Cedar has once again arrived and made quite the appearance, bestowing sore throats and lung-shattering coughs to all the people fortunate enough to come in contact with it. While allergy season reaches it’s peak, it brings along the burdens, for people who are a little less socially suave, of having to deal with all of the annoying sniffles, gag-inducing phlegm-retching sounds, and trying not to choke and die in the middle of the classroom.
Almost everyone out there has dealt with allergies; from the minor cold consisting of a runny nose that uses three tissue boxes a day to, for the unfortunate, pneumonia where you’re missing for sometimes weeks and your peers began to suspect your death had occurred over the extended absence. Not a single variation of the sinus scale is peaceful but most likely can be taken care of gracefully in public, whereas, it’s nearly impossible in the classroom.
There are a surplus of awkward kids who have been unlucky enough to have caught an illness every allergy season, me being one of them, and because of this I have gathered some important tips that can help you make the day less painful; sick-wise and socially.
1. Have Kleenex on hand-
Probably the most important tip I can give you is to bring tissues; single layered, double layered, with shea butter, it honestly doesn’t matter as long as they are on hand and in your pocket or somewhere accessible. If you’re like me, going to grab tissues is going to be an option you’d rather not have to consider, and you will have a runny nose. It is almost inevitable, and do not tell yourself your nose isn’t running when you leave the house because there’s something about school and the cool/windy weather that will give you the sniffles the second you step on the campus. You can save yourself the embarrassment of getting up to grab a plethora of tissues, and even extend the interval of each sniff with tissues in hand. It may be weird for you to have balled up and used tissues on desk and in hand and you may get a little red in the cheeks if you notice people staring, but I promise it is nothing compared to dripping, drowning, and the extreme inhaling you will experience without.
2. Go outside to take care of things-
I know that hacking up your lungs and even blowing your nose is not something you want to do in the middle of taking notes in history. Everyone will stare and I can almost guarantee you will get at least one comment about it. Ask the teacher beforehand if you can have permission to step out when needed. If you are to uncomfortable with that go the restroom, and then you can cough and sneeze and blow your nose to your heart’s content. No one will hear or watch and you’ll feel better, if only for five minutes.
3. Don’t be afraid to go to the nurse-
It may be awkward, you may dread having to ask the teacher, you may have to stop them in the middle of lecture and the nurse may ask you questions/take your temperature while the other students gawk at you shamelessly, but if you feel like death is knocking on your door: Do it. Sometimes it’s just best to go home and get rest. I’ve suffered through school days when I’m very sick and I can tell you I’m almost never productive. If you aren’t ready to call it quits then see if you can maybe lie down, get a water, or phone a parent to bring medicine. Sometimes you should just take a deep breath and do what’s best for you.
4. Bring water-
It helps, especially when you’re coughing your lungs out in the middle of class. It’s best to have it out on your desk, that way when the tickle monster visits your esophagus you can just wash the tickle away. If that doesn’t work you can try gum and mints, but water normally works pretty well.
5. Bring Purell
This tip is optional, but if you want people to sit within a five-mile-radius and not extend their hand as far as humanly possible from their bodies when grabbing things from you then I suggest this. People won’t be afraid of you and constantly inching away.
Being sick at school can make you feel miserable, but hopefully these tips can help you survive the day.
