So you got the Penn State Plague?

You know the time has come when walking into a lecture hall greets you with a chorus of coughs and sneezes.  The plague is flooding the campus!  You’re new to this fear, so what do you need to do to be a freshman who’s actually got their life together?  It’s easy, my friend.

First, you’ve got to try to kill the plague before it kills your sleep schedule.  Make sure your new dorm is fully stocked with everything your medicine cabinet at home has saved you with.  That could include things like Tylenol (for the fever), Nyquil, Dayquil, thermometer, tissues, Mucinex, etc. etc.  If you’re not sure about this, then just go to CVS before moving in and ask any friendly-looking employee. 

Don’t forget tea and Netflix because, most likely, the plague will get you and they’re key to survival.

As depressing as that thought may seem, being sick on campus is so easy to take care of.  Once you realize things may have moved past the “just a cold” level, the next move is to make an appointment at the University Health Services.  They make it beyond easy and everyone is very helpful, just go to http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/health/ and click on myUHS.  When you get there you’ll see your immunizations and health history along with an “appointments” link.  Once you follow that link all you have to do is fill out some quick information, choose a doctor and an appointment time that works best for you.  Then your only job is to bring your insurance card and some money in case you need medicine.  If you do need a prescription, you can get it filled at the CVS downtown or in the nice little pharmacy on the first floor of the Student Health Center.    

The Student Health Center is no strange territory for me, I spent a lot of time there during my freshman year from being sick with the flu to breaking my wrist.  So, trust me, going there for an appointment is not anything to be worried about.  Everyone is super nice and willing to help you with anything.  It’s located on Bigler road, next to the Eisenhower parking deck and the bank of America’s career services building.  All you have to do when you get there is check into a computer Kiosk to find out what floor your appointment is on.

Once the appointment is over, you can easily email your doctor on myUHS with any questions you may have.  After that, all you have to do is curl up in bed with that tea and Netflix I mentioned before and wait for the plague to pass.

Madison DeWitt is a sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering, and is a Rover for WEPO'15!