IN K [ [ ] L I N G S
Crown Point High School Crown Point, IN @InklingsCPHS January 2019 Vol. 83 Issue 5
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*Due to extreme weather and multiple school cancellations, printing and distribution was slightly delayed. Content has been adjusted when applicable.
Read about girls basketball sectional champs page 12
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“Valentine’s Day without societal expectations” page 14
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FIGHTthe FLU it’s up to YOU
Winter season brings cold weather, snow and various common illnesses such as the cold and flu BY TABITHA BEISHUIZEN JESSI ALCORTA-ROBLES editor-at-large associate editor
With the flu season fully underway, more and more people are becoming dependent on make-up tests and retries. Between a common winter cold, the flu and overall discomfort from the transition into winter, many students and faculty members are using up their sick days. Senior Becca Yagelski often gets sick due to h e r job at Crown Point Christian Village, an assisted living facility. Yagelski primarily works with elderly people who are often sick themselves. “Most recently I had strep throat. I didn’t go to school for two days because of [strep throat]. I had gone to the doctor the second day of having it just because it made me feel so gross,” Yagelski said. “It was actually there that I found out that it was strep and not the flu like me and my parents had thought.” While both a cold and the flu have similar effects on the body, they are not the same illness and are caused by dif-
ferent viruses. They each show slightly different symptoms and both have different forms of recovery. “They are both caused by viruses, however, the flu has the tendency to be more serious and life-threatening. Both require plenty of hydration and rest,” pediatrician Tae’ Ni Chang-Stroman said. “Tamiflu is available for people with the flu. It’s not a cure, but it may lessen the severity of the symptoms when taken early in the disease process.” That being said, both a cold and the flu can cause patients to go to their doctor’s office. While the common cold can be resolved just by waiting it out or using over-the-counter medicines, if the symptoms get severe and one cannot go on with their normal life, a doctor should be seen. “Always go to the doctor if you are feeling terrible. If you have had a fever for five days you should definitely see a doctor,” Chang-Stroman said. When a bad sickness hits, this can cause extended absences. With there being seven classes a day, work can pile up easily and create a stressful environment to get all the work
done whilst being sick. “Luckily I don’t have as many classes this year so it is easier but definitely still a challenge as classes do so much everyday,” Yagelski said. “It generally takes me like two weeks to feel fully caught up with all the material for a class.”
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Always go to the doctor if you are feeling terrible. If you have had a fever for five days you should definitely see a doctor.
pediatrician Tae’ Ni Chang-Stroman
While there are students who come to school sick and last the whole day, many will arrive and leave before the day ends. Since symptoms can come and go as the illness runs its course, some symptoms can hit in an instant. “Most [of the students who come] go home. The kids will come in and we will assess them, ask their symptoms, take a temperature and then we can go from there as far as what they are wanting to do, it’s more of what they want to do because they do not exactly have to go home if they are not running a temperature
or vomiting actively,” school nurse Cori Sabotnik said. “You do not have to go home but if you are not feeling like you will make it, then we can send you home.” While a school nurse can only provide so much care for illnesses, there are still a few remedies they can use to help aid the cold. If a student does want to take medication, a medicine form needs to be filled out in the nurse’s office. “If we have the med. form filled out and a supply [of medication] brought in we give you the medication as needed. If not, we call home and see if that is something the parent would like to do,” Sabotnik said. “For sore throat symptoms, which are very common here in the nurse’s office, we say keep lozenges on you. We do have mints. Keep a water bottle on you. If it is going on for a good amount of days then definitely go see the d o c tor, because it could be strep, but it is not strep.” The common symptoms many cold victims face are a runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, facial redness, among others. The flu has similar symptoms, along with
COLD vs. FLU SYMPTOMS fever congestion sudden onset headache dry cough chest pain exhaustion nausea Source: https://www.ehealthstar.com/whatis-the-difference-between-cold-and-flu.php
see winter wellness on page 3