By Davis Smith, M.D.

 In the immortal words of the Weslyan Study Abroad form, there are times when we, the Health Center, may not be able to be there for you. Take heart, a little preparation goes a long way.

If there are any medications you require on a regular basis, you should make sure that you have enough to get through the upcoming weekend, vacation, road trip, etc. This includes insulin, anti-depressants and asthma medications. It can also be extended to include birth control pills, condoms, and spare contact lenses. If you do wear contacts, make sure you have back-up eyeglasses so that when you get conjunctivitis because you fell asleep with your contacts in, you can still see to write your end-of-semester papers (in between applying antibiotic eye-drops). By the same token, if you have periodic need of a medication, e.g. for allergies or migraine, make sure that you have a reasonable supply on hand and that it has not expired. Because of a major shortage of pharmacists in Connecticut, there are few, if any, 24-hour pharmacies still operating in our area. If you can’t do without it, make sure you won’t be without it. The Health Center routinely arranges extra supplies for students travelling abroad or otherwise in need of extended interval dosing.

OK, but what about the rest of you? Think about what you’ve taken or used in the past year, and anticipate that you might need it again. Go down to the drugstore and buy a box or two of band-aids, some throat lozenges, a small tube of antibiotic or “triple” ointment, perhaps a heating pad. It would also make sense to have on hand a small supply of fluids, such as ginger ale, instant soup, crackers or other things that you can eat if you’re feeling too sick to go out and/or eat regular food. If you really want to get organized, consider buying a humidifier. When the heat is on, the air gets very dry. This can cause mild irritation of the mucus membranes and make it easier for viruses to invade. Be aware, though, that failure to clean out the water reservoir every few days can lead to growth of molds and bacteria, which can cause serious respiratory illness.

Are you doing anything for exercise? If not, you should start. If you are, anticipate that you’ll turn an ankle or tweak a knee. Whatever the degree of injury, treatment always starts with rest, ice, compression and elevation (RICE). Rest requires only that you periodically launder your bed linens. Ice can be in the form of a reusable icepack kept in your freezer, or even a bag of frozen peas (they conform to body surfaces very nicely). Compression refers to use of an ACE wrap or equivalent, which, if you are injury prone, may be a sensible thing to keep around. Elevation requires a comfy chair and sturdy surface on which you can prop the injured extremity to aid in venous drainage and so facilitate delivery of fresh arterial blood and the healing white blood cells it contains. To further facilitate this process, an anti-inflammatory such as Ibuprofen (Advil) is very effective in reducing healing time, as well as controlling pain. To accomplish an anti-inflammatory level, you should take 600 to 800 mg every 8 hours (over-the-counter pills are 200mg each, the maximum dose is 2400mg in 24 hours) for 3-10 days. Taking this dose with food will diminish the risk of upsetting your stomach. It is also prudent to have on hand some Acetaminophen (Tylenol) which is a good general pain reliever and fever-controller, and will really help when struggling with a nasty viral upper respiratory tract infection. Although most of us don’t like to take medication “unnecessarily”, remember that a good night’s sleep is one of the most effective medical interventions there is. If pain or fever is keeping you up, think about doing something about it.

Remember that one of the Health Center doctors is always on call for emergencies. If you need help working through what to do for yourself or deciding whether you need to be seen by a practitioner, and it can’t wait for office hours, call us at extension 2470.


Smith is the Associate Medical Director at the Wesleyan Health Center