Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: Features

Media Credit: Battalion Admin The key to feeling better when you have the flu is drinking lots of liquids. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Battalion Admin If your stomach is upset, broth soups should be your food of choice. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Battalion Admin Applesauce and Jell-O are also healthy foods that will be easy on your stomach. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Battalion Admin Take the appropriate medicines for fever, a cough and headaches. [Click to enlarge]

My dorm room is covered in dirty tissues. They are everywhere. Coincidentally, the same week I was assigned to write about what people should eat when they are sick, I acquired the dreaded flu virus myself.

Flu symptoms can include fever, headache, chills, muscle aches, cough and a runny nose along with stomach symptoms. If this is how you feel, get to Beutel as quickly as possible. If nothing else, they can give you a doctor's note for the day.

After you go to Beutel, go to Wal-Mart, HEB or Walgreens. The first thing on your list should be Lysol disinfectant spray. Make sure you get the kind that eliminates the flu virus. If you have a roommate, spray everything you share, including: door knobs, remote controls, phones, stove knobs and microwave buttons. Anything you have touched needs to be sprayed. Also, grab Pepto Bismol if your stomach is upset, Motrin for fever and headaches, cough syrup, Benadryl and Vicks Vapor Rub.

Next, move to the Gatorade aisle. Choose whatever you like. Emergen-C is good for you, but tastes awful. Mix it with Gatorade or Crystal Light to make it more enjoyable. The key to getting over the flu is lots of fluids. Tea is OK, but only if it's caffeine free. Caffeine and alcohol will dehydrate you, therefore making you feel worse. Sprite is a good choice because it is caffeine free. It's better to stick to light colored drinks to become more thoroughly hydrated.

You will probably become bored and be itching to go out before you are cured. If you do, don't get drunk. Being sick and having a hangover is an awful combination.

Your food of choice should be soup. If your stomach is upset, avoid acidic soups like tomato. Stick to broths. Simple foods are also good choices, like rice, white bread, bananas and applesauce.

The best medicine for the flu is rest. Go to your classes, but other than that, stay in your bed.

"I went to all of my classes as long as I didn't have a fever," said Caren Mendelbaum, a freshman kinesiology major. "I got in touch with my teachers right away, and they were really understanding and let me make up my work."

Second, sleep as much as possible.

"It was hard keeping up with my school work," said Heather Hossler, a freshman nutrition major.

Unfortunately, we do not have teachers who put all of our assignments in a folder for us. High school is over.

"Being sick in college is worse than being sick at home. Mom's not there to take care of you. The dorm room is not a cozy place to be sick," said Kassidy Martin, a freshman agricultural economics major.

When I was younger, I always hoped I had fever when I felt sick so that I could stay home from school. Now that I'm an "adult," I wish for the opposite. To avoid getting sick, drink orange juice to boost your vitamin C intake, wash your hands thoroughly and often, don't eat after anyone and try to get a good night's sleep as often as possible.

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