If your student should become ill:

CDC recommends that individuals with influenza-like illness remain at home and away from other people until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (100° F [37.8° C] or greater), or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medications. Influenza-like illness is defined as a fever plus cough and/or sore throat. If possible, residential students, faculty, or staff members who live relatively close to the campus should return to the home of a family member or friend, to keep from making others sick. Those leaving Virginia Tech to go to a private home to recuperate should be instructed to do so in a way that limits contact with others as much as possible. For example, travel by private car or taxi would be preferable over use of public transportation.

Consider preparing a “Get Better” kit for your student

Such a kit might contain items such as a

• Thermometer
• fever reducing medicine (e.g. acetaminophen, ibuprofen, but not aspirin)
• hand sanitizer
• facial tissues
• sports drinks that contain electrolytes such as Powerade or Gatorade
• nonperishable foods such as granola bars, instant soups, peanut butter, canned juices, dry cereal, dried fruit

CDC Interim Guidance for Novel H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu): Taking Care of a Sick Person in Your Home 

CDC Recommendations for the amount of time persons with influenza-like illness should be away from others

Epidemiologic data collected during spring 2009 found that most people with the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus who were not hospitalized had a fever that lasted two to four days; this would require an exclusion period of three to five days in most cases.