Ohio University students in the dorms live together, eat together and get sick together, especially during Winter Quarter.
We pass our sicknesses back and forth all the time
said Jackie Sofranko -an OU sophomore education major -about her roommate and herself.
They both fought off the flu and mono-like symptoms in the past week. Sofranko said she acquired symptoms that included fatigue, headache, nausea and a sore throat first and gave them to her roommate a couple days later.
Their symptoms came out of nowhere, Sofranko said, who went to her hometown doctor over the weekend and is now feeling better.
Other people on campus said they know exactly who made them sick this winter.
Justine Bunn, an OU sophomore linguistics and psychology major in Scott Quad, said she is sure she caught a cold from her roommate, Megan McNicholl's, boyfriend who is always around.
Bunn said in order to recover, she and McNicholl are taking NyQuil and vitamins and skipping class so we can sleep all day.
The best way to stay healthy is to keep hands clean, said Sam Hanson, OU environmental health coordinator.
One of the primary modes of transmission of diseases is as simple as your eye being rubbed by (your) finger Hanson said.
The eye is a mucous membrane with a direct passage to the nasal cavity, throat and respiratory track, thus a perfect route for germs, Hanson said. Plus they itch so fingers go to them.
Allergies and germs both can cause cold symptoms, so people allergic to mold should keep their living spaces clean to prevent molds from growing. Hanson said old food should never be left in a room because it is an easy place for mold to grow.
Throw the dang food away
Hanson said. Do not eat it
unless you have an enemy you want to take care of.
Food is not the only breeding ground messy residence hall rooms provide.
Mold spores are in the environment
Hanson said. When mold finds conditions that are ideal for reproduction
like wet floors or carpets
or food
or walls or ceilings
they will grow.
Indoor plants, which some people use to clean the air, can actually have negative effects on a person's health, Hanson said.
While plants do take in carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen, Hanson said, he does not know of any real health benefit they have.
The problem with plants is they need to grow in soil
and can become their own mold problem and can also harbor insects
