It’s that time of year again, when students return to campus and go out every night for a solid two weeks. For fresh-faced first years, this may be their first experience living alone, experiencing life with no rules or curfews, and enjoying everything that the LCR has to offer. (For returners who have been through Welcome Week time and time again, it’s a chance to go to the LCR all of one time, before remembering why no one frequents it after first year). However, whether your event of choice is the LCR’s Glow Party or Propaganda at the Waterfront, one fact is universal: by the end of week two, freshers’ flu will have turned UEA students into sniveling, hacking, colorless zombies. But what exactly is freshers’ flu, and how can you avoid it (or at the very least minimize the damage)?  

To begin, freshers’ flu isn’t a specific illness. Rather, it’s an umbrella term encompassing the number of viruses that propagate when thousands of students from around the world are brought together at once, the most common being the rhinovirus (common cold), adenovirus, and influenza virus (the flu). For some, freshers’ flu is rarely more than a simple cold while others find themselves bedbound for a couple of days. The symptoms vary, but most often will include coughing, fevers, fatigue, a sore throat, and a runny nose. Additionally, in recent years, freshers’ flu has also signified Covid, a fact that has too often been ignored as the need to test for it has become forgotten.    

The main cause of freshers’ flu is, understandably, large gatherings and close contact between students, after holidays spent traveling, partying, and all-around socializing. However, while your bodies are usually equipped to combat the bugs you encounter in day-to-day life, the combination of poor diets from living on your own, the lack of sleep from going out so often, the possible exposure to unknown bacteria from interacting with people from all around the world, and a heavy alcohol consumption mean that your immune system is weakened to the point where even the smallest cold can leave you feeling like you’re at death’s door. While freshers’ flu may appear inevitable, with certain sources (i.e. Wikipedia) estimating that it hits nearly 90% of students, there are ways to ensure lessened symptoms and a quick recovery.  

Though the only way to avoid freshers’ flu altogether is by staying in, it’s not a very realistic option. In fact, even if you were to skip out on Welcome Week altogether, the constant coughing and sneezing in lectures would pretty much guarantee you to catch it anyway. Instead, boost your immune system by drinking enough water and getting enough vitamin C. Vitamin C is a nutrient found mostly in fruits and vegetables, and is crucial in tissue repair, collagen formation, and antioxidation. If you don’t find the time to fit fruit and veg into your diet – or if cozzie livs have made Aldi fruit out of your budget – then Boots sells an array of supplemental tablets for under a fiver. Admittedly, tablets aren’t as good as the real deal, but they work in a pinch and are more than enough to keep you slightly functional.  

Another way to combat freshers flu is evident, but sometimes goes forgotten: proper hygiene. If Covid has taught us anything, it’s that you should be washing your hands as much as possible, and the mere existence of the five L’s is a sign that nowhere is safe from bacteria. You don’t know where people have been, or what they have been doing. Make sure to remain vigilant to what you’re touching and what you’re putting near your face, particularly as we draw nearer to flu season.   

Finally, if you’ve unfortunately fallen victim to the infamous flu after a snog or two too many, drink hot ginger tea, keep some paracetamol and throat soothers on you, and make sure to get plenty of rest – even if that means forfeiting a night or two of going out. The most important part of freshers’ in first year is meeting new people and having a good time, while staying within your own limits of personal and mental wellbeing. Remember to make sure to listen to your body as the semester goes on, and don’t wait until reading week to give yourself a break.  

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