Article by Mady McColm.

It comes at night. It sneaks up on you when you least expect it. It affects your friends, classmates and professors one by one until you’re surrounded. Beware the Drury Plague!

As is tradition, we’re kicking off the school year with a new round of sickness. For Jacob Wyatt, senior chemistry major, that means lots of sniffles.

“I started getting a sore throat and feeling really tired,” said Wyatt, claiming that’s when he knew that the plague had taken him.

For Will Schneider, senior theatre major, the ailment took a different form. “I lost my voice for about a week and had some pretty bad stomachaches.”

Some students, in response to the plague, turn to campus provided services to help them. The Panther Clinic is located in the same building as Weiser Gym and faces Drury Lane. Services for minor injuries are available to any full-time student, faculty or staff. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a 30-minute lunch break at noon. It is operated by CoxHealth and provides services free of charge. Walk-ins or appointments are available.

But is the Panther Clinic worth it?

Of eight students polled, none of them used the Panther Clinic for services.

“As international students, we pay almost $500 in health insurance covered by Panther Clinic,” said senior Ann Njoki. “It’s frustrating because, unless it’s a very minor illness, they just recommend us to a doctor and we could have gone to a doctor in the first place.”

Wyatt agrees, saying every time he’s been that he could have visited Walgreens and gotten similar results.

“The hours are inconvenient and the service is slow,” said Wyatt. “It makes it hard to go when they aren’t being accommodating to a student schedule and lifestyle.”

For students who need individual services or don’t have cars, the Panther Clinic can be a great option. The on-campus clinic also offers vaccinations.

“I’m going to get my flu shot there, soon,” said Wyatt and he encourages other students to do so, as well. A flu shot at the Panther Clinic is $25. Bring your student ID and your insurance card at the time of your appointment or you will be considered a self-pay patient.

Regardless of where you get your flu shot, make sure that you get one. According to HuffPost, only eight percent of college students receive a flu vaccination each year. If you want to keep the Drury Plague (or Ebola) from getting you down, getting a seasonal flu shot is a great first step.

Watch your back and know why you’re getting sick:

Universities tend to be a breeding ground for germs for several reasons. Schneider claims it’s because people don’t regularly wash their hands.

“It happens in the commons and there’s no way that anyone could keep all of that clean. It happens in the library when people touch their faces, cough and then touch their keyboard, or in the gym if someone forgets to clean off their equipment. Any time you have large groups of people together, disease will spread. It’s inevitable.”

Njoki claims that it’s because of physical contact.

“Touching people makes it easy to spread disease,” said Njoki.

Wyatt agrees, saying, “It’s college students and all their kissing that makes people sick.”

Tips to avoid the plague

Here are some tips compiled by these Drury students to help keep you healthy during the height of the plague:

1. *Wash your hands*
2. Get lots of sleep (as much as you can as a college student)
3. De-stress
4. Stay home when you’re sick on your first day of symptoms
5. Avoid drinking and eating after people
6. Eat right
7. Exercise

And take care of yourself. Remind yourself that self-care matters and that if you want to remain healthy this semester, you need to have some you-time. The Drury plague can’t catch you if you recognize your symptoms and ask for help when you need it.