{{Short description|Illnesses contracted by first-year students}} '''Freshers' flu''' is a name commonly given to a battery of [[illnesses]] contracted by new [[students]] (freshers) during the first few weeks at a [[university]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Dillner|first=Luisa|title=Surviving freshers' flu: student health questions answered|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/sep/11/surviving-freshers-flu-health-queries|work=Our health expert answers your questions on everything from freshers' flu and hangovers to diet and STDs|date=11 September 2012 |publisher=The Guardian|accessdate=24 August 2013}}</ref> and [[colleges of further education]] in some form; common symptoms include [[fever]], [[sore throat]], severe [[headache]], [[coughing]] and general [[discomfort]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/students/diaries/suzanne_w/1_flu.shtml|title=BBC - North Yorkshire Student Diaries - Suzanne's diary: Freshers' Flu|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> The illnesses may or may not include actual [[influenza|flu]] and are often simply a bad [[common cold|cold]].
==Causes== The most likely cause is the convergence of large numbers of people arriving from all over the world.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://student.independent.co.uk/into_university/clearing/article2862108.ece | title=How to avoid the dreaded freshers flu | work=Independent Online | date=26 June 2008 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621002729/http://www.independent.co.uk/student/student-life/health/how-to-avoid-the-dreaded-freshers-flu-461532.html | archivedate=2009-06-21}}</ref> The poor diet and heavy consumption of alcohol during [[Orientation week|freshers' week]] is also reported as a cause for many of the illnesses contracted during this time. "Stress, which may be induced by tiredness, combined with a poor diet, late nights and too much alcohol, can weaken the immune system and be a recipe for ill health. All this can make students and staff working with the students more susceptible to infections within their first weeks of term."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bupa.co.uk/about/html/pr/100907_freshers_flu.html|title=How to blow the nose on freshers' flu|date=10 September 2007 |publisher=BUPA Wellness|website=www.bupa.co.uk|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021064621/http://www.bupa.co.uk/about/html/pr/100907_freshers_flu.html|archivedate=2007-10-21}}</ref> In addition to this, nearly all university academic years in the UK commence around the end of September or beginning of October, which "marks the start of the annual flu season". The increased susceptibility to illness from late nights, heavy alcohol consumption and stress peaks 2–4 weeks after arrival at university and happens to coincide with the seasonal surge in the outbreaks of colds and flu in the [[Northern Hemisphere]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.hpa.org.uk/NewsCentre/NationalPressReleases/2010PressReleases/101006flu/ | title=October - flu season and HPA flu surveillance begins | publisher=Public Health England | archiveurl=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140714084352/http://www.hpa.org.uk/NewsCentre/NationalPressReleases/2010PressReleases/101006flu/ | date=6 October 2010 | archivedate=2014-07-14}}</ref>
==Other effects== As well as the usual viral effects, freshers' flu can also have some psychological effects. These effects arise where the stress of leaving home and other consequences of being independent, not to mention various levels of [[homesickness]] and the attempts at making new friends, can further weaken the immune system, increasing susceptibility to illness.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/hub/A645211|title=BBC - h2g2 - Freshers' Flu|first=British Broadcasting|last=Corporation|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
==See also== * [[Freshman 15]]
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071013041345/http://www.thesite.org/workandstudy/studying/studentlife/commonstudentillnesses TheSite] * [http://www.studento.com/university-guide/freshers-guide/freshers-flu.html Studento.com - Freshers' Flu]
[[Category:Infectious diseases]] [[Category:Student culture]]