Students, Faculty and Staff are advised to get flu
shots
SMU
health officials urge students, faculty and staff to take preventive
measures to protect their health against the flu. Because flu can spread by contact
with people who are ill, SMU health officials recommend getting a flu shot when they become available in the fall.
Download and post the poster at right.
Flu shots at SMU
The Dr. Bob Smith Health Center offers free flu shots to SMU students, while supplies last. Students are asked to bring their SMU IDs to the Health Center, which will provide shots during normal operating hours, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Students without an appointment may experience a wait. Call 214-768-2141.
SMU also offers free flu shots during fall clinics for students and benefit-eligible faculty, staff, retirees and retiree spouses. Fall clinics are announced by email and on the Health Center website.
If a student has an emergency
Symptoms
Not sure if you have the flu, a cold or allergies?
Review descriptions of the symptoms.
To avoid catching the flu:
- Get a flu shot. They are our best prevention and they are available for
students on campus.
- Avoid fatigue
and get plenty of rest to keep your immune system working at its
best.
- Wash your hands
with soap and water or use hand sanitizer frequently, especially
after touching common surfaces (door handles, railings, etc.).
Consider carrying hand sanitizer with you.
- Cover your mouth
when you cough or sneeze with either a disposable tissue or your
sleeve.
- Avoid contact
with people who are sick.
- If you become sick, stay home. Do not infect
others.
- Seek
medical care if you have acute symptoms such as body aches, cough and/or a fever of more than 100.5.
What you need to know and do:
- If you have flu or flu-like symptoms, stay home and have only limited
contact with others who are not sick. Persons exhibiting flu-like symptoms
should not return to class or work until they no longer have fever for at
least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications.
- Monitor your health by checking fever and other flu symptoms. Symptoms
of flu usually include fever with cough or sore throat, and sometimes runny
nose, body aches, headache, vomiting or diarrhea.
- Recognize whether a student, roommate, staff or faculty member is at
high risk for severe illness from flu. People at higher risk for flu
complications include pregnant women, persons who have chronic medical
conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, cancer or heart disease) and people
age 65 years and older.
-
Students, faculty, staff, or retirees who have the flu or flu-like symptoms
should consult a healthcare provider.
- Students with the flu should e-mail their professors as soon as possible and let them know they
have the flu. Read the policy on absences from class.
- If you get worse after being on the medication for three or four days, go back to the Health Center
or to a physician to have your lungs rechecked to make sure you have not
developed a secondary infection.
If students need assistance after hours
- Visit a local clinic:
- QuestCare, 3414
Milton in Snider Plaza, is open Mondays-Fridays from 8a.m. to 8p.m., Saturdays-Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 214-989-3905.
-
PrimaCare, 6350 E. Mockingbird Lane, is open
Mondays-Fridays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and
Saturdays and Sundays 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Call
214-828-0448.
- Also see Dr. Bob Smith Health Center after-hours care list.
- See a private physician.
- Faculty and staff are urged to contact their healthcare providers.
To order meals for pickup by a friend
Resident students who have flu-like symptoms may order meals by phone from Arnold Dining Commons or Lee and have a friend pick up the meals from the location. Students may order food off the menu of the day, including soup. Students should provide their name and ID number when calling. The meals will be deducted from their meal plan. To order a meal, students may call Arnold (214-768-2377 or 214-768-2344) or Lee (214-768-3922).