Being ill at university is fine so long as it's self-inflicted. By all means go into detail about the consequences of drinking 13 pints, not sleeping for three days, and even eating your own-recipe fish pie, but you will struggle to find an audience if you try talking in a similar way about your bout of tonsillitis or gastric flu. This is because these don't sound much fun. And what student is interested in anything that doesn't entertain or employ them, unless it gets them a good mark?

So if you're looking for sympathy, ring your mum. And if you need practical help, don't expect anyone to notice.

Instead, you'll have to ask for it. Grab the most dependable classmate, housemate or passerby, and let them know you are ill and would like them to check in occasionally to make sure you are OK. Next, spell out exactly what medicines, food, drink, support and medical help you need, and where to get it. Always give a deadline, otherwise your chosen saviour could easily get distracted and only remember your glass of water a couple of days later. Be grateful and gracious. Promise to buy them a drink or bunch of flowers once you're back on your feet. Remember to do it.

You also need to establish early on whether you really are ill, and not just tired, bored or homesick. Make sure you work this out before rather than after you decide you need to stop studying. In any case, notify your tutor if you are going to miss a class or assignment, and find out how to catch up with any work you are likely to miss.

Then decide exactly how ill you are. If it's just a bad cold, or over-tiredness, stay in bed, drink lots of water and eat sensibly. But don't be brave. If you think it could be anything more than that, get in touch with a doctor as soon as possible.

At this point, you may be asking yourself why you didn't register with a GP surgery at the beginning of term when everyone else said you should. But don't panic. Contact your university's health centre, which may be able to offer you treatment or suggest where you could get it. Alternatively, ring NHS Direct.

Once you see a doctor, ask if you are likely to need a medical certificate. This will come in handy if you have to miss a lot of study time or paid work. Your university may also want you to fill in a self-certification form, which you will need to submit as soon as possible. There are likely to be limits on how often you can use such a form, so don't rely on filling one in every time you are panicking over an assignment. Remember that it is often possible to negotiate a deadline extension, although you may have marks deducted. And if you have had two and a half years to prepare an assignment but fail to hand it in because of a spot of hayfever, this could be a lot of marks.

If you are too ill to sit exams, or think your exam performance may be affected, you will need to tell the examiners beforehand. Don't rely on anyone else to do it for you. You will also probably need to see a doctor on the day of the exam to prove you are not in fact holidaying on a Greek island, feeling mildly hungover.