Chilly Fall Unleashes Sniffles

Achoo! Sniff. Cough.

These are the sounds of September, doctors and cold-afflicted students say.

Dr. Charles Weingarten, chief of medicine at University Health Services, says cold season has arrived right on schedule. "There's a usual bump in incidents of people with viral respiratory infections in late September, when students are getting adjusted to school," he says.

To students, a "viral respiratory infection" means simply this: sniff.

"I woke up this morning with the sniffles," says Edward F. Mulkerin III '96, clutching a tissue.

Hand-washing, good personal hygiene and lots of rest are the prescription for those trying to avoid the September sniffles, Weingarten says.

Once a cold strikes, drinking lots of fluids may help the body cope more easily, Weingarten says.

Weingarten cautions that antihistamines and aspirin, often taken by cold sufferers, do little to mitigate cold symptoms. "Sudafed and other over the counter cold remedies are worth taking if you feel congested and achy," Weingarten says.

Although this epidemic knows no mercy, its prime victims seem to be unsuspecting Southerners. "I'm from Miami, so I'm not used to this cold weather," says Frank Fernandez '96, one suchsniffler.

"All you Boston people stop telling me it's not cold...It's cold to me," Fernandez insists.

However, Southerners are not alone. Stuffed-up yawning Northerners have been moping around campus as well. Elizabeth S. Ratner '96, a New Yorker, says she was alerted to her ill status by swollen glands and a sore throat. "It's been pretty static and is peaking right now at a pretty low level of congestion," Ratner says.

Amidst the sniffs and coughs, at least one Harvard student found a bright side. Says Mulkerin, who caught his cold from a roommate, "I guess it'll be a bonding experience."