How to... Cope with Illness at University

Ooops – looks like something went wrong last week! I posted last Saturday but it seems to have mysteriously disappeared (it was probably me deleting it by accident or something – silly me!). So apologies about that; I was none the wiser about the lack of a proper post! I’ve reposted it below so check it out – just a couple of hints about how I like to revise for Physics exams!

Today’s blog is another one that hopefully might help someone out at some point. University is quite a daunting experience, most people move away from home to an entirely new place and are suddenly entirely responsible for themselves, often for the first time in their lives. Added to this is the fact that you become really busy – not only is there lots of work to do, but there are also new friends to meet, activities to try, places to be! All of which can leave you feeling a bit run down. Universities are a hot house for diseases to thrive in – people from all over the country (and beyond) come and share around their various illnesses in lecture halls (which are always either WAY to hot or cold) with other students whose immune systems have already taken a beating from sharing maybe slightly less than spotless kitchens and other communal areas and Friday night’s maybe slightly dodgy 2am pizza from that place that only opens for the ‘late night crowd’.

And getting ill at university is not nice at all! There are no parents to phone up school for you to tell them you can’t come in, no one brings you hot drinks or nourishing food and people are in general far less sympathetic than the treatment you got at home. Instead you have to carry on looking after yourself as best as you can, crawling out of the nest you have formed for yourself in your bedroom, looking miserable as you skulk towards the kitchen to get yourself some food. Trying to look less guilty as other people see you, as you silently apologise for even daring to leave your den of illness and share with everyone else the possibility that they too might catch it.

So yeah, it’s not great. Students are also liable to get some really nasty illnesses which can have some really significant complications at our age. So what can you do about it? I am one of those “more ill than the average person” people, so I have lots and lots of experience at being ill, and more importantly for this post, what you can do to cope.

·      Doctors – when you’re ill you go to the doctors right? Well first off, when you start university make sure you register at your new GP, your university will probably help with this. Then appreciate the fact that it may not operate in the same way as your current GP does. At my university, there are lots of students all registered to the same GP surgery, so they have to operate in such a way as to maximise the number of people they can see. So instead of necessarily just booking an appointment, you may have to attend a drop in session where you arrive and wait to see the first available doctor or nurse. This is all well and good for most people, but if you have long standing health problems you may wish to see someone consistently who gets to know you and knows about your history and appreciates your health record. Ask about whether you can have it mentioned on your record that you would like to see a particular doctor, in such circumstances I’ve found they’ve been very good about letting me see a doctor who knows me and who I like.

·      Find out about university policy. If you’re ill you will probably be missing lectures, which may or may not be compulsory to attend. Even if not compulsory you’ll be missing teaching time so either try and get notes from a friend, or try asking the lecturer do they have any slides or notes or similar. If you are missing compulsory sessions, find out what the protocol is. Often you can just contact the university or specific department to let them know you’re ill so are missing classes/ need an extension on a deadline or whatever. In lots of universities for short term problems (like flu for example) you can self certify, which means you don’t need a doctor’s note to prove you were ill, however you will probably be limited in how many of these you can submit and under what circumstances. Make sure you know the procedures for any more important circumstances such as being ill during the exam or revision period, as there are often more forms to fill in, more important people to contact and you will often need a doctors letter (which aren’t necessarily quick or easy to get and are often not free either).

·      Find out about the support networks in the university or surrounding area. If you suffer from a long term health issue there are often people you can talk to who can help you deal with these, from disability services to counselling services or university welfare teams. These people can really help by explaining procedures you need to follow, helping you find resources that might help (such as support in buying a Dictaphone if you regularly miss lectures for health reasons so the lecture can be recorded for you) and just being a friendly face you can go to when you’re feeling rubbish.

·      Look after yourself. You have your freedom now but this doesn’t mean that takeaways all the time and drinking every night is a good idea. Eat properly, get enough sleep, get some exercise in and you’ll be less likely to be ill. Pay attention to any notices sent round about any particular illnesses that are going round like mumps or glandular fever and protect yourself from them and recognise the symptoms, as they are not fun at all! Keep a check on your mental well being too as students are some of the most likely people to experience mental health difficulties as well, and help is out there. Find help if you need it as there is no shame in making sure you’re ok.

Try not to worry as well. Whilst when you’re ill the world can seem like a horrible place, but there are people who understand and people who have been through it all before. As such, there are many systems in place to ensure that no matter what happens, you should be able to access help and really enjoy university to the full, even if slip ups occur along the way. You’re not alone, there genuinely is always someone out there to help and finding them will really make you feel a lot better!