Ready to Launch: Health Stuff

Things to consider for a healthier first semester

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

As of last week, my son is now officially a high school graduate (yay!), so in my household we are both celebrating and starting to get cracking on all the things we need to do to get him ready to move a few hours away when school starts in August.

I love a “to do” list, so I’ve got multiple going right now, including one dedicated to all the health related items I want to make sure we do this summer before he moves in the germ factory that is residence living.

(Note: I am very pro-living on campus. I think it can be a great growth experience for a lot of students and a wonderful way to make friends and find community. It’s also, however, a lot of people living in close quarters, some of whom will have a very casual approach to cleaning, let’s just say.)

We actually got a jump start on this list two weeks ago when my son got to kick off his summer vacation by getting his wisdom teeth taken out. I was glad to get it done before he left for school both because I didn’t want him to have to manage recovery and classes at the same time and because it was one last chance to get to baby him, just a little.

Thankfully for him, most of the rest of the items on this list are A LOT less painful and far quicker to deal with than wisdom teeth!

My current “Ready to Launch: Health Stuff” list looks like this:

• Schedule one last “well child” visit and make sure he has had his meningococcal vaccine. College students are at increased risk for meningitis, especially if they are living in residence halls, so getting the vaccine is a great way to reduce risk. He’s already had his HPV vaccine, but that is also one that is highly recommended before college.

• Submit updated vaccine record to college, as required

• Update his proxy access settings for health care portal now that he isn’t a minor. I’ll talk with him about what levels of access he wants to share, but at a minimum, I need to see bill info so we can make sure any co-pays or bills get taken care of.

• Make a medicine/first kit. Ours will include basic first aid supplies, OTC medicines, condoms/plan B, and some additional items he’ll need as a student athlete (wraps, ice pack, muscle pain cream, etc). I’ll also include some ear plugs (in case he has a noisy roommate) and some barf bags (because nobody wants to lay on a communal bathroom floor when they are feeling queasy)

• Contact health insurance provider to find out coverage options in his new location, including preferred providers, urgent care centers, and hospitals. Write this info down and include in his medicine/first aid kit

• Request 90 day refill for any prescription meds he’ll be taking to college so he doesn’t have to worry about getting a refill right away.

• Schedule a dental cleaning for late June/early July, so he’ll be able to do his next appointment while he is home for winter break.

• Find a sample health history form and fill it out together, so he both knows how to do it and can take it with him so he has a record of his various injuries to refer to.

• Make sure we have at least one more conversation about safety with regards to alcohol, drugs, and sexual activity. This will include things like

  • What do you do if someone is blacked out drunk?

  • What are some signs that someone needs medical attention after partying and where do you go?

  • What are signs someone needs Narcan and where can you find it on your campus?

  • What are ways to keep yourself and your friends safe at parties/bars?

  • The importance of enthusiastic, affirmative consent, every partner, every time

  FWIW, I know these conversations might be awkward for some families and different families have different values but I also know that I went to a conservative Christian college that DID NOT have a party culture and I still encountered drunk roommates, people having pregnancy scares (and actual babies - I had a roommate who got pregnant during freshman orientation!), and heard stories of sexual assault and dubious consent. My approach with my son is basically “hey, some of this might not apply to you right now, but it will apply to someone you know in college, so let’s talk about it…”

• Check to see what health care options are available on campus, including mental health resources, and make sure my son knows where things are and how to access them when needed.

The combination of communal living, less sleep, some normal college stress, and regular old germs means that my son will get sick at some point in his first semester, but hopefully this checklist will help prevent the really scary stuff and give him what he needs to take care of himself until he feels better.