Each September at Queen’s, sore throats and runny noses sweep campus—an illness affectionately nicknamed “freshmen flu.”
The seasonal bug isn’t new. It shows up almost every fall as students pack into residences, lecture halls, and orientation events. Though rarely serious, it’s become regular enough to feel like a university rite of passage.
However, the nickname is misleading, as most cases of illness aren’t influenza. Part of the misunderstanding comes from the word “flu.” Influenza develops suddenly with fever, headache, body aches, and cough, and may leave even healthy young adults unable to get out of bed for days.
According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, colds usually appear more gradually, with a scratchy throat and runny nose, and rarely stop students from going about their daily routines. COVID-19 symptoms can resemble both, making testing the only reliable way to distinguish them.
Rather, the majority are caused by rhinoviruses, the same pathogens responsible for the common cold, according to Dr. Gerald Evans, infectious disease physician, division chair at Kingston Health Sciences Centre, and professor of medicine at Queen’s.
“These viruses peak every year in September and October,” Evans said in an interview with The Journal. When students return to school, live in close quarters, and gather regularly in small spaces, conditions are perfect for respiratory illness to spread quickly.
For most healthy students, colds resolve within a few days, and influenza clears without complications. Evans says medical care isn’t usually needed for mild cases, though he noted the flu can feel severe even in otherwise healthy young people. Antiviral drugs are available but must be started soon after symptoms appear and are rarely recommended to healthy young adults, who generally recover without them.
Evans stressed the importance of prevention. Rhinoviruses spread easily through fomites or contaminated objects, making frequent handwashing one of the most effective ways to reduce infection. Shared surfaces like doorknobs or dining hall saltshakers can carry the virus, and touching the face afterwards provides a direct path for it to spread.
Masks can also reduce the transmission of respiratory illnesses, particularly influenza. While there’s no vaccine for rhinoviruses, the annual flu shot can help prevent influenza or lessen its severity. Public health guidelines also recommend that young people receive the COVID-19 vaccine once a year, too.
Some students might believe the illness reflects their own habits, like too much stress or not enough sleep. Evans is skeptical.
“I would dissuade people from thinking their immunity drops if they’re not taking really good care of themselves,” he said. “These viruses cause illness in perfectly healthy people.”
According to him, the real explanation is more about university life itself. Freshman flu thrives in the intense socialization that occurs at the start of the academic year. Students gather constantly, living, studying, and celebrating together in ways that make infection almost inevitable.
“You could tell students, ‘Don’t socialize,’ but that’s not realistic,” Evans said. “Socializing is one of the main features of university life, and it explains why freshman flu always appears every September and October.”
Tags
Flu, Freshman Flu, Illness, KHSC
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