Getting sick on the ship

[GeezLouise1]

Just sitting here at Singapore Changing airport after disembarking Volendam his morning. Sniffling and hacking too, I might add. We observe all the healthy tricks we can think of -disinfecting wipes on planes prior, giving cabin a once over after boarding, no public washrooms and on and on. The krud started about 5 days after embarkation at Hong Kong, cleared somewhat after 2,weeks, then big upswing again after a new group joined us in Singapore. I think it is airport travel. But something I am willing to tolerate in order to sail. Achooo, sniffle, sniffle. Awesome voyage, by the way! Happy New Year.

 

 

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[ansjefitnes]

Hi Geezlouise,

 

Was nice to meet you on the Volendam and sorry to hear you catched a cold hope you feel better soon. I was lucky not to get it. It was a great 2 weeks for me and i am glad you enjoyed aswell. Safe trip home.

 

Regards Maria

[obsessionr]

Another thing we do when on a cruise is use a hand sanitizer after handling the serving utensils at the buffet. Before we eat and every time we get additional food we use our hand sanitizer again. It only takes one person who is sick to pick up the serving piece, and you follow them in line. Next thing you know that piece of bread you picked up with the tongs goes in your mouth. A few days later your sick. I think most of the germs come from the buffets. This won't stop us from cruising.

[chengkp75]

The original portion of this thread predates my time on CC, so I thought I'd add a comment to some of the original posts.

 

Cruise ship air ducts are cleaned out, not very regularly, but as often or more often than most hotels and public spaces ashore. Ship's AC is also required to have sanitizing pads in each cooling coil, so that the water condensed out is sanitized to prevent the molds, bacteria, and viruses that are common in land AC systems, like legionella. The drain pans of AC units is where these critters get their start, not in the ducts.

[DaveOKC]

I strongly believe in beefing up your immune system two-three weeks before travel, whether it is by plane or ship. Get more sleep, and increase your vitamins and nutrition. I won't mention anything specific but there also are a few herbals I swear by that increase the immune system, as well.

 

Good idea. I also add - drink lots of booze to kill the germs!

[kalliekae]

I have a transplant so my immune system is compromised. We only have 10 cruises under our belts, but I have never been sick after a cruise. Personally, I think more people get sick from being on an airplane than a ship. As Sail said, I move if someone by me starts to cough or sneeze. In elevators, I never touch the buttons with my fingers and I've been known to hold my breath if someone sneezes while on an elevator. I also wash my hands a lot and am careful what I touch. It's second nature to me so no big deal.

 

We did not cruise nor fly any place in December and every friend and family member came down with a cold. Sometimes it just happens.

[Guinness1000]

The only time I've ever got sick on a cruise was from an excursion in Cozumel. I went on one of those semi-submarines. If you've ever been on one that is full, then you know how close you sit. The woman next to me hacked constantly for two hours! I knew I would get whatever she had since we sat shoulder to shoulder. Sure enough, when we got home I had a cough that lasted for seven weeks! She broke my 13 year streak of not having been sick one single day. Very irresponsible of people to put themselves close to others like that while sick.

 

Just got off the Oosterdam today. Didn't notice anyone sick, but saw an ambulance pick someone up in Honduras.

[DrTee]

I never catch colds at home, but I've gotten a couple towards the end of cruises. I've observed people doing all kinds of nasty things, like coughing or sneezing without covering their faces.

 

On my last cruise, almost everybody got it. It looked like I was going to escape, which really surprised me because I'm cancer patient and my immune system is low. But sure enough,I woke on the last day with a sore throat.

[FrankNJ]

Well , since I started this , I thought I should update . A year ago I got off Constellation and my blood pressure was sky high and my medicine needed adjustment . My doctor said it was from the salt in the cruise ship food . Apparently I forgot this , and this year I got off Koningsdam and ended up dizzy and went to the hospital , with high blood pressure as the cause . So my doctor kind of reminded me about the same thing pretty much as last year .

 

So now I wonder if I ask for a low sodium diet on the ship if that will work ? At home I never use salt .

[DrTee]

I recall hearing about "milk thistle " . Now I have to look it up . But I bet someone here

knows .

 

 

Milk thistle is for the liver.

[kacurl]

I work in at a country club and when I go out to eat I always wash my hands or use sanitizer after looking and ordering from menu. They can definitely be germ magnets!!!!

