How to Help When Your College Student is Sick

Getting sick at home is bad enough, but getting sick at college — without a stocked refrigerator and medicine cabinet, a familiar doctor and family members to help — is even worse. And sickness can have very real costs for students’ grades.

Ways parents can help when their college student gets sick

“The American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment revealed that in Spring 2015, 15 percent of students reported that in the past 12 months a cold, flu and sore throat negatively impacted their individual academic performance,” said Dr. Carlo Ciotoli, associate vice president at NYU Student Health Center.

Sickness season is upon us, so bookmark these tips for preventing, treating, and recovering from whatever nasty germs are circulating in your dorm.

Interested in knowing what to do with your college student is sick? Read more of our writing for NBC NewsSick at School? Read Our Survival Guide For College Students

Does the college where your son or daughter is a student offer a skilled health care worker who can answer questions and offer qualified assistance on the phone?  Here is what the University of Michigan has for it’s student body. 

How does your kid know when he needs to go to the health center at his college?  The American Academy of Pediatrics lists these symptoms. 

Finally, since a student won’t have his mom or dad to bring him chicken noodle soup, suggest that he enlist the help of a “flu buddy.”

About Grown and Flown

Mary Dell Harrington and Lisa (Endlich) Heffernan are the co-founders of Grown and Flown the #1 site for parents of teens, college students and young adults, reaching millions of parents every month. They are writers (Lisa is a New York Times bestselling author), moms, wives and friends. They started the Grown and Flown Parents Facebook Group and are co-authors of Grown and Flown: How to Support Your Teen, Stay Close as a Family, and Raise Independent Adults (Flatiron Books) now in paperback.

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