Out of the 85 plus rooms that we have here at Free State, 15 of the hand sanitizer machines were either broken, or did not have any hand sanitizer in them at all. If there are posters around saying we should wash our hands, then they should at least be maintained. Since there are some machines that clearly do not work, there are some other things that you can do to keep you and your friends healthy during the flu season.

    For one, wash your hands. Germs and bacteria are on/in everything and everyone. To at least help this, use wonderful antibacterial soap and warm water.

    “Usually to keep healthy I just wash my hands and cover my sneezes. I also drink lots of vitamin C such as orange juice. I really don’t touch door handles either because I never know what kinds of germs are on those” Sophomore Cheyenne Culley said.

    Also, eat lots of healthy foods. Vitamin C (which is found in oranges) helps your immune system fight off many viruses including the common cold and influenza.

    Next, cover your coughs and sneezes people. Whether we know it or not, a simple cough can shoot billions of germs as far as Mars.

    “To keep healthy in flu season I always wash my hands, eat vitamin C droplets, and wear my hood every time I go outside” senior Olivia Marshall said.

   Finally, do not share water bottles, soft drinks or anything that would be consumed or used on yourself.  Some cases of the common cold or even the flu are asymptomatic, meaning you show no symptoms what so ever. You’re supposed to love your friends, not get them sick.

    Students come in contact with a lot of different viruses and germs but teachers come in contact with them a million times more.

    “I got a flu shot to begin with. I felt like i was coming down with a cold last week so I took Airborne, DayQuil, AND NyQuil. I slept extra on my time off, and I drank lots of water and hot tea. And guess what? I never got sick!” Mrs. Toplikar, the librarian exclaimed.

    Whether we like it or not, germs are here forever. However, there are some things that we can all do to keep Free State as healthy as possible.