With every turn of the head, there is someone coughing or sneezing on campus and the community. Some people are suffering from allergies, some from the cold and some are suffering from both.

On campus, students can hear others sniffling, sneezing and coughing.

According to Regina Korth, student health nurse, students either just have the cold right now or intense allergies. Some people have been coming in for their sore throats and snotty noses.

“There’s a lot of pollen, on the weather channel app,” Korth said. “Pollen is high in our area right now.”

People who have been sleeping with their windows open can be inhaling the pollen while they are sleeping, causing the sore throats.

To help with the cold, use “over the counter meds to treat your symptoms, similar to treatments for the flu,” Korth said.

Dr. Mark McCorkindale from Faith Regional Physician Services Wayne Family Medicine said that quite a few students and community members have come in to get checked for having cold symptoms.

“There’s also strep throat going around,” McCorkindale said.

He said that the illness going around is more individualized right now, so it is probably allergies more than a cold. If it were a cold it would be hitting many people at once.

“The best thing is to take second-generation antihistamine – Claritin or Zyrtec D,” McCorkindale said. Zyrtec D helps to dry out the respiratory system from mucus.

McCorkindale said the fall plants are starting to pop, so allergy season is going to get worse for people.

“I think if [people] get a cough/cold, get the meds,” McCorkindale said.

Because it is a small community, people won’t know where they get their cold from. Many people go to work, classes, the grocery store and touch just about everything that can spread germs when they leave their place.

“If you leave at all you’re exposed.,” Korth said. “It’s hard to always isolate yourself. It’s hard to know where you picked it up from.”

McCorkindale recommends good personal hygiene such as hand washing and trying to self-treat before going in. Cleaning hands with alcohol – hand sanitizer – would be beneficial.

Not only are teens and young adults being affected but so are small children. Especially children in daycare.

“Once one kid gets [the cold] the rest get it,” said Nicole Wehrer, daycare provider.

Wehrer said many parents are busy with work and don’t have time to take off, which can be contradictory because the children end up getting sent home anyway.

“The majority of kids I’ve watched have colds,” Wehrer said.

She said that some may just have allergies, though it’s hard to know for sure because many kids have runny noses.