Penn State asking sick to stay home from Thon

As much as people might love going to Thon, they should stay home if they’re not feeling well.

Common sense, right?

Two weeks before the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon kicks off in the Bryce Jordan Center, University Health Services warned against attending the event if you aren’t completely healthy. Thon spokeswoman Lily Beatty concurred.

“Thon encourages its volunteers to stay healthy leading up to Thon weekend by getting adequate sleep and cutting out certain food and drinks, like ones that contain caffeine,” Beatty said. “These measures all help the body fight off potential illness. If a volunteer is sick before any Thon event, we ask they do not attend the event. This is because of the potential exposure to children going through treatments, who often have weakened immune systems.”

Thon is a 46-hour dance marathon that represents the fight against childhood cancer. It is attended by hundreds of Thon children, who are cancer survivors.

UHS urged people to take precautions to prevent the spread of a norovirus-like illness, referring to it as a highly contagious stomach flu.

“University Health Services has seen an increase in patients with gastrointestinal symptoms in the past few weeks,” a release said. “Although many things can cause an upset to the digestive tract, this is the time of year when health care providers most frequently see norovirus, a gastrointestinal pathogen.”

Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain and sometimes fever and muscle aches.

“While there is no medication to cure norovirus, anyone who develops symptoms should stay home until symptoms have resolved, drink clear fluids such as sports drinks, wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after using the restroom and before eating or drinking, and do not share food or drinks with others,” the release said.

Chickenpox presented an issue for some Thon volunteers and children in 2015.

University health officials contacted a “small subset” of students who attended the Feb. 7, 2015, men’s basketball game, designated as the annual Thon Hoops game where 70 families with children diagnosed with or recovering from cancer participated. One child in the group had unknowingly been exposed to chickenpox.

About 150 students were potentially exposed, Penn State said. These students were sent emails from UHS saying that if they planned to attend Thon in any capacity they had to show proof of immunization.

It was determined that some Thon children were also exposed and could not attend Thon last year.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Penn State asking sick to stay home from Thon."