“This is an essential guide to health and wellness when you head off to college…and your mom can’t be there to hold your hand and take care of you.” — Ari Brown, MD, FAAP, bestselling author of Baby 411 series

The Ultimate College Student Health Handbook


Skyhorse Publishing (2024, third edition), 360 pgs.


Consider this College Health 101—a guide to what students really want (or need) to know about their mental and physical health when they’re away from home.

College students facing their first illness, accident, or anxiety away from home often flip-flop between wanting to handle it themselves and wishing their parents could swoop in and fix everything. Advice from peers and “Dr. Google” can be questionable. The Ultimate College Student Health Handbook provides accurate, trustworthy, evidence-based medical information (served with a dose of humor) to reduce anxiety and stress and help set appropriate expectations for more than 50 common issues.

What if you can’t sleep well (or can’t sleep at all) in your dorm-room? What if a pill “gets stuck” in your throat? What if your roommate falls asleep (or passes out) wearing contacts, and wakes up with one painfully stuck? Your friend’s terrible sore throat isn’t Strep or Mono? What else could it be? What if everyone from your group project thinks they’re coming down with the flu the day before your presentation?

Dr. Jill Grimes has the answer to these questions and many more. Her guidebook is designed to help you:

  • Decide if and when to seek medical help
  • Know what to expect when you get there
  • Plan for the worst-case scenario if you don’t seek help
  • Learn how you can prevent this in the future
  • Realize what you can do right now, before you see a doctor
  • Understand the diagnostic and treatment options

The topics of tattoos, smoking, vaping, pot, piercings, and prescription drugs will also be tackled throughout the pages of this handbook, ensuring you, your roommates, and your friends have a healthy semester.

“As a pediatrician and child health expert, parents look to me for trusted advice. I whole-heartedly recommend The Ultimate College Student Health Handbook, an accurate, practical guide that will help your kids deal with unexpected illnesses, injuries, and anxieties (and will give you answers for their late-night texts). Definitely my new go-to high school graduation gift!” —Tanya Remer Altmann, MD, bestselling author and parenting expert