Student Check List
Feb. 3, 2017
Is there a young person in your house off to university shortly? There are a few things you may want to consider prior to them leaving home. As always, hope for the best but plan for the worst!
- HPV vaccination
This is the vaccination to protect them against HPV caused cancers, including cervical, penile, anal and head and neck cancers. Has your daughter completed her 3 courses of Gardasil given at school? If not make sure she sees the practice nurse. Your son probably will not have had vaccination yet, as funding for boys only commenced this month. Make sure they get started on the course before they go. - Meningitis C
Young students living in cramped accommodation, and especially halls of residence are vulnerable to Meningitis C. In 2009 at Auckland University, a medical student named Zachary Gravatt died of meningitis C. His distraught father has pushed for vaccination to become the norm. Unfortunately, it is still not funded but we highly recommend it. For more information please refer to the following newsletter
http://medplus.co.nz/news/entry/medplus-meningitis-update - Three-month supply of normal medications.
Make sure that they have a good supply of any of their regular medications with them when they leave. Future prescriptions can either be obtained from student health or Medplus. - Flu vaccination
Crowded halls of residence are a great place for viruses to spread. Flu vaccinations normally become available in February and are particularly recommended for asthmatics or those with any long-term disease. - Sexual Health
Have the discussion about safe sex however uncomfortable it may make you feel. Talk about STDs, STD checks for both them and for potential partners, use of condoms (ALWAYS) and adequate contraception. One of the barriers to safe sex is financial – ensure that they have the funds to keep safe. As part of this, talk about consent, especially following a well-publicised rape case at a US university. The following video is one way to convey what consent actually means.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZwvrxVavnQ&list=PLUIdVh_GhSG5HbLw9EA_7vavnY4YlJ1K6
