Floormate Severely Ill

[klikittyklak]

I live in residence at a university. I came home these evening, after having been gone for about four hours, and found an ambulance in my block of dorms. Naturally, of all the 1300 people who live with me in all the different buildings, the one that has to get ill is ON MY FLOOR.

My room is at the very end of the hall, and the bathroom is in the middle. I stayed near my door and cautiously asked what had happened to the girls crowded around the washroom. My RA said, 'one of the girls got s* and passed out, but could you use the 3rd floor washroom because this one is probably smelly'.

I don't know which girl it is, but from a voice I heard volunteering to go to hospital with her, I think it's someone at the exact opposite end of the hall from me. Still, I'm very worried. Whatever she had caused her to be so s* she passed out. What could that be? Can an ordinary sv* do that? Should I be worried about catching it? I do share the same hall, tv room and washroom with her. I wash my hands obsessively, but does it do any good since she uses it too? What's the waiting period, 48 hours?

[tcsarah]

This girl could be pregnant, suffering from food poisoning or even have been making herself sick because of bulimia. Even if she has an sv I really don't think you have anything to worry about - you will be fine [img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]

[chicajojobe]

Most of the time a sv isn't bad enough to make someone pass out. They're horrific to us because they cause v*ing that's very sudden onset, but if you take a detached look at them sv's are actually pretty mild illnesses.

If she passed out it's likely she has something more severe. tcsarah already mentioned food poisoning or pregnancy, she cold also have the flu, mono, or something else entirely. I don't you need to conclude that it was a sv. Just take precautions to not get sick yourself no matter what it was.

[rubysoho120]

it sounded like drinking to me...but like she said...just keep your hands clean and you should be fine...try not to worry

[sage]

The answers to all your questions are on the sticky post at the top of this section - check it out and you will feel better. You're not in any danger of catching something just by living down the hall, even if you do use the same bathroom. Alcohol poisoning is the number one cause of this sort of extreme illness at university....but as the other said, it could be anything.

[1scareddj]

I would be afraid that it was menengitis...isn't that really contagious? I'n not trying to scare anyone but V* is a symptom! I would really wanna find out what she had tp make sure that it IS NOT menengitis![img]smileys/smilies_10.gif[/img]

[rubysoho120]

my brother died from meningits...he was only 11 months old. I think he
had spinal meningits. i dont really think this has anything to do with
it...but yeah i just wanted to state that

[1scareddj]

Aw, ruby...I'm so sorry...that's terrible!!!! I had heard that sometimes college age people who live in dorms etc are more suseptable to menengitis due to the fact they all live in such close quarters. It's maybe something to look into if you live in a dorm...there is a vaccine for it I'm pretty sure. If you're living in a dorm I would get a vaccine! Just something to think about I guess! As an extra precaution...I'm not trying to scare anyone!

[spilled_milk]

Don't you have to get the vaccine for meningitis? At least, in America you do before you go. it's a requirement. It kinda sounds like alcohol poisoning to me, someone i know got that and that was what happened. I hope she feels better and I hope that you are okay!


<3 Anya--

[rubysoho120]

I was reading what causes it...and pretty much its other bacteria and
viruses cause swelling and fluids in the brain and spinal cord...you
can get vaccinated for other diseases that may bring the meningitis on
but i dont think there is something specifically for it

[daffodil]

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/adole...ngitis_vaccine .html

There's a link to some meningitis vaccine info. Ruby, I'm so sorry about your brother. (((Hugs)))

[rubysoho120]

thanks guys. i will look at that...hey klikittyklak how are you feeling??? still worried?

[chicajojobe]

Yeah, meningitis did occur to me but I didn't want to mention it because I didn't want to panic anyone.

It is a really serious health concern for college students, especially ones who live on campus because it's quite contagious. Like rubysho mentioned it's a disease that most often affects infants, but in the last ten years there have been a lot of cases of it showing up in adolescents.

Some universities require vaccines, others don't but most have addressed it in some way. My university didn't require that you absolutely get the vaccine, but they strongly recommended it and if you chose not to get it you had to sign a waiver saying that you were aware of the risk you were taking by not getting vaccinated. I had absolutely no objection to getting the shot. The one I got was the MCV4 vaccine. It's a little new only a couple years old, but is supposed to be very effective.

Edited by: chicajojobe