Cyndee Drake | Staff Reporter

Todd Kleiboer | Co-Editor

With cold and flu season here, knowing steps to prevent an illness is very important, and TAMUC food services, maintenance, and other areas close to the school share their ways on preventing colds and flu.

Within the arrival of cold and flu season, some symptoms include coughing, sneezing, runny nose, itchy throat, body aches and less energy.

Food services and Custodial Services also have ways to prevent cold and flu from reaching TAMUC students and faculty. Custodial, for example, has daily cleaning routines with powerful disinfectant products.

“We use paper towels and hospital-disinfectant spray and washable rags. The bathroom is cleaned once a day, the offices are dusted weekly and the classes are wiped nightly,” Laura Davidson, custodial director, said. “Our department values our clients and students well being and committed to cleaning in order to prevent cold and flu.”

Food services has policies in place such as not using the same plate or prohibiting outside cups and bottles to prevent illnesses from spreading, and hand sanitizer dispensers are available to Cafe patrons.

“We have the top of the line dishwasher; our dishwasher has an extreme heater and sanitizer to clean the plates. If any of our employees are sick we send them home to prevent spreading illness,” Dining Services General Manager Charles Lear said. “Something that is very important to us would be hygiene measures and the use of washing your hands, and wearing gloves. There will be a sign very soon to notify others on preventing the spread of cold and flu on washing your hands on reducing it which are some tips to give.”

CVS Pharmacist Brian Jones advised that people vaccinate against the flu in early September or October, and for those unlucky people who still become ill, he recommended Nyquil and Dayquil.   

“Some symptoms of the cold and flu would be having a fever and muscle ache pain; with a cold temperature is involved and an ache with pain comes along with having a cold,” Jones said. “Ways to prevent the cold from yourself and others is to wash your hands, stay away from people and take some medicine and Vitamin C.”

To avoid spreading a cold or the flu, Director of Health Services Maxine Mendoza-Welch said that people should wash their hands, use sanitizer, not touch their eyes or nose before cleaning their hands, and keep a certain distance from people.

“One flu shot a year is recommended by the CDC. The risks of flu shots would be that if you are allergic to eggs you can’t have the shot; mild flu-like symptoms are common and mild soreness where the shot is given. The risks if you don’t get the flu shot is that they can get really sick to where they could miss a week of school/work,” Mendoza-Welch said. “Older people and people with underlying medical problems can get a pneumonia and die. Flu shots are not guarantee 100% to where it could reduce the severity of your illness if you should get ill. There are several strains of the flu virus and flu shot doesn’t have all the strains in the community.”