What exactly is the flu of Freshers?

This is the second week of term. You finally found out how to use a washing machine, the apartment began to feel like a friend, and the whirlwind of the freshman week is behind.

But as if the situation is settled, the neck begins to scratch, the nose starts to run, and the lecture is not about learning and not coughing more than the person next to it.

You were warned that it would happen, but it didn’t expect it too fast.

What is actually happening here? Why do you think everyone has a fresh flu for the first week? Why do so many people say it’s worse than an average cold?

Dr. Zania Stamataki, an associate professor of immunology at Birmingham University, said, “Freshers’ FLU is just an assortment of numerous cold viruses that hit us and hit us at the same time.

It is not a real flu and is rarely serious. But when thousands of students arrive at the campus, they get a respiratory viral cocktail.

If you add a wrapped river theater, dirty shared kitchen, and late -night party, the result is a wavy of the rapidly spreading disease.

Sheena Cruickshank, an immunologist and professor of biomedical science at Manchester University, describes it as a “mixed pot” of infection.

“You can gather people from all over the world, leave it in a nearby quarter and expose it to the virus that has never met before,” she says.

Respiratory viruses are constantly developing, and even small differences between variants can be forced to start from the beginning because the immune system of the body cannot be recognized.

The immune system is the body’s natural defense for infection. It consists of a network of cells, tissues and organs that detect harmful invaders such as viruses and bacteria and help the body fight.

However, the immune system of freshmen is overworked due to lack of resources.

As Professor Cruickshank explained, “This is because diet, activity level, stress level and sleep are all factors that affect immune function.”

She recognizes students as “not necessarily the first focus” for the first few weeks of college.

The stress is especially destructive. The pressure to settle, make friends, manage new responsibilities, and meet academic demands can be overwhelmingly overwhelming.

This causes the release of Cortisol, a stress hormone that suppresses the immune response.

Professor Cruickshaank said, “We are all stressed, have a lot of deadline, work, working, working, working, finishing all deadline, and sick.

Stress can also affect the amount of sleep, which also affects the immune system.

But for many students, the pressure to make a friend and make a friend for a week surpasses the need to rest.

“I didn’t want to miss,” said Imogen Farmer, a second -year student at the University of Leeds.

She says she met her friends every evening during the freshman week.

“I have suffered after the first week, such as my throat, runny nose, and typical symptoms, and it remains for quite some time.”

“It is especially worth it because many student culture breaks through the night during the week of freshmen.

“That’s how you meet a lot of people and make a bond with your friends. So I just said for everything.”

However, it is not a lack of sleep to make the life of the immune system difficult.

later Many students drink a lot of alcohol to overcome the nerves -your body has fewer white blood cells to help fight against infections.

Dr. Stamataki said, “There is a misconception that many people are sleeping better if they eat alcohol, but they are more stressed and not sleeping.

If the diet is poor, the immune system can be weakened and it is not easy to eat healthy for many students. In particular, skipping meals occurs regularly.

Too many viruses around you can be trapped in the lectures between the two who sneeze. And you both will be exposed.

The virus then can pass through the symptoms (during the incubation period) before you know (during the incubation period).

Dr. Stamataki said, “Sometimes you think you have run away from it, and you did not.

“So you will feel good. You will go to the rugby. You can have a good time with a friend, but you will send it at the same time.”

She says that the immune response of young people is “very powerful,” but is limited to the fact that it is not yet exposed to many viruses.

The first thing you’ve met for the first time will hurt you, but the symptoms are not unpleasant when you find the same virus next time.

You can also get two infections at once. This can help your body.

The immune system is struggling to cope with it, or the body’s defense begins to overtime to deal with invaders, so it starts to feel terrible.

When this happens, the immune system is “already pumped”, Professor Cruickshank says. This is because the body is busy because it creates a chemical messenger called Saito Cain, which helps to kill the virus.

If you are not lucky enough to experience the second infection immediately after the first infection, it is usually a run down. The same state as bronchitis can occur.

Professor Cruickshaank said, “If you feel that your symptoms are long or better and you get sick again, it may be worth a bit of medical help to confirm it.

“If you see spots at the back of the neck, it is a sign that you may have a throat and you may need antibiotics,” she adds.

Viruses, such as colds and flu, do not respond to antibiotics, which are used only to treat some types of bacterial infections.

Most viruses are mild, but some can be much more dangerous meningitis It is a serious infection to be careful.

It may look like a flu of Freshers, but if you do not treat it can lead to seizures, brain damage and sepsis.

A student from Wolverhampton. A week after he started college, her legs and fingers were cut.

Vaccines that help protect various types of meningitis are provided to children, but even if they have JAB, they must know the symptoms.

So what should you find?

• High temperature or heat
• sick
• headache
• A rash that does not disappear when the glass rolls out (but the rash is not always developed).
• stiff neck
• I hate bright lighting
• Drowsiness or no response
• Square (suitable)

Meningitis is closely contacted with an infected person and spreads in a similar way to a cold.

It causes inflammation of the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord, so if you recognize these symptoms, call 999 or go straight to A & E.

Even if many students are sick, the pressure to keep going is hard to ignore.

Emily Valentine, a 19 -year -old student at the University of Leeds, said, “I am pushing myself so much because it’s something you have to do.

“I tend to rest, but I know that many friends are trying to go to the lecture in the first week,” she added.

During the epidemic period, the transition to the lecture record allowed students to catch their work more easily.

But experts still say they must give time to recover.

Professor Cruickshaank said, “It can take time to overcome great assault in the virus.