In July, a committee from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined that people under 25 have a higher risk of contracting swine flu than older age groups. Great. Welcome to the Doghouse, freshmen – you’re at school and at-risk!

According to the Associated Press, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) estimates that swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, could cause between 30,000 and 90,000 deaths in the U.S. this year.

In order to keep Garfield as swine-free as possible this fall, those inside must take extra flu precautions. Most students have heard the following five health suggestions repeatedly since the H1N1 virus crossed the border last year; the sixth and seventh suggestions, however, are rather obscure. Read ‘em and weep.

Wash your hands or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer as often as possible, especially before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Flu germs can survive on surfaces like desks and chairs for up to 48 hours. Please don’t be the student who gets swine flu by touching a desk and then picking his nose.

Do not take aspirin. The Mayo Clinic says people under 19 should not take aspirin, especially when recovering from a viral infection (such as swine flu). Young people who do take aspirin are at increased risk for Reye’s Syndrome, an illness that damages the brain and liver.

Stay home if you are sick, or if someone you live with has the flu. CDC recommends that students with sick family members stay home for at least five days from when the person became ill.

Don’t sit close to your friends or enemies. Don’t sit close to anybody, actually; CDC suggests that students move their desks farther apart this year. Say goodbye to that fun little table group in your math class.

Get vaccinated. The H1N1 vaccine isn’t out yet, but may be available in October or November.

Don’t hug, shake hands, or fist bump. Dr. David Zieve says medical authorities recommend that students replace traditional greetings with “elbow shakes.” It’s not sexual harassment if a creep touches your elbow; similarly, it’s not a flu transfer if a friend touches your elbow – with his elbow.

The final tip concerns the state of the mind rather than the state of the body.

Stay optimistic. Yes, that’s right. According to “Learned Optimism” by Martin E.P. Seligman, the director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, maintaining an optimistic mindset can decrease your risk of catching infectious diseases. Keep in mind that the term “optimistic” doesn’t mean “constantly, frighteningly happy.” An optimist is merely someone who views challenges as temporary and somewhat controllable, whereas a pessimist is someone who views challenges as permanent and uncontrollable. For instance, when concerned about catching swine flu, an optimist would exercise his control by taking preventative measures like washing his hands. A pessimist would take few or no preventative measures, assuming the situation was completely out of his control.

In a year-long study of 150 college students in the mid-1980s, scientist Chris Peterson found that the pessimists caught twice as many infectious diseases as the optimists. In a study of 34 women dealing with breast cancer remission, the optimistic women survived the longest. In a study of several senior citizens from Connecticut, the optimists’ blood showed better immune activity than the pessimists’ blood.

These and other studies have shown that pessimism leads to decreased immune system function, and therefore a greater risk of illness and death. And what better way to avoid pessimism than to practice optimism?

If optimists are significantly less likely to become sick, health care professionals should recommend optimism as a preventative measure, alongside frequent hand-washing and sneezing into one’s sleeve. And yet, most of them don’t.

Employees from Swedish Medical Center, Group Health Cooperative, and UW Medical Center said they had not recommended optimism as prevention to patients or community members.

“I’m not an expert in that area,” said Clare Hegarty, Assistant Vice President for Media Relations at UW Medicine.

“I haven’t heard about [optimism as prevention],” said Group Health Cooperative spokesperson Katie McCarthy. “But I think it aligns well with our mission of preventative medicine. If you take care of yourself, you’re more likely to lead a healthy life.”

The websites for CDC, Group Health, Children’s Hospital, and the National Institutes of Health did not feature optimism on lists of swine flu precautions. Seligman and his colleagues established the connection between optimism and the immune system over twenty years ago, but the medical community seems to disregard the evidence. At the very least, hospitals seem reluctant to apply the information to a real-life scenario.

Swine flu may come to Garfield this year. But the sick and healthy alike can implement healthy habits to prevent the virus and other illnesses from spreading. A combination of hand-washing, vaccines, lack of contact, and optimism will keep Garfield students as safe as possible.