Washing Hands before boarding

[divadiverfl]

Does Carnival now with all the viruses going around make you wash your hands like HAL does before boarding coming from ports?:confused:

[Cotton]

First I've heard of this. Hopefully, they just hand out the little towelettes or use the anti-bac hand cleanser. :confused:

[ciship]

Does Carnival now with all the viruses going around make you wash your hands like HAL does before boarding coming from ports?:confused:

 

 

If they don't, they SHOULD! They should install hand santizers all over the ship so wherever you are, you can just grab a squeeze and move on. With the reputation of viruses that these ships have, I can't believe they havent installed these already!!

[Sue L]

Hi all,

 

On our cruise 3 weeks ago, there was no handwashing. But they did give a handout with tips on handwashing and things so that the viruses don't become a problem. One of the tips is not to use the handrails. Not an option for me so I brought hand sanitizer and washed my hands frequently. And the best advice I got before the cruise was actually on the Today Show. Hum "Happy Birthday" to yourself while washing your hands and that is the right amount of time to insure you killed anything that might be there.

 

Sue

[colette5479]

I haven't heard anything about this but I am glad that at least one line is handing out a tip sheet. It would be a good idea for everyone to invest in a trial size bottle or Purell or equivilent to keep in your pockets while on a cruise. Bath and Body Works have some antibacterial hand sanitizer that doesn't smell too bad nor dry the hands as bad as Purell.

[Cotton]

Colette, good suggestion.:) I keep one of those little bottles of Purell in my purse, and I have one in my car. I hate the idea of so many germs from shopping carts, etc. so I use it quite a lot. I haven't noticed any dryness at all.

[luv2cruise99]

Hand sanitizers are great for preventing certain types of viral and bacterial infections, however they are useless against Norwalk virus, the virus that most people are concerned about on cruiseships. For Norwalk, only washing with soap and water has been proven effective. Also, be careful of what type of hand sanitizer you buy. Some only work on viruses, whereas others only work on bacteria. Ideally, you want to get one that works on both.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I think the "hand washing when reboarding" is a "feel good" thing... Most likely any outbreak on a ship is due to the person already having something in their system when initially boarding, and not carried in from a port...:rolleyes:

 

Oh well... that should, at least, please the masses....

 

Tom

[neverenufcruising]

The flip side to all this hand sanitization is that you limit the chances your body has to naturally build up immunities to certain times of germs and bacteria. No amount of sanitation is going to guarantee 100% that you won't get hit with one of these germs or bacteria. When you do get hit, you will probably get hit harder. Personally, I'd rather build up a resistance. Now, I'm not a dirty person;) . I do wash my hands regulary, but I don't carry hand sanitizer around with me either. I also can't remember the last time I had a gastro-intestinal infection.

 

Just a thought.

[oceantravel]

I loved the Conquest but I hated the fact that the restrooms were often out of soap! Yuck! I bring hand sanitizer. I never use it any other time so I'm not worried about not building my immunities. It sure has to be better than nothing. Agreed though that a good old hand wahing is best...if you can find the soap!:eek:

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

The "warm" air dryers in the restrooms complicate things a bit for people who, like myself, would otherwise use a paper towel to turn off the water and then open the door on the way out - thus providing a barrier between those objects (last touched by WHO KNOWS) and my hands...

 

Tom

[luv2cruise99]

To be honest, I don't quite understand the concept of using a paper towel to turn off the water or open the bathroom door. Everywhere you go on the ship, you are going to be coming in contact with surfaces last touched by "who knows". Unless you wear gloves or avoid touching ANYTHING, it seems senseless to take such extra precautions when leaving the restroom.

 

Personally, I agree with neverenufcruising that all our paranoia over germs might be doing more harm than good. I think the best defense might just be to practice commonsense hygiene (washing hands after using restroom and before eating) and letting our immune systems do the rest.

[colette5479]

Colette, good suggestion.:) I keep one of those little bottles of Purell in my purse, and I have one in my car. I hate the idea of so many germs from shopping carts, etc. so I use it quite a lot. I haven't noticed any dryness at all.

 

I'm a pharmacist and I come in contact with sick people on a daily basis so I constantly wash my hands and use Purell. My hands tend to get very dry and sometimes cracked. Keri did have an antibacterial lotion on the market for about 6 months but I guess it wasn't a good seller so they discontinued it:o One of my co-workers bought me some from B&B Works and it didn't seem to dry my hands out as bad. I did see Purell has an aloe formula so maybe I will try that next time

[DFD1]

WE cruise HAL a lot. This year they usually have had a staff member just inside the ship at the top of the gangway with a spray bottle of sanitizer. We held out our hands and he sprayed them with it just as we passed thru security. No actual hand washing.

