Late January and early February had a sharp rise in the amount of stomach flu and influenza cases diagnosed by Student Health Services, according to Mary Wengston of Health Services.
Stomach flu, or gastroenteritis, produces nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches and fatigue, and is highly contagious.
Influenza, more commonly known as the flu, is a sudden onset of temperature, sore throat, cough, aches and fatigue.
“You’ll normally see a lot of flu this time of year,” Wengston said. “But simultaneously with that, we’re seeing a lot of vomiting. The thing that’s important is that students understand how they come down with this.”
Wengston said students should be washing their hands regularly, maintaining a generally good health — through nutrition and adequate sleep, and washing their hands and faces after being with those infected.
The spread of viruses in the past month has not been unique to N.C. State. Several middle schools and elementary schools in North Carolina closed down because of the illnesses, according to Wengston.
“The stuff we’re seeing is likely the same stuff that’s being seen in the community,” Wengston said. “But the difference is that in the community people go to many different doctors, whereas here we’re having a high number of people come into [the Student Health Center] and their friends are very quickly picking it up too.”
According to Wengston, the influenza virus is transmitted through contaminated respiratory droplets from the nose or mouth by being in the direct vicinity of someone actively coughing or by touching contaminated surfaces.
“It’s not just on campus that people are picking it up,” she said. “It can happen from people in line at the store coughing — there’s a lot of ways.”
The key to treatment of each is early detection, so that students can get help for fighting their symptoms. More antibiotics are available for those with influenza and one of the best treatments for a stomach flu is a dietary change, according to Wengston.
With early detection, doctors can prescribe medications that could shorten the duration of the flu by a day or two, according to Wengston. Other medicines can be taken for body aches. Coughing and fatigue could continue for a week or two after the flu is gone, she said.
“It’s important for students to know when to not go to class,” Wengston said. “It’s much easier when you have a job and you can just take off time, but when you’re in school, you feel a lot more guilty about missing classes and having to catch up on your work.”
