As you might recall from youth, it is required that students provide proof of various immunizations and vaccinations before entering into most public school systems. For students of various ages including Kindergarten, or when transferring to a new school district, school administrators ask to see health records to ensure students are up-to-date on their shots. This practice ensures that some of the most contagious and dangerous diseases are not spread between students in the classroom.
Such things are not on the mind of your typical student entering or attending higher education systems in America. But we can all learn from the practices of the k-12 public school system. Students, and adults alike, are never too old or young to take extra precaution when it comes to their physical health. At the core of this is periodic blood testing for common and uncommon diseases and infections. It is always important to catch these things early on before they become a serious health concern.
Without going into detail concerning the health risks that the lifestyles of many college-aged students produce, it is important that the risks are acknowledged and accounted for. Perioding screenings for STDs are vitally important for anyone that is sexually active. Prevention is always the first step, while diagnosis and treatment are most effective when the disease is caught early on. Other risks that students often face include Staph infections, HPV and Meningitis. The CDC (US Center for Disease Control) recommends that all students be vaccinated for Meningitis.
Most colleges or universities offer student health clinics to advise and treat students for some of the more common ailments. There are also dozens of online resources that offer useful information for students attending higher education. Be sure to understand the health risks that are present in your average college dorm or campus housing. Shared quarters like bathrooms, kitchens or bedrooms present oppurtunities for infectious diseases to spread, while unprotected sex presents risk of the spread of STDs.
At the very core of the issue is your need to take personal responsibility for your health during your college years, which will set the stage for doing so in the future. Physical health is the single most important contributing factor towards mental health. A healthy body is a healthy mind. Do your homework - not just the homework assigned to you by teachers - to make sure you are educated when it comes to your health.
