Wellness Center

As the semester comes to a close, the Wellness Center encourages everyone to continue healthy habits to stay well this winter. Help prevent the flu by washing your hands thoroughly and often, getting a flu shot, covering your cough/sneeze, and staying away from others if you’re sick.

We Can All Fight the Flu Video

A new list of Frequently Asked Questions about H1N1 influenza is now available at: http://www.luc.edu/erp/h1n1_faqs.shtml

The list includes updated answers to these questions:

LU Wolf has a game plan for preventing H1N1 flu. Check out the video that made its debut at Midnight Madness.

Currently, Loyola is seeing a small increase in the number of H1N1 flu cases on campus, as are most institutions across the country. The cases we see continue to be mild to moderate in severity, and they are resolving as expected. As a reminder, these actions can decrease your chances of infection:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Frequently wash your hands with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth, as germs spread more easily that way.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick. If you get sick, the CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
• Get a seasonal and H1N1 flu shot when it becomes available. If you haven’t been able to obtain one, focus on the tips above to decrease your chances of infection.
• Do not share cups or bottles when drinking any types of liquid, including alcohol.

If you think you have the flu:

• Stay home (and away from classes) and limit interaction with other people (called “self-isolation”), except to seek medical care.
• Do not return to campus or class for at least 24 hours after being fever-free (even when not using a fever-reducing medicine). Some people with influenza will not have a fever; therefore, absence of fever does not mean absence of infection. (For more information, visit cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/exclusion.htm.)
• If possible, residential students with a flu-like illness who live relatively close to the campus should return to their home. Please do so in a manner that limits contact with others as much as possible. For example, travel by private car or taxi, as opposed to taking public transportation.
• Students with a private room, or those who cannot leave campus, should remain in their room and receive care and meals from a single person. Students can establish a “flu buddy scheme,” in which students pair up to care for each other if one or the other becomes ill. If close contact with others cannot be avoided, the ill student should wear a surgical mask during the periods of contact.
• Promptly seek medical attention if you have a medical condition that puts you at increased risk of severe illness from flu, you are concerned about your illness, or you develop severe symptoms, such as increased fever, shortness of breath, chest pain or pressure, or rapid breathing.

Symptoms of Novel Influenza A (H1N1) are similar to seasonal influenza and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Some people have also reported diarrhea and vomiting. Students experiencing flu-like symptoms should call the Wellness Center at 773.508.8883. Faculty and staff members should contact their health care providers.

Another friendly reminder that the simplest actions can have the biggest effects:

Bag Man

The Wellness Center has distributed its initial supply of H1N1 vaccine to higher-risk priority groups and has begun distribution to all students age 24 and under.

Students 25 and older are able to receive the vaccine as long as they fit into one of the high-risk groups listed below. All vaccines will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no charge for the vaccine; however, a Loyola ID is required.

High-Risk Priority Groups

• Pregnant Women
• Those who live with/care for infants under 6 months of age
• Health care and emergency service workers with direct patient contact
• Loyola students age 18 and younger with chronic medical conditions

Future H1N1 and regular seasonal flu vaccine updates will be sent by special broadcast e-mail if/when more vaccines are made available. We are committed to getting the vaccine to you as soon as possible after its arrival. Please note that H1N1 vaccines will only be distributed at designated flu clinics; please do not call the Wellness Center for H1N1 vaccine appointments, as center hours have been reserved for responding to sick patients.

In the meantime, continue to practice good prevention habits, such as handwashing, covering your cough/sneeze, and staying home if you’re sick. For another perspective, check out:

Toothbrush Prank

Sometimes, when it comes to flu prevention, simpler is better:

Hazmat Video

The Wellness Center has not received its full order of seasonal flu vaccines and will not receive the remainder of its order until November. All flu shot manufacturers have delayed shipping seasonal flu vaccine until they make the novel H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine widely available.  We will be scheduling a seasonal flu vaccine clinic for students at the Water Tower Campus when the remainder of our seasonal vaccine doses arrive and will also offer them at the Wellness Center while supplies last.  Students are encouraged to get a flu shot from their healthcare provider or a local pharmacy since delivery is not guaranteed.

In addition, we are expecting a supply of H1N1 vaccine in the near future and will notify students when it becomes available. Check back at this site or follow Twitter for updates.

The Wellness Center is providing free seasonal flu shots in Gentile Center to students on Sep. 29 from 10:30-3:00 and Oct. 7 from 1:00-4:00. If these dates do not work for you or if you have family or significant others in need of seasonal flu vaccines, additional free seasonal flu shot clinics will be held throughout the city of Chicago. Click on these links to view fliers with more information about these clinics.

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Word is getting around about the free flu shot clinic on Sep. 29 and some questions have come up. Please read these Frequently Asked Questions before you contact the Wellness Center.

Q: When and where is the flu shot clinic?
A: The clinic will be in the Gentile Center on the Lake Shore Campus on Tuesday, Sep. 29, from 10:30 AM – 3:00 PM.

Q: Who can get the free flu shots?
A: Any current student, undergraduate or graduate, is eligible for the free flu vaccine. (Non-students, including family members and significant others, are not eligible.)

Q: Do I need to use insurance to get the vaccine?
A: No. The vaccine is completely free to currently enrolled students; no insurance is necessary.

Q: What kind of vaccine will be available?
A: The vaccines on the 29th will be seasonal flu vaccines. The vaccine for H1N1 influenza will be released later this fall and separate announcements will be made regarding that vaccine.

Q: Will there be additional dates for the free flu shots?
A: Yes. Free seasonal flu vaccines will also be available at the Wellness Fair, Wed. Oct. 7, 1-4 PM in Gentile Center, LSC.

Additional questions can be directed to the Wellness Center at 773.508.2530.