The Don’t Get Sick Kit: A College Cold and Flu Guide
Once one person on the floor gets sick, everyone does. Any college student will tell you that.
It isn’t bad luck or a lack of hygiene. College is set up perfectly for passing germs around. Students share bathrooms, sit shoulder to shoulder in lecture halls, eat in the same dining halls, and sleep a few feet from their roommates. Add late nights, skipped meals, social gatherings, and finals stress, and it’s easy to see how a cold can move through a dorm in a week.
Your student can’t avoid every germ. A well-stocked “don’t get sick kit” means that when they do get sick, they won’t have to walk to the pharmacy with a fever. Here’s what we’d put in it.
Start With the Air
Dorm air gets dry, especially once the heat comes on. A small cool mist humidifier like the Neo-Classic Mini takes up almost no desk space and keeps the room from feeling like a desert.
If you want to do more, the Core 300-P air purifier is rated for rooms over 1,000 square feet, which covers any dorm room easily.
Keep the Surfaces Clean
Desks, door handles, and shared remotes collect more than you’d think. CloroxPro Screen+ sanitizing wipes are bleach-free and made for screens, so they work on laptops and phones too.
Hydration Comes First
Most students don’t drink enough water, and it shows as soon as they get run down. Liquid I.V. in Lemon Lime (or the variety pack for picky drinkers) makes it easier. Add a bottle of Pedialyte for the days they really aren’t feeling well.
The Medicine Cabinet Basics
Nobody thinks to buy these things until they need them at 2 a.m.
- A Vicks SpeedRead digital thermometer, so they can tell a cold from something worth a trip to the health center
- Up&Up cetirizine for seasonal allergies, which can look a lot like a cold
- A NeilMed Sinus Rinse Kit for congestion
- A Vicks VapoInhaler for a stuffy nose on the go
For supplements, we keep Thorne’s Immune Support Stack and Beekeeper’s Naturals Propolis + Vitamin C on hand. As with anything they take regularly, it’s worth checking with their doctor first.
Comfort for the Sick Days
When a cold does hit, comfort matters. Yogi Elderberry Lemon Balm tea, Beekeeper’s Naturals Elderberry Soothing Lozenges, and a bag of Gin Gins ginger chews help with a sore throat or an upset stomach. A Pure Enrichment heating pad, or the Up&Up neck and shoulder version, helps with the aches.
Protect Their Sleep
Students give up sleep before anything else, and it’s one of the best things they can do for their health. Quince’s mulberry silk sleep mask blocks out a roommate’s desk lamp and makes a nap between classes restful.
How to Pack It
Send it before they need it! Which is now: early November, before Thanksgiving travel and finals, is the right time.
Keep it together. Pack everything in a small bin or zip pouch that can live under the bed, and add a note with the campus health center’s number.
Shop the Don’t Get Sick Kit
Everything above is in our curated Don’t Get Sick Kit collection. Build the whole kit or just pick what your student doesn’t have yet. ’Tis the season.
