Five Habits of Highly Effective Students

1. Eat well and regularly. Make good food choices and avoid fad diets.
2. Drink! At least 8 full glasses of water a day. Avoid excessive caffeine, carbonation and alcohol.
3. Exercise. Experts recommend 30-45 minutes of daily exercise to lose weight and 30 minutes 3x/week to maintain weight. Exercise will help you concentrate better, relieve stress and have more energy.
4. Get plenty of rest. Go to bed before 11 pm to avoid adverse effects on your natural sleep-wake cycle. If you are well rested, your immune system is strengthened.
5. Wash your hands! This is the most important thing you can do to prevent illness and the spread of disease.

Many times common illnesses are caused by viruses. There is no cure for viral infection. Antibiotics will not help. The best advice is to follow the 5 habits listed above and treat the symptoms. If your illness lasts longer than 10 days, you have a persistent fever, or your symptoms are worsening, then you should make an appointment with your health care provider.

Is it a Virus, Bacteria or Allergy???

	VIRUS	BACTERIA	ALLERGY
Runny nose?	Often	Rare	Often
Aching muscles?	Usual	Rare	No
Headache?	Often	Sometimes	No
Dizzy?	Often	Rare	No
Fever?	Often	Often	No
Cough?	Often	Sometimes	Sometimes
Raising Sputum?	Rare	Often	Rare
Dry Cough?	Often	Rare	Sometimes
Hoarseness?	Often	Rare	Sometimes
Recurs at particular season?	No	No	Often
Only a single complaint?	Unusual	Usual	Unusual
Do antibiotics help?	No	Yes	No
Can a doctor help?	Seldom	Yes	Sometimes