With cold weather reaching its peak in the most recent months, flu season is in full swing. Evident from sniffles and coughs breaking silence in class, teachers replacing tissue boxes often, and, of course, the abundance of sick days for many students, Chamblee is finding itself in flu season. While students at Chamblee High School aren’t experiencing weather that is as severe as in other parts of the country, they are no exception to diseases.
In order to fight against sicknesses such as the flu and the cold, some students have doubled down on hand-washing, hand-sanitizing, and other sickness-preventing methods.
“I’m not afraid to distance myself from people I know who are sick,” said Cass Poole (‘26). “My mom takes my flu shots very seriously as well, so I get all my shots every season.”
Other students take precautions when around friends to prevent themselves from contracting illness.
“I wash my hands a lot, I always bring hand sanitizer everywhere, and I don’t share drinks… because I don’t want to get sick,” said Franscesca Tunini (‘29).
When it comes to sickness and germs, some students are more cautious than others. According to The Cleveland Clinic, mysophobia (most commonly known as germaphobia) is defined as “the extreme fear of germs.” Many germaphobes tend to avoid dirt, dust, mold, contaminated foods, or certain germy surfaces.
“When I’m in public, in a dressing room, or in the bathroom, and I’m trying on clothes, they shouldn’t touch the floor. That’s nasty,” said Mackenzie Olaitan (‘27). “Outside people and outside clothes can’t be on my bed, but if they are, I wash my sheets.”
Many germaphobes adapt their everyday habits to compensate for their fear of sickness.
“I’m a cheerleader, and cheerleaders often forget things, so we always have to share things, like our water bottles,” said Kinzi Neal (‘26). “One time one of the cheerleaders asked to drink from my water bottle and she put her mouth on it, and I didn’t use that water bottle for the rest of the season. Instead, I bought a new lid, but then I [worried] about the backwash, so I threw the whole water bottle away.”
When students fall sick, it is common for them to miss school. According to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, students should stay home from school if they are vomiting, coughing, or have a 104 degree fever or higher.
“There’s pressure to be present even though you’re sick, and then that spreads the sickness faster,” said Poole.
Some students who have taken sick days from school struggle to keep up with the missed schoolwork when they come back.
“I was out of school for about a full week. I missed two tests and a lot of assignments,” said Jackson Warren (‘26). “I have a B in one class, and I’m still failing the other because I’m still catching up on my work.”
Because of the possibility of missing assignments while sick, many believe it is important to rest and recover as quickly as possible to avoid an overload of makeup work.
“[While I was sick] I took a lot of cough medicine, I slept 12 hours a day, [I took] warm showers, and I watched The Office,” said Warren.
Chamblee High School’s nurse, Christina Thomas, often advises students on how they can stay healthy during the colder months.
“Students should get your flu shot if they can and also avoid people who are sick,” said Thomas.
