Graduate student Jessica Kelly considers herself a healthy person and attributes that partially to getting a shot to prevent influenza.

“I skipped it one year, and I got the flu that year,” said Kelly, who has been getting the shot for six years.

According to Health Services Web site, about 10 to 20 percent of the population contracts the flu annually and the influenza vaccine can prevent symptoms of the flu by up to 90 percent in healthy adults. The flu shot is effective for one year.

The flu symptoms are a sudden onset of fever with shaking chills, sweating, nasal congestion, fatigue, headache and moderate to severe muscle and joint aches and pains.

Only strains of the flu that are considered prevalent by health officials are prevented by the shot, said Laura Chellman, director of Health Services.

“If you come in contact with a different strain of the flu, you’re going to get sick,” Kelly said. “I’ve just been lucky not to come in contact with any other strains of the virus.”

The easiest treatment is to get a lot of rest, but if it is caught early enough there are some medications that may help decrease symptoms, Chellman said.

“(Students who get the flu) certainly should call us and come in to be evaluated and then go through the treatment options,” she said.

The height of the flu season is during December, January and February.

Senior Laura Radtke is among the students who feel the shot is not the key to preventing illness.

“I don’t get sick very often and I think I’ve had the flu like three times in my life, so I just don’t feel that (the shot) is necessary,” Radtke said.

Thorough hand washing, getting plenty of sleep, eating nutritious foods and decreasing stress levels will also help students stay healthy, Chellman said.

“There is going to be a certain amount (of stress), but it is just learning to decrease what you can and mange the rest,” she said.

Those tips should help students stay healthy throughout the winter months. But for those who want a little extra reassurance, the flu shot is available for $10 by making an appointment at Health Services.

“I definitely think it has worked well for me,” Kelly said, “but everyone has their own opinion on it.”