Flu cases low at Student Health Services; birth control, depression rank high

For most people, warm weather means the absence of pesky viral infections that kept them miserable with stuffed up noses in bed. This winter was no different, as some students struggled through classes and jobs with massive head colds, influenza and strep throats.

So what maladies do Student Health Services deal with the most?

“I would say that upper-respiratory infections are the most common thing that we treat in the wintertime,” said Betty Reppert, associate director of health promotions. “Fortunately, we didn’t get hit hard by the flu this winter.”

What other problems kept student health-care workers busy this past winter?

“Women’s health-care, psychiatric screening as well as STD testing are probably our most popular requests,” Reppert said, describing the flu rate as particularly low for student health this season.

Linda Hancock, assistant director of health promotions, said she saw no cases of the flu this year.

“We were hit very, very lightly,” she said.

However, health officials at a Patient First, a private, urgent-care center, experienced just the opposite this winter.

“The flu was definitely more intense this year than last,” said Michelle Headley, medical director at Patient First in the Woodman facility on Parham Road. “Historically, the flu hit a little late. This year it peaked in February and March. Usually it’s earlier.”

Last year, she said, was a light year for flu rates – an upswing doesn’t prove to be an epidemic but is a usual response to influenza.

Thus, the low flu rate among students could be the result of flu vaccine since Reppert and her staff encourage students to take advantage of the free flu shots offered at the health services to avoid an influenza epidemic on campus.

Headley agreed with the notion that more people now do receive flu shots, than people did in previous years.

“People are more informed, and they (the inoculations) are so much more available than they used to be,” she said.

Common ailments treated at the Patient First in Woodman correlate with those named by the Student Health Services administrators. Upper-respiratory problems ranked high as well as sinusitis, an infection of sinus cavities in the upper teeth. Bronchitis and pharyngitis also were common ailments this winter.

“I saw a lot more strep throat this year than last,” Headley said. “Other than that, it was the usual upper-respiratory and bronchitis problems. There was nothing out of the ordinary this year.”

What causes these illnesses to be so contagious?

“People are indoors hacking and coughing on each other,” Reppert said. “People also travel and go on vacation, bringing back with them a variety of viruses. Upper- respiratory problems are always the No. 1 illness that people demand help for.”

So what can students do to avoid contracting such maladies?

“Poor hand-washing, poor nutrition and poor sleeping habits can definitely up your risks for contracting one of these viruses,” Hancock said. “It’s between you and Mother Nature at that point, and (once you get sick) you really need to get back in harmony with your health.”

Hancock suggests that her patients take Echinacea or zinc within 48 hours of being ill.

New forms of birth control, such as the hormone-releasing patch Orth Evra and the Nuva ring, have a high demand rate among students wanting to try a no-pill method.

“We have such a high demand for contraception that by this time of year we are generally all booked up,” Reppert said.

Nonetheless, Student Health Services administrators say depression ranks as the No. 1 mental health ailment among VCU students. Physicians will prescribe medication, but VCU health services also has a part-time psychiatrist who provides counseling. In addition, doctors refer many students to the University Counseling Services.

“A lot of people come for depressive and anxiety disorders and a lot of folks for ADD and ADHD,” Reppert said, discussing attention-deficit disorder and attention- deficit-hyperactivity disorder.

Besides mental health help, student health personnel also administer tests for such STDs as HPV, Chlamydia and Herpes, which rank as the top three STDs treatable.

“We track the positive rates, and we haven’t seen any real changes,” Reppert said.