Back to school season marks the return of another season, allergy and cold season. As students return to school many experience runny noses and scratchy throats. Getting bad allergies or catching a cold at the beginning of the school year can affect the focus and attendance of students.
A 2022 study reported by the CDC said, “In a recent survey, more than two-thirds of children missed at least one day of school for illness or injury in the previous year, and about half of those students were absent 1-3 days.”
This heavily affects students, especially in the first few weeks of school when teachers put in the first grades of the year. Missing days and assignments can mess up a student’s grade and get them off to a bad start.
For some people, they may not miss school but the lingering effects of allergies or colds can still affect their focus.
Junior Allison Kerton said,“I was mostly sick over the weekend so it didn’t affect my attendance.”
Kerton also said, “It was annoying because I’d have to cough or blow my nose in class, then everyone looks at you.”
This affects not only the focus of the previously ill student but also their peers.
“I felt like I couldn’t breathe at times, but I took the right medicine for my symptoms so I got better,” junior Marz Sullivan said.
The effects of getting sick make it difficult to participate fully in school.
There are ways to prevent or lessen the effects of colds and allergies. The best, and most cliché, way to prevent catching something is by washing your hands.
“Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water,” the CDC wrote online.
There are also other ways as well, like wearing a mask, covering any coughs or sneezes, keeping a good distance from others, not sharing food and drinks, and so many others.
So for this back-to-sick season, everyone should be practicing good sanitation so that all students can all stay healthy and be able to participate in school.
