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Swine Flu Shuts Down
Beer Pong
By Diana M. Galban
Swine flu and the paranoia that comes with it are taking over college campuses. Now, its latest victim is beer pong, with 98 percent of the colleges reporting swine flu symptoms in a large number of students, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Beer pong is known as the college drinking game of choice, where plastic cups full of beer are lined up on each team's side. The players try to toss a ping pong ball into the opponent's cup. If they make it, the opponent must chug that cup of beer. The same ping pong ball is tossed back and forth all night collecting everyone's germs and infecting all the players.
The New York Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute banned the “sport” after 21 cases of swine flu sprouted on several campuses. The health director of RPI banned it in order to reduce the germ-sharing activities in dorm parties. The famous red party cups can double as tiny germ pools of H1N1, according to NYdailynews.com.
As college students, we are not only more susceptible to catch the H1N1 virus due to our young immune system, but also because of our environment: the dorms and the small classrooms plus the activities that involve close interactions, such as football games, concerts, and dining halls.
Flu Prevention Tips!
- AVOID ALCOHOL – it’s an immune suppressant
- Wash your hands often
- Get enough sleep
- Stay hydrated
- Eat healthy
- Avoid contact with sick people
Students seem to be unconcerned with the severity of the virus, ignoring symptoms or disregarding the proper precautions to prevent being sick. In order to encourage students and prevent the outbreaks, you can now find hand sanitizer stations near food establishments and computer labs around campuses. Of course, sneezing and coughing into your sweater sleeve rather than your hand is also recommended.
MSNBC reports that more than 13,000 college students have had flulike symptoms in the last month at 250 colleges spread across the country. It also mentioned The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends sick students wear surgical masks when they kiss, indicating the H1N1 virus is a bit more dangerous and easily spread. First in line for the Tamiflu pill are those most susceptible, college students and pregnant women. Tamiflu acts as both a treatment of flu symptoms and a preventative measure against the flu.
The difference between the swine flu and the regular flu is its stronger symptoms, such as fevers that can develop rashes, debilitating dizziness, and body aches that can last longer. This comes from our lack of immunity to the new virus, not because it's a more complex disease, as previously thought, according to Dr. Vincent Iannelli for About.com. In hopes of building up a natural immunity to the virus, “swine flu parties” are being hosted, but strongly discouraged by the CDC, as the virus can become stronger among the participants and create the opposite effect.
The H1N1 symptoms of dizziness, severe vomiting, and shortness of breath can also be associated with a hangover, like after a long night of delicious germy beer pong. This can lower concerns about the flu and avoid immediate treatment.
Call me a party pooper, but the banning of beer pong might be a win-win situation all around. Giving up the beer pong champion title will make the very unattractive beer belly go away, keep you swine flu free, save you a couple of bucks to maybe buy Theraflu and give you more time to study! Just try not to rub your eyes while cramming or share coffee cups, as this can also spread the virus.
For more information, visit:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Web MD
Read “The Swine Flu Guide for College Students”
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