Make a flu plan

What you can do

McGill will do its utmost to protect its students in the event of an H1N1 outbreak, but you can do a lot more for yourself than the University can do for you. Following the English will help protect your health and the health of the entire campus community.

Precautions and Planning

• Go shopping
  Buy your own thermometer, tissues, acetaminophen (i.e. Tylenol®) or ibuprofen (i.e. Advil®), liquid hand soap and gel hand sanitizer (Purel® or other brands with at least 60% alcohol content).
  Note: People under age 20 should avoid taking Aspirin (Bayer® or other brands of ASA) for fever and infections because of the possibility of developing Reye’s Syndrome.
  
  
• Stay in touch
  Save the Health Services phone number in your phone: 514- 398-6017 (downtown campus) or 514-398-7992 (Macdonald campus.) For non-urgent calls, leave a message at the Health & Wellness Info Line (514-398-4506), and someone will call you back. It's also a good idea to bookmark this website and watch it regularly.
  
• Make a Personal Influenza Plan
  Do you have any health conditions that might put you at higher risk for more severe illness? Where will you recuperate if you get sick? If you live alone, who will help if you need groceries or other supplies brought to you? Where do you keep the contact info for everyone you should alert if you have to self-isolate (instructors, employer, family, etc.)?
  
• Get a flu buddy
  A flu buddy will usually be a friend, someone you can trust who can keep in touch and help look after you if you happen to catch the flu. If possible, you should have at least two flu buddies to back each other up. Flu buddies should not live in the same house, apartment or residence floor, to reduce the likelihood that they will all be sick at the same time. Flu buddies should check in regularly to see how their friend is doing, collect any medications that might be needed, help with basic tasks like shopping, and be there to seek additional help if their friend’s illness becomes serious.
  
• Wash your hands!
  Always wash with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before eating, drinking, or preparing food; after using the bathroom; and if you cough or sneeze into your hand or a tissue. If soap and water aren’t available, you can use hand sanitizer, but try to wash your hands with soap and water after several applications of sanitizer, especially before eating. Details here.
  
• Keep your germs to yourself
  Practice coughing and sneezing into your sleeve in the fold of your elbow. Viruses can’t stay contagious as long or spread as easily from there as they can from your hands. Details here.
  
• Don't contaminate yourself
  Try to keep hands away from eyes, nose, and mouth. Wash your hands more often if you smoke or bite your nails.
  
• Get your shots
  Get your H1N1 flu shot and your regular seasonal flu shot as soon as they become available, especially if you are in one of the high risk groups.
  
• Stay calm
  If you are in close contact with someone who has the flu, don’t panic, and don’t blame. Influenza may be very common on campus this fall, and people may get sick despite their best efforts. However, students with high-risk conditions should call their health care providers promptly, as medication may be recommended in some cases to prevent influenza.
  

If you get sick...

• Take your temperature
  If you have a fever (100°F/37.8°C or higher), you must stay home from work and class until you are completely fever-free (without fever-reducing medication) for at least 24 hours, and you feel well. For most people, this will be 3 to 8 days. You can remain infectious for up to 8 days.
  
• Are you in a high-risk group?
  If you have a high-risk condition, call your health care provider. Antiviral medications like Tamiflu® and Relenza® are not recommended for most healthy individuals, but they are recommended for some high-risk cases. When recommended, they should be taken as soon as possible.
  
• Take a few days off
  People with a flu generally feel weak, achy, and fatigued for a few days and maybe up to a week. Some people will be able to go home or to a nearby relative’s home to recuperate. This is strongly recommended for students living in University Housing; if you can relocate without using public transportation, please do so. If you will be staying in a household you share with others, avoid sharing common spaces with them while you’re sick. If you live alone, call a friend or your flu buddy to bring supplies to your door rather than going shopping.
  
• If you live in a McGill residence...
  You must promptly alert Residence staff that you have flu-like symptoms so you can be brought up to date about the current procedures, ensure communication, and arrange for food. McGill Food and Dining Services will ensure that appropriate meals are made available to students living in Residence who become sick.
  
• Try to stay in one room with the door closed.
  If someone is helping care for you, make sure that person does not have a “high-risk” condition, and you always wear a surgical mask or bandanna over your face while that person is in the room with you. If possible, use a separate bathroom while you are sick. Whenever you leave your room, use hand sanitizer before exiting, and wear your mask over your mouth and nose until you are back in your room. Everyone in the household should wash their hands well and often and clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces, such as doorknobs, bathroom faucets, and refrigerator handles regulalry.
  
• Spend some time on your own
  If you have the flu, you should not go to the library, your workplace, classes, restaurants, or any social events, nor should you use public transportation. Flu viruses can survive on surfaces from a few hours to as long as 2 days. Do not share towels, clothing, utensils, keyboards, remote controls, etc., while you are infectious. Standard cleaning products should be sufficient to remove viruses from surfaces, but water is not enough. When you recover, wash your own sheets and towels. Empty your wastebasket of used tissues, etc., and take out the trash yourself. Cancel any appointments (with your advisor, dentist, etc.), and contact your professors, TAs, and employer to let them know you have influenza–like symptoms and cannot return until you are better. As with any illness, you will be responsible for getting assignments you have missed and making arrangements to make up work after you recover.
  
• Let people know
  This means roommates/housemates and officemates; also, any friends, lab partners and other people you spent time with in the 24 hours before you started to feel sick, in order to let them know they may have been exposed.
  
• The good news?
  If the thing that made you sick was H1N1, you can’t get it again — but you can still catch colds, seasonal influenza, and other flu-like illnesses. Keep up the hand washing, and don't neglect your regular flu and H1N1 vaccinations.
  
• Relax
  Most people recover on their own without medical treatment. Drink fluids to stay hydrated, get plenty of rest, eat what you can, and use ibuprofen and acetaminophen, as directed, to manage fever and body aches. Call a health care provider if your symptoms do not improve after three to four days.