 

We take sanitizing wipes and a can of spray Lysol for the stateroom.

 

Having cruised both HAL and Carnival, we found HAL a lot more diligent (sp) about sanitation in the restrooms and around the ship than Canival.

 

On the other hand, HAL's ship Veendam has had more virus problems than almost any other ship in the Caribbean this year....Go figure.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

To be honest, I don't quite understand the concept of using a paper towel to turn off the water or open the bathroom door. Everywhere you go on the ship, you are going to be coming in contact with surfaces last touched by "who knows". Unless you wear gloves or avoid touching ANYTHING, it seems senseless to take such extra precautions when leaving the restroom.

 

No doubt EVERYTHING we touch has culturable bacteria on it... look at it this way - not to be crude - say someone just wiped and managed to "mess up" their hands. Now, that person goes to the faucet, turns it on (with hands) does a GREAT job of washing, then TOUCHES the faucet again (potentially defeating the purpose) then proceeds to grab the door handle on the way out. Granted they are touching everything else in their path - but those initially touched items will have the highest colony counts of bacteria...

 

So I do what I can but, in the end, the chips will fall where they may at any rate --- I do my little part...

 

 

Tom

[Lauri32]

No doubt EVERYTHING we touch has culturable bacteria on it... look at it this way - not to be crude - say someone just wiped and managed to "mess up" their hands. Now, that person goes to the faucet, turns it on (with hands) does a GREAT job of washing, then TOUCHES the faucet again (potentially defeating the purpose) then proceeds to grab the door handle on the way out. Granted they are touching everything else in their path - but those initially touched items will have the highest colony counts of bacteria...

 

So I do what I can but, in the end, the chips will fall where they may at any rate --- I do my little part...

 

 

Tom

 

I use the soap on my hands before I even turn on the faucet.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE.....:eek:

 

( just FYI stuff... )

 

A little paranoia goes a long way...:D

 

 

Tom

[lilsonicfan]

Definitely Purell is drying... as it's mostly ethanol!

[mom of four]

We sailed NCL Sun last March. They had liquid soap dispensers and signs about using them when getting back on the ship after a day in port. They had a motion sensor. Fast and efficient. You didn't have to touch anything to get the sanitizer to come out. I was amazed at how quickly people did this. It was a non-issue and I didn't hear any grumblings.

[Guest Time2gocruzn]

If they don't, they SHOULD! They should install hand santizers all over the ship so wherever you are, you can just grab a squeeze and move on. With the reputation of viruses that these ships have, I can't believe they havent installed these already!!

 

You would think they could put hand sanitizer dispensers all over the place at least. Heck, they even have them all over the place at my local Petco, lol:D The sanitizer itself is cheap. BUT you know how it goes, just because it is there doesn't mean everyone would use it, but it would help! I DO think they should require something like that while reboarding, but I'm not sure that the ports are necessarily where the viruses come from and are spread.:eek:

[jcrandle]

You would think they could put hand sanitizer dispensers all over the place at least. Heck, they even have them all over the place at my local Petco, lol:D The sanitizer itself is cheap. BUT you know how it goes, just because it is there doesn't mean everyone would use it, but it would help! I DO think they should require something like that while reboarding, but I'm not sure that the ports are necessarily where the viruses come from and are spread.:eek:

To read what the CDC and FDA say about hand sanitizers vs. hand washing view http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/handhyg.html

Hint: they still recommend hand washing.

[Guest Time2gocruzn]

To read what the CDC and FDA say about hand sanitizers vs. hand washing view http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/handhyg.html

Hint: they still recommend hand washing.

 

True! I knew it wasn't better than hand washing, but it is certainly better than nothing. If they made these widely available around the ship, many more people would use them rather than doing nothing, and that has to make some type of difference. I am constantly washing my hands AND using hand sanitier. I for one would appreciate these dispensers being made available...it would save me from having to pack the bottle around with me, lol.

 

Sometimes sinks aren't always available (for instance like when I leave a store and get into my car) and that is when the antibacterial gel comes in handy;)

[bluehorizonlover123]

yes they give you hand sanitizer before entering the ship and before eating.

[CuplACruzrs]

I just heard of a lady who complained of "Flu" symptoms and was confined to her cabin for the entire cruise. That sounds like they are trying to prevent exposure but I sure wouldnt want to be stuck in my room for five days. Of course, she didnt feel very great for a few of those days. :p

[ronrythm]

Here's a thought from one of the local medical school people on the proliferation of anti-bacterials: If we constantly use anti-bacterials, all we are doing is raising resistant bacteria. Only the resistant ones are left to breed, so they get tougher and tougher. Standard genetics.