Once battling the flu, Lala Olin missed an anthropology final. Refusing to let that happen again, she uses a few remedies of her own instead of the typical drug store medication.

Olin, an unclassified graduate student from Springfield, said her personal remedies work better for her than cold medicine.

My freshman year I got a bad flu, and it caused me to flunk my exam because five minutes before I was throwing up, she said. So I take garlic, chicken broth and hot baths.

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As chilly temperatures surface, several students, like Olin, choose to avoid runny noses, harsh coughs and sore throats without the expense of cold medicines. Lots of fluids, sleep and exercise are daily routines to stay healthy.

Dressing warm in the cold weather is another tactic used by Olin. And when in her apartment, she often relies on the heater.

If I get sick it actually kills me, Olin said. I always turn the heat up as high as possible.

Christine Labyk, Wellness Center coordinator, said weather affects the health of many people, but people are exposed to viruses more when inside than when outside.

When it’s freezing, any germs or viruses are killed, she said. When it’s not cold, the virus stays indoors where the virus may live. And we’re more indoors than out.

Outdoor exposure is what Casey Parker, a junior in psychology from Flat Rock, said is the cause for her sniffles.

She drinks plenty of fluid including water, orange juice and grape juice along with exercising. She said this usually guarantees a healthy lifestyle free of severe head colds and flus.

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If I know I’m getting sick I usually drink some juice, Parker said. I sleep a lot, at least eight hours a night. I can’t survive on less. And I go to aerobics about twice a week for about an hour.

But Parker does not always have time to fulfill her personal therapy. Although she knows her sniffles will disappear in about two days, she occasionally resorts to cold medicine.

When I start getting the sniffles, sometimes I will take some medicine, she said. I’ve got the sniffles right now, and I just took some cold tablets. If I don’t have the time to do anything else, then I’ll take them.

Of course, no medicine or antibiotics can cure the common cold or the flu because these ailments are the result of viruses. Labyk said some good preventive measures are adequate rest, well-balanced meals and vitamin C. People who exercise are more resistant to head colds and flus, but, Labyk said, those methods are not the best prevention.

Viruses enter the body through the nose, mouth and eyes, which are often touched by the hands. Therefore, she tries to keep her hands clean at all times.

It’s not so much of taking anything, Labyk said. The No. 1 thing to do to prevent a cold or flu is to wash your hands throughout the day. After I work out the first thing I do is wash my hands. I think about all the surfaces I touch and all the other germy hands.

Dan Brennan, a first-year law student from Springfield, takes special care to cover his hands along with his other body parts with layers of clothing in the cold.

Because of changing weather, Brennan said he is tormented with a cold almost each semester. But, he shuns cold medicine. He takes some of the preventive measures of drinking fluids and acquiring vitamin C.

But, exercise is not an option for him.

I refrain from exercise when I’m sick because I need the energy to heal, he said. When I go out I keep my hat on. I heard somewhere that 80 percent of heat is lost through the top of your head, and I believe it.

When all else fails, Brennan refers to some old remedies given by his parents to last for a lifetime.

Well, mom says orange juice and chicken soup, he said. And dad says sleep. I drink the orange juice and try to get more sleep. But the chicken soup, you have to go out and buy it and heat it up. That’s too much.