Put together thousands of young people, keen to experiment with life yet until now protected from the unpleasant germs that come with the big wide world, and you have a scenario better suited to ER than the groves of academe. Freshers, exposed to vast numbers of people and new levels of fast living, fall ill easily. Here are some problems, from most to least common, that university health centres report.

FRESHERS’ FLU

Caught by about 90 per cent of new students in the first weeks of term, "freshers’ flu" is a description of all the bugs and viruses students come down with. "You have people from all over the country working and playing hard together, often living in cramped accommodation, and different strains of bugs come together," says Jodi Saunders, the nurse manager at the University of Surrey student health centre. "Once someone gets one, their resistance goes down and it’s quite common to get something else."

Her advice is to remember the importance of eating, drinking and sleeping well, at least some of the time. "If you’re run-down, you need to reduce alcohol and smoking to get back on track," she says. Take some paracetamol with you as Mum’s no longer around to dole them out and you may not feel up to going to a shop.

MENTAL HEALTH

One in four students experience psychological problems. Leaving home, debt, new relationships and the stresses of study can all create psychiatric problems, says the National Union of Students (NUS). At the serious end there is schizophrenia, which is rare but typically develops between the ages of 18 and 30, usually induced by stress. More common are anxiety-based problems, which the Mental Health Foundation believes affects 46 per cent of male students and 64 per cent of female students. "Many students get a bit teary, missing their families and finding it hard," says Saunders. "We tell them that you see only people enjoying themselves — not all the others behind closed doors, struggling like them."

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS

Nearly three quarters of cases of chlamydia in women are in females aged 16-24. Don’t be ashamed to go and get a check-up.

INJURIES/ACCIDENTS

Seventy per cent of weekend casualty admissions are alcohol-related. Not surprising, given the amount of subsidised alcohol swilled down at university, that student health centres say they are inundated with cuts, grazes, sprains, strains and breakages the morning after the night before. Injuries incurred through sports and student pranks are common, too. Take a first aid kit with you.

EATING DISORDERS

About one student in five has a "severely flawed relationship with food", according to the National Centre for Eating Disorders.

Such disorders can be another symptom of the pressures that young people find themselves under. The Eating Disorders Association says the incidence of anorexia has been linked with high academic achievement — one woman in every 500 aged between 15 and 25 will require extensive treatment for anorexia.

Nearly one university student in ten could be bulimic, according to the National Centre for Eating Disorders.

MUMPS

Two thirds of all cases of mumps in 2003 were among the 15-24 age group. Mumps cases in the UK have been increasing since 2002, mainly among students. This is because people born between 1982 and 1990 are relatively unprotected — those born before 1982 will have acquired the virus as children; those born after 1990 have been given protection by the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. Those born between those dates are vulnerable in adulthood when symptoms are more severe — mumps can cause inflammation of the testicles and pancreas, infertility, and complications such as meningitis.

"It’s spread through coughs and sneezes and is very contagious," says Dr John Lethem, of York University’s student health centre and chairman of the British Association of Health Services in Higher Education. "Last year we had more than 100 cases on campus, and Sheffield and Leeds had more. We offer most of our students the MMR."

MENINGITIS

The 15-20 age group accounts for 13 per cent of all cases of all types of meningitis, the potentially fatal inflammation of the membrane around the brain. An NUS survey showed that between 5 and 7 per cent of students wouldn’t see a doctor if they had headache, fever and sickness — the e arly symptoms of meningitis. Most universities offer freshers immunisation against meningitis C; there is currently none against meningitis B, the other severe form. Meningitis outbreaks are most common when students begin university — the longer they are exposed to virus strains, the more likely they are to build up resistance.

GLANDULAR FEVER

This affects about one student in 16. The "kissing disease" can just as easily be transmitted through coughs, sneezes and shared cups. It can severely weaken students for periods of up to a year, although some will get over the effects of the virus in a couple of weeks.

Dorothy Crawford, Professor of Medical Microbiology at Edinburgh University, is nearing the conclusion of a Medical Research Council study into why the disease is so common among students. Following 2,000 people from age 18, she found that about 125 acquired the infection at university, of whom about 35 developed symptoms. One student left university as a result.

She has found that about 75 per cent of us acquire it in a very mild form in childhood, but those who get it in early adulthood have more severe symptoms — sore throat, enlarged glands and prolonged fatigue.

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