Who Pays the Price for Freshers’ Flu?

Michaela Caughley

Freshers’ flu—the informal name for the rapid spread of viral illnesses at the start of the university year—is driven by fatigue, close living quarters, big group events, and the ever-present fear of missing out. Almost every student learns what it is through word of mouth or, more commonly, by catching it themselves. 

Most people push through and come to campus. For many, it's just a cough and a runny nose. But for others, freshers’ flu is far more than a simple cold. 

I am a chronically ill student—meaning I live with multiple long-term health conditions—which has led to me becoming disabled and significantly at risk when I catch a cold, flu, or COVID-19. 

In 2022, I caught COVID-19 and was hospitalized with severe neurological symptoms because of my underlying conditions. I’ve thankfully avoided it since by masking, hand sanitizing, and relying on communication from my friends when they’re feeling unwell. 

I've caught colds over the past few years, and each time I become significantly unwell. My chronic illnesses flare—meaning they worsen—resulting in severe tachycardia (a very high heart rate; mine can reach 200 bpm from simple activities), vomiting, severe joint pain, and fatigue. These symptoms make my already disabling conditions absolutely debilitating. 

In 2025, I caught one of the later waves of freshers’ flu and, as usual, it hit me incredibly hard. I experienced severe nausea and vomiting that left me barely able to eat. While these symptoms improved over several weeks, I never returned to normal. In fact, in the months that followed, my health declined further. Over time, I stopped being able to eat much. As a result, I became underweight and malnourished, was hospitalized, had to withdraw from university for the rest of the year, and had an NJ tube placed—a feeding tube that goes through my nose and into my small intestine to bypass my stomach as I can't tolerate food. It provides the nutrition, hydration, and medications I need to survive and function. 

My life is further taken up by medications, running feeds, flushing my tube, attending appointments, and managing chronic nausea and vomiting—alongside also managing other symptoms—while trying to live my life and be a full-time university student. 

This is already exhausting and debilitating. My health is at a severe risk if I catch another illness. 

Other conditions, such as myalgic encephalomyelitis (or ME/CFS) are often triggered by viral infections. ME/CFS is a severe chronic illness that, in its worst forms, can leave people bed bound and unable to tolerate any form of light, sound, or human interaction. Becoming sick can significantly lower a person's baseline, shifting them from mild to severe. 

Catching a cold, flu, or COVID-19 can result in anyone becoming chronically ill or disabled. The chronic illness and disability community is one of the only minorities you can join at any point in your life—and, frankly, joining it in some form is almost inevitable, whether through old age, illness, or accident. 

For many other chronically ill students, freshers’ flu has similarly severe impacts. 

I sent out a survey to students in the Disabled Students Association. The results were striking: 67% of respondents considered themselves immunocompromised, 83% have caught freshers’ flu or other  illnesses while at university, and 83% said that catching any form of illness significantly impacted their health. 

Many respondents described severe joint pain, fatigue, longer recovery times, and long-term impacts after  getting sick. 

One student shared that after catching the flu while in halls, they experienced not only the usual symptoms but also chronic illness flares and even a dislocated rib from coughing due to a genetic condition affecting joint stability. It took them two weeks to recover from the acute illness, and several months to return to their baseline. 

Another student reported being bedbound for two weeks and having to drop a course. Similarly, another was hospitalized in April 2025 due to catching an illness and ultimately failed a course as a result. 

Others described how pre-existing lung damage worsens with respiratory illness, leading to coughing that can last for several months after infection. 

One who's on immunosuppressants for Crohn's disease shared that they now get sicker more easily and suffer ongoing complications from frequent chest infections. 

In one final example, a student explained that they now require a walking stick due to the long-term impacts of COVID-19. 

Most respondents reported taking measures to avoid getting sick. Hand sanitizing was the most common, alongside masking, distancing from unwell people, and taking vitamins/supplements. 

When asked what they wanted the general student body to understand, several responses stood out: 

"I have a lifelong chronic illness due to catching Covid. To them it's a couple of weeks of not feeling great but to me it's the rest of my life and my ability to participate in society." 

"I just want people to know that even though it is important to go to class, when you are sick it is so important to stay home. Even if you feel ok enough to go to class, you can pass your illness to someone who might be really affected, and it can have long term consequences." 

"Just because you don't get that sick doesn't mean others are the same. A small sniffle to you could have another person bed bound. We're in a big university, and those in halls are living with many people, it's not just yourself you need to think about but those around you too." 

"Infecting other students in your lectures will have a greater impact than working from home for a few days. Don't come to campus sick." 

For those of us with chronic illnesses, we simply want to feel safe and to access our education like any other student. 

It is frightening and stressful to sit in a  lecture hall hearing people coughing and sniffling, knowing the impacts catching that illness could have on you and your friends. 

I have significant anxiety around catching COVID-19 due to my past hospitalisation and fear that my health—particuarlly my ability to eat—could deteriorate even further. 

I have worked so hard to be able to attend university despite my health challenges. The reality that someone attending campus with a mild cold could result in me being hospitalized or forced to withdraw is deeply frustrating. 

If you can, please stay home when you are sick—even if it's just mild for you. 

Many lectures are recorded, and lecturers and course coordinators are accommodating if you communicate with them. They don't want to get sick either. 

If you absolutely must come to campus while unwell, make a conscious effort to protect those around you: wear a mask, hand sanitize, cough into your elbow, and maintain distance where possible. 

If you’re in halls, many offer isolation meals. Hall staff and RAs can deliver these to you, assign isolation bathrooms, and support you in recovering while protecting others.

What may be a simple cold for you can be life-changing, debilitating, or life-threatening for someone else.

It's the difference between mild inconvenience and a life-altering illness for others—and the small actions you take might  literally save someone's life.