With flu on the rise, North has seen a significant increase in student and faculty absences due to sickness.
According to school nurse Margaret McMenamy, flu season lasts from August to April every year.
“It’s hard to know if it’s flu versus COVID versus Pneumonia,” said McMenamy. “There’s so many viruses going around, but it does seem like most people in the last few weeks have especially been diagnosed with a common flu type, Influenza A, which is interesting to see.”
According to McMenamy, the spread of influenza has caught the attention of many students and faculty.
“We definitely have been seeing a lot more people for sure, we’ve been dismissing a lot more people for not feeling well,” said McMenamy. I
Similarly, students have noticed the effects of flu throughout the school.
“I have noticed that many students and teachers are getting sick for longer periods of time, so I think the flu is going around,” said junior Kristin Kim. “I personally have not gotten sick recently, but a couple people in my family got sick and had high fevers and a cough.”
Junior Annie Huang has also noticed the flu around school and finds it difficult to avoid students who are sick.
“Everyone around me in my classes is coughing as well as my friends,” said junior Annie Huang. “I’ve been more cautious and trying to stay away, except I can’t really stay away because I’ve been sitting next to people who are sick.”
According to McMenamy, If infected with the influenza, the fastest way to recover is through rest and hydration.
“A lot of rest and hydration is key, and then just, like, slowly getting yourself back to normal. It’s really good to rest, but also, make sure that you are still using your muscles and working your lungs,” said McMenamy. “It’s hard with viruses because it’s not like you can take an antibiotic and suddenly it gets better. It’s this kind of thing where it needs to run its course.”
According to Vice Principal Amy Winston, influenza has also caused an increase in canceled classes due to many teachers catching the infection.
“I can say that we have had staff out with Covid, Flu, and Norovirus”, said Winston. “The uptick in these three infections happening simultaneously has created an increase in absences.”
The influenza also creates a challenge for teachers who need to cancel classes due to infection.
“I’ve seen teachers who’ve been out with the flu. I think it creates a hard time trying to come back and get caught up on work,” said history teacher Anna Meyer.
According to McMenamy, a student would be directly sent home if flu symptoms are present.
“So if you come in with the flu, if you’ve been diagnosed with the flu, then we recommend that you stay at home until you’ve been fever-free for 24 hours without taking a fever-reducing medication like Tylenol, and also feeling better, feeling resolved symptoms,” said McMenamy.
According to Meyer, it is similarly as difficult for students to catch up on work when they’ve been out of school for a while with the influenza.
“For students, it’s rough because if you miss three classes, that can be a substantial part of the unit,” said Meyer. “And so it poses those challenges of trying to make sure people are caught up when you have to keep class moving forward.”
According to Meyer, extra support from teachers can help students catch up on work more efficiently.
“Especially when I see people who have been out for a while, like being in communication with them, just trying to check in, hopefully, pull people into WINs to start making up that work,” said Meyer. “I try to be a little bit more proactive with making time for them and then also granting extensions as they need it too.”
Additionally, according to McMenamy, the best way to prevent the spread of infections is good hand hygiene.
“So wash your hands before and after eating and touching any sort of bodily fluids or anything gross,” said McMenamy. “Using Hand Sanitizer before you touch surfaces, like touching the door, or the phone, that sort of stuff, and make sure you’re not touching your eyes, your mouth and your face.”
According to Kim, students are trying to wash their hands more frequently to help prevent catching the influenza.
McMenamy added that, If infected with the influenza, the fastest way to recover is through rest and hydration.
“A lot of rest and hydration is key, and then just, like, slowly getting yourself back to normal. It’s really good to rest, but also, make sure that you are still using your muscles and working your lungs,” said McMenamy. “It’s hard with viruses because it’s not like you can take an antibiotic and suddenly it gets better. It’s this kind of thing where it needs to run its course.”
