Thinking Back to School for College?

It's not even the end of July yet, but its time to start thinking about back to school for college.  Colleges and universities generally begin classes sometime after August 20.  That means you have just a little over a month to prepare to send your young adult off on their college adventure. 

This year we have to concern ourselves not only with allergies but in some schools Covid-19 virus is still a concern.  Yes, it's a challenge but you can do this.

Back to School for College – Plan Ahead

It doesn’t matter if this is their freshman year or they are returning as a senior.  Something always gets forgotten in the shuffle and put off until the last minute. 

Don’t let that forgotten item be your student’s back to school allergy control plan.

As a parent, you try to protect your child as best as you can.  Leaving for college may be the first time your kid has been out of your care for an extended period of time. 

It is scary for you and you admit it.  It's scary for them and they will never in a million years admit it! 

If your child has environmental allergies, you have probably been making sure that their bed linens were washed weekly and that their rooms were kept to a minimum disaster level.

Once they leave home, you won’t have control and trust me, they aren’t going to make tidiness a priority in their lives.  So what can you do?

Back to School for College With Allergies

First, when you send them away, make sure they have a zippered mattress cover for their dorm room mattress and zippered covers for their pillows. You did not let them sleep with dust mites at home.

Traditionally, dorm beds have always been long twin size (39 x 80) but in the last few years more and more student housing has full size (54 x 75) size beds.  Be sure to check BEFORE you go so you get the proper size. 

We have mattress and pillow protectors in several fabrics but recommend the AllergyCare Solution bed covers.  Let's face it, you have no idea how old or how well that mattress has been taken care of.  The AllergyCare Solution fabric is soft, comfortable and allergy, bedbug, and waterproof.  Complete protection at an affordable price. 

Just go ahead and face the fact that they aren’t going to change their sheets weekly.  Consider yourself lucky if they do it monthly.  We know this first hand.

Give them extra sheet sets, but also make sure they have a bottle of ADMS Antiallergen Spray.  Encourage them to use it generously.  If they aren’t going to clean the mess, at least they can denature the allergens that are collecting there. 

Spraying the sheets every week is not as good as washing, but it is far better than nothing!

Sanitize, sanitize, and sanitize. With all the fear and concerns about Covid-19, it is important they keep their space clean.  We recommend, besides normal cleaning, they spray Vital Oxide throughout the entire space.  One spray is all it takes on most surfaces to kill dangerous viruses and bacteria like MRSA, Salmonella, Influenza viruses, Norovirus, Legionella pneumophila, and E coli and gets rid of mold and mildew by oxidization.

Take the HEPA air cleaner out of the bedroom at the house and send it away with them.  It will do them far more good in their dorm room than it will be running in their empty bedroom at your house. 

Schools are the perfect environment for airborne viruses to spread. Large groups of people remain indoors for prolonged periods of time, often in small spaces with little or no ventilation.

We know from experience that the cold and flu viruses can spread quickly and often. It seems like our daughter had colds the entire tome she was in school.  

The Airfree P1000 air purifier is a great choice for dorms and apartments. It has a small footprint and eliminates allergens and helps reduces the effects of asthma, dust, dander, bacteria, and more

Keeping their immune system in tip-top shape is important for their allergies and difficult when they aren’t under your watchful eye.  Gummy vitamins might encourage them to stick with taking their vitamins. 

Don’t laugh.  My son is an adult with a wife and a mortgage and he still takes gummy vitamins.  If it works, don’t mess with it!

Leave them with plenty of bottled water.  No matter how much the plastic bottles disturb your desire to save the planet, let your desire to make sure they drink lots of water prevail.  If the water is convenient, they will drink it.  Proper hydration is key to keeping the immune system in good shape.  Make it easy to stay hydrated. 

We bought a mini-fridge and packed it with water bottles and put more in the clothes closet.  Understand that their diet will suffer.  If their diets suffer, the immune system suffers.  When the immune systems suffer allergies are almost impossible to get under control.  Do stock them up with healthful snacks.  Dried fruit, especially cranberries and blueberries are immune boosters.

We know that sending your son or daughter off to college exhilarating and scary at the same time.  You are proud to have raised a child to the point where they are ready to leave home and further their education.  At the same time, you wonder if they are truly ready to be on their own.

Don't worry. You are doing just fine.

Til Next Time