disease Collaborators. (2013). The state of US health, 1990–2010: Burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. Journal of the American Medical Association, 310, s178–s179.

Zimmer, C. (2013, January 2). The norovirus: A study in puked perfection. NationalGeographic.com. Retrieved from http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/02/the-norovirus-a-study-in-puked-perfection/

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