As the weather starts to get colder, the risk of getting sick increases due to spending more time inside and the cold, dry air allowing viruses to spread more easily, according to nurse Christine Higginbotham.
According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, mycoplasma pneumonia infections are increasing, particularly among children ages 5 to 17.
But how does this affect high school students?
“I have been sick for about a month and a half and I had walking pneumonia,” junior Audrey Tanner said.
Missing days of school due to an illness can cause issues in class. Not wanting or being able to turn in work can bring down grades.
“When I got back, I had a few F’s,” senior Heidi Lane said. “Once I was better and got all my work done, all my grades went back up.”
Whether it’s sports or clubs, a student can also miss out on things they enjoy.
“I was unable to be as active in my extracurricular activities as I wanted to be,” said senior Grace Summers, who is president of the National Art Honor Society and is a member of the philharmonic orchestra.
According to attendance assistant Candace Morgan, 2,236 absences were recorded due to illness the week of Nov. 18-22. Students miss several days or even weeks of school.
“I was sick for two days but missed two weeks of school because I was healing,” Lane said, “The sickness I had was appendicitis.”
Sickness can deeply affect attendance; however, the nurse’s office sees students every day to treat illnesses.
“We see an average of 60 students per day, not including emergent injuries or seizures,” Higginbotham said.
An illness doesn’t always last a couple of days or even a couple of weeks. With different kinds of illnesses, it can last years.
“I experienced chronic sinus issues, fatigue, brain fog and heart palpitations for nearly two years,” Summers said. “I typically missed 2-5 days of school a month; sometimes, I would just need to stay home for one day before going back to school; other times, I would get very sick and miss several days of school in a row.”
Having an illness can affect everyone differently. Nonetheless, no one likes being ill.
“I just hate not being able to do anything and getting behind in all my classes,” Tanner said.