By: Katie Sanders, Staff Writer

A chorus of sniffling noses and incessant coughing has become the soundtrack of fall semester, but Lisa Lefebvre, director of employee wellness and medical services, shares advice as well as resources to help students maintain their health during the season change.

For many students, moving back into dorms and re-adjusting to communal living is a stress on the immune system. For others, fall is notorious for allergy flare-ups.

For students struggling to handle their allergies, Lefebvre suggests avoiding certain times of the day.

“When the leaves fall, they pull everything with them- dust, mold, pollen. If these things bother you, try to avoid being outside during the middle of the day,” she says. “Mornings and evenings are the best times, because the dew keeps things from being stirred up.”

She also recommends over the counter medications, like Allegra, Zyrtec and Claritin. If the pills aren’t working, she suggests trying a nose spray.

When asked about mold in dorm rooms, Lefebvre says that usually when students report mold, maintenance doesn’t find any.

“To students who say they are having mold problems, I would ask: are you cleaning your room regularly? This prevents mold and eliminates dust, another common allergen.”

More specifically, mayoclinic.org suggests regularly vacuuming and washing bedding, as well as maintaining room humidity to eliminate household allergens.

But allergies aren’t always the problem. Lefebvre warns students not to assume.

“If symptoms become more severe, or last for a long period of time, that’s a sickness that needs to be treated, not an allergy.”

The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology has a chart on their website showing the difference between allergies, colds and sinusitis. Allergies cause a runny or stuffy nose and itchy, watery eyes. A cold will include these symptoms, plus a fever and sore throat. Sinusitis will include all the symptoms of a cold, plus tenderness around the forehead and eyes and colored mucous.

However, Lefebvre says allergies aren’t what students should fear the most. The most common illness the wellness center treats year-round is respiratory infection.

“If you’re really worried about staying healthy through the semester, you need to do everything they taught you in kindergarten: rest, eat healthy and wash your hands.”

She also suggests getting a flu shot, which will be available in the wellness center in the weeks to come for $15