Junior Hunter Taylor was unable to leave his bed for a week after getting the flu last month. He had a sore throat, a fever of 102 and couldn’t eat anything without puking it back up.

Hunter is just one of the many SHS students who say they have become sick throughout the 2015-2016 winter season. Temperatures have soared above average and dropped below freezing and the constant change in climate has led some SHS students to become ill.

“I hate how bipolar Indiana weather is,” Taylor said. “I was so sick once from it and I couldn’t do anything but lay around for a week because my body was so weak.”

On Dec. 12, the temperature in Indianapolis reached an all-time high of 70 degrees. This broke the previous record set in 1927 of 63 degrees. Just three days later, the temperatures dropped drastically into the low 20s.

With these fluctuations in mind, chemistry teacher Justin Heinold is like Taylor in saying he isn’t a fan of the constant change in weather. He believes it could be the reason that his students, his son and himself are getting sick.

“I don’t like not being able to plan for those illnesses caused by the weather,” Heinold said.

Sophomore Dim Par says that she already has a weak immune system so even the smallest inconsistency in the weather could cause her to get sick.

Taylor believes he has a weak immune system along with Par and says it’s caused him to get sick more often than many of his peers. In one instance, he even had to be hospitalized.

Amber Parkhurst, radiologic technologist at Franciscan Immediate Care, says that the amount of walk-ins from illnesses increases more than 20 percent in the winter compared to any other time of the year.

“I think it’s because people tend to get sick a lot more in the winter since everyone’s always cooped up inside, so they’re not getting a lot of fresh air and they’re spreading more germs,” Parkhurst said. “Some people tend to think that being inside where it’s warm and toasty is the best solution to prevent getting sick, but it’s not. Staying indoors only keeps you in close contact with other people, and their germs, too.”