Are We All Doomed?

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

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Image taken from http://kckidsdoc.com/tag/sick-kids-2

I knew that by coming to the Main campus, there would be many changes. However I never thought about the fact that my second week here I would be so sick. I always heard about how sick people get here, but I thought the chances of me getting that stuff and being super sick was low. Well, I was WRONG. Completely wrong. I was diagnosed with Acute Bronchitis, and as soon as I thought I got over it, I got it again. My roommate currently has Mono, and I’m just wondering how I can go under quarantine without seeming like an asshole. This makes me wonder, is there really a way to avoid these sicknesses at large universities, like is it scientifically possible?


 

Vaccinations

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Image taken from http://revolutionofthemind.org/a-truthful-and-objective-view-on-vaccines/

As we talked about in class, it is very important for people to get vaccinated, but especially students at large universities. It is required for first-year students to get certain vaccines while living on campus, further increasing the number of less effected people. Less effected people, or in other words, the more people vaccinated, the lower the risk of non-vaccinated people getting sick. However, beyond the vaccinations, is there a way to compensate for sicknesses that do not have vaccinations? Even if a majority of people are vaccinated at State College, why is everyone so sick?


Be Healthy, Sleep, Blah Blah

The most common answer to preventing sickness, like this site explains is investing time in forming good eating, sleeping, and behavioral habits. It’s like yeah, I’m sure you have a million assignments at once, but please get eight or more hours of sleep every night to avoid getting sick. Also, we know there’s only fast food open late during the time you are writing that paper, but eat healthier please! And God forbid if you drink or party, you will be so weak (don’t do that)! Basically the answer the being healthy in college is to actually not be in college.

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Image taken from http://giphy.com/search/sick

Digging deeper than this though, the question posed; is it possible for humans to avoid sicknesses? Even at such a large college campus, can immunology be achieved ever? It seems as though no matter how “safe” you think you are behaving, you still end up with a common cold. Is it in fact unavoidable? YES, it is. This article attempts to explore the science behind the reason why we can’t seem to shake the common cold. It concludes that our immune response to cold viruses actually makes things worse. So what are we to do? Or can we even do anything? We’re at a scientific standstill trying to answer this question.


What Would Happen?

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Image taken from https://www.tes.com/lessons/Tc8ZEurmWEj3OA/utopia

Say we somehow did reach immunity from sicknesses and diseases. How would this change the world? Or would it even be safe? This Live Science article takes a scientific approach at what would come from a sick free world. This would change the science world immensely, as it is the job of many to explore sicknesses and cures. Also, the vaccination market would collapse. However, as humans, we would not directly see the effects of every one being healthy. Also, just because we got rid of sickness does not to cure the already sick. So would these people continue to contaminate others and further progress the cycle of sickness? It’s very interesting to think about the fact that we may never be able to live in a sick free world, that it’s scientifically impossible.


What DO We Do?

The disappointing, common answer is to keep getting vaccinated, and practice good healthy behaviors. Build up your immune system, and try to get the most sleep you can get (after finals week of course). For obvious reasons, though we share everything else, do not share anything that you put to your mouth or inside your body with anyone else. To reduce your risk of getting sick at a large university, avoid your sick friends. If your roommate is sick, LYSOimgresL your room! Entirely! Wash your hands frequently, and make sure your vaccinations are up to par. Or you could put your roommate under quarantine (don’t do that).

 

 

 

 


 

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One thought on “Are We All Doomed?

  1. Nathan Andrew Morningstar

    Besides just giving everyone vaccinations for everything, it is sometimes prefered that a natural immunity is built with sometyp of illnesses, such as parents having chickenpox parties. I do however, believe that everyone should be vaccinated or at least get boosters if coming to campus to help with preventing infectious illness’s from spreadin like wild fire. Here is a link to another idea that you should have mentioned called “herd immunity”. https://www.vaccines.gov/basics/protection/

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