[JudithLynne]

We have completed 39 cruises. Like many of you, I would get a URI on board about 80% of the time. I have been prone to URI’s since birth as I grew up with parent who was a chain smoker. I had my tonsils removed twice as a child. About 5 years ago I was walking past our TV and heard Dr. Oz say that he was going to share the best way to ward off URI’s. It wasn't frequent hand washing, it was nasal irrigation. He showed how to use a neti pot. I use a sinus rinse bottle as I find it easier to use. I do it once a day at home and twice a day while cruising. If we are in a public place where there is evidence of illness I do it immediately upon arriving home. I do it religiously. I have not had a URI on a cruise since starting this treatment. I would guess that that is 10 consecutive cruises since beginning treatment. I had only one URI while at home and it was mild and resolved quickly. Nasal irrigation has been a miracle in my life. My husband is astounded at the difference in my health. Thank you Dr. OZ!

[cabinluvn]

Just a week off the Westerdam 17 day Hawaii Circle. This is the first cruise out of 6 that we have neither become sick while on the cruise nor as soon as we got home. Here are the changes we did:

A week before we left we started Thieves essential oil on the bottoms of our feet at night and continued until we got home. We wiped every thing down on and around our plane seats each way. I diffused Thieves in a diffuser in the room(they did not confiscate it and no one made mention of it during the cruise). We never took the elevator, didn't touch the stair banisters with our hands, washed, washed and washed again our hands. Took hand gel with us when off the ship and used it whenever we touched something everyone else was touching. There was a virus going around the ship and I overheard two women who had gone to the ship doctor for medication, but we did not see or hear coughing and sneezing until the last couple of days.

 

 

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[NMLady]

I recall hearing about "milk thistle " . Now I have to look it up . But I bet someone here

knows .

 

Not sure why you resurrencted a thread that is five years old!!

[cabinluvn]

Not sure why you resurrencted a thread that is five years old!!

 

 

 

If you look back, it was resurrected on January 2 of this year and I participated in the resurrected thread. I was reporting back

 

 

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[gaylemh]

We have completed 39 cruises. Like many of you, I would get a URI on board about 80% of the time. I have been prone to URI’s since birth as I grew up with parent who was a chain smoker. I had my tonsils removed twice as a child. About 5 years ago I was walking past our TV and heard Dr. Oz say that he was going to share the best way to ward off URI’s. It wasn't frequent hand washing, it was nasal irrigation. He showed how to use a neti pot. I use a sinus rinse bottle as I find it easier to use. I do it once a day at home and twice a day while cruising. If we are in a public place where there is evidence of illness I do it immediately upon arriving home. I do it religiously. I have not had a URI on a cruise since starting this treatment. I would guess that that is 10 consecutive cruises since beginning treatment. I had only one URI while at home and it was mild and resolved quickly. Nasal irrigation has been a miracle in my life. My husband is astounded at the difference in my health. Thank you Dr. OZ!

 

I also love the nasal rinse bottle for my allergies and also for URI's. How do you clean the bottle and what water do you use when onboard? Do you ask for distilled water?

[JudithLynne]

I do not clean my rinse bottle. I tap the empty bottle on Kleenex toget out moisture then I sit it upside down in a glass lined with atissue. I leave my rinse bottle in the cabin at the end of the cruise.

I rinse twice a day while on a cruise, first thing in the morning, last thing at night. I use the packets plus distilledwater. I order the water by email or phone before I board the ship. The water is always in our cabin when we board. A one gallon jug lasts one week. There is a $4.00 charge for each jug youorder. (Most cruise lines do not charge for distilled water.)

I put my filled rinse bottle in an empty ice bucket filled with hot water. My rinse bottle comes out the perfect temp.

NMLady...there is nothing wrong with resurrecting a post, you may want to do it some day too to ask a question like gaylemh.....

Judith

[Tampa Girl]

I do not clean my rinse bottle. I tap the empty bottle on Kleenex toget out moisture then I sit it upside down in a glass lined with atissue. I leave my rinse bottle in the cabin at the end of the cruise.

I rinse twice a day while on a cruise, first thing in the morning, last thing at night. I use the packets plus distilledwater. I order the water by email or phone before I board the ship. The water is always in our cabin when we board. A one gallon jug lasts one week. There is a $4.00 charge for each jug youorder. (Most cruise lines do not charge for distilled water.)

 

I put my filled rinse bottle in an empty ice bucket filled with hot water. My rinse bottle comes out the perfect temp.

NMLady...there is nothing wrong with resurrecting a post, you may want to do it some day too to ask a question like gaylemh.....

Judith

 

 

While there may be nothing wrong with resurrecting a thread that is five years old, it is confusing. IMHO it would be better to start a new threat on preventative measures for respiratory (or other) illnesses.