Upper respiratory infection after cruising?

[arewethereyet]

Most cabins have thermostates that shows settings for heat or cold air moving the gage up or down, heat is usually color red on the gage, cold is green... when I try to shut off the cold air I move the setting to the lowest level on the gage for hot air. Ideally in the middle between the cold and heat... no specific temperature noted on the thermostate.

OK. That's where we usually set the thermostat.

 

A lot of airconditioning units are in the ceiling right over the bed, so if the airconditioning is running on cool air all night, we are sleeping right under the cool air which I think contributes to colds. At least since we have changed the heat setting before going to bed we rarely get colds anymore.

You don't catch a cold virus from cold air. The thermostat setting probably has the same effect on catching a cold as where you part your hair.

Edited June 5, 2013 by arewethereyet

[Pettifogger]

I was on the same Prinsendam cruise as jtl513 and developed the worst URI of my life. (I'm still recovering.) It surfaced two weeks after we flew to Istanbul, so is unlikely to have been picked up on the plane, but it could have been in an Adriatic port rather than on the ship.

[Hlitner]

DW often gets an upper respiratory infection on cruises and is still recovering from a UI problem caught on our most recent Westerdam cruise. So why does this happen? Bottom line is that when you cruise (and fly) you are exposed to an awful lot of people in pretty close quarters. Just hop in a cruise ship elevator with somebody who is coughing or sneezing and that's all it takes. Get on a plane and have somebody within a few rows who is coughing and sneezing.... It is just that simple. Blaming it in on A/C, the cruise line, the airlines, etc.. is ridiculous. Blame it on those who are sick and traveling if you must....but its just the way it is!

 

Hank

[innlady1]

Far better chance of catching it on the plane than on the ship.

 

I agree...I came home with an upper respiratory infection when we flew in from Tampa this winter. I decided, as geeky as it looks, I will wear a mask next time we fly.

[the2ofus]

Dear Sis and I recently developed very persistent URIs during a land tour in the UK, which of course involved a transatlantic flight. Most of the younger folks on the tour did not get sick. We are theorizing that we retired folks do not have as much close interaction with the general population so less resistance to some of the more aggressive cold germs. Our solution in the future will be to hug more toddlers. She suggested licking their sticky little faces and hands, but I think that's going a bit too far. :D:eek:

[arewethereyet]

Dear Sis and I recently developed very persistent URIs during a land tour in the UK, which of course involved a transatlantic flight. Most of the younger folks on the tour did not get sick. We are theorizing that we retired folks do not have as much close interaction with the general population so less resistance to some of the more aggressive cold germs. Our solution in the future will be to hug more toddlers. She suggested licking their sticky little faces and hands, but I think that's going a bit too far. :D:eek:

We stay at Disney for 4 days, once a year. I think of it as a flu shot.

[rafinmd]

DW often gets an upper respiratory infection on cruises and is still recovering from a UI problem caught on our most recent Westerdam cruise. So why does this happen? Bottom line is that when you cruise (and fly) you are exposed to an awful lot of people in pretty close quarters. Just hop in a cruise ship elevator with somebody who is coughing or sneezing and that's all it takes. Get on a plane and have somebody within a few rows who is coughing and sneezing.... It is just that simple. Blaming it in on A/C, the cruise line, the airlines, etc.. is ridiculous. Blame it on those who are sick and traveling if you must....but its just the way it is!

 

Hank

 

I don't use cruise ship elevators. Maybe that's a good thing.

 

Roy

[SpokaneDan]

Infection among people are directly proportional to human density, quantity of exposure (both in time and amount of viral/bacterial load), hygiene(personal and enviromental) and individual's host immunity.

 

Unfortunately, cruise ship and airplanes are perfect environment for communicable diseases.

 

Interestingly, most of the respiratory diseases are not transmitted via aerosol, but through contact - touching a contaminated surface, then touch ones nose/mouth. That's why hand washing, more than wearing a face mask, is emphasized by public health.

 

One other caveat, most of the viral infection has an incubation period >7 days (contracting the disease to onset of symptoms). Therefore, sitting next to someone who's sick 2-3 days ago is very unlikely to be the cause of your cold sx today.

[geoherb]

We both came home with sinus infections after one cruise. It was ironic because one of the reasons we went the week we did was so we would be home for Christmas with our parents. We ended up not being well enough to see them on Christmas.

[the2ofus]

We stay at Disney for 4 days, once a year. I think of it as a flu shot.

 

I like the way you think!

[wander]

I too have come home from cruises with URIs, however, ONLY when getting home also involved a really long flight(s) like from Asia. I never was sure where I got it, but have not had a problem with only on a cruise, even a long one.

 

In response to one comment, URIs can be bacterial in nature. Also, URIs don't have to be viral and blaming the air conditioning is NOT ridiculous. I realize this is a rather isolated example, but what about Legionnaires Disease? A respiratory condition and does Air Conditioning sound familiar? You bet.

Edited June 5, 2013 by wander

[sail7seas]

I too have come home from cruises with URIs, however, ONLY when getting home also involved a really long flight(s) like from Asia. I never was sure where I got it, but have not had a problem with only on a cruise, even a long one.

 

In response to one comment, URIs can be bacterial in nature. Also, URIs don't have to be viral and blaming the air conditioning is NOT ridiculous. I realize this is a rather isolated example, but what about Legionnaires Disease? A respiratory condition and does Air Conditioning sound familiar? You bet.

 

 

Wasn't there an outbreak of Legionnaires Disease at a hotel and the source of infection was air conditioning/heating vents?

 

[solocanadian]

Got off the Zuiderdam May 18 with bad UPRI. It started May 17 with a strange feeling in my throat like there were crushed peanuts there. In the morning I was quite breathless and barking like a seal and had trouble getting to Explorers Lounge for wheelchair disembarkation. I thought it was bronchitis - my doctor said no but put me on antibiotics for a week. I finally stopped hacking and forming mucus on May 26. I blame my illness on a long, cold, rainy walk to a restaurant in Ketchikan. My TA thought it was across the road from where the ship docked. Boy was she wrong.:rolleyes:

[sammygoose]

I'm not one to get sick but since I started using my nasaline I've cut down my yearly cold/post nasal drip/allergies down considerably. I truly believe that if I get a cold it lessens the effects and if I'm in an airplane or cruise ship it helps me flush away the infection prior to the symptoms wrecking havoc on my system. It also cuts my need for antibiotics to zero.

I don't travel without it and it's like a shower inside my ENT daily.

I'd high highly recommend this for everyone including seniors with depressed immune systems.

You can use it as much as you need and there are no side effects and its cheap. Drug companies must hate it.

For me-no more allergy medication, no more dry cough,no more post nasal drip, no more plane issues- no more sick days. I use it regularly and take it on vacation wherever I go.

One caveat- the first week or so of using it you do feel stuffed up as if you went swimming and accidentally inhaled water. It passes.

here's the link and if you are skeptical read the reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Nasaline-Nasal-Irrigator/dp/B001JQGTAY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370477540&sr=8-1&keywords=nasaline+nasal+irrigator

[jtl513]

Wasn't there an outbreak of Legionnaires Disease at a hotel and the source of infection was air conditioning/heating vents?

Philadelphia, 1976, is where that URI got its name:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionellosis

 

"It is not transmitted from person to person. Instead, it is transmitted by inhalation of aerosolized water and/or soil contaminated with the bacteria. Sources where temperatures allow the bacteria to thrive include hot-water tanks, cooling towers and evaporative condensers of large air-conditioning systems, such as those commonly found in hotels and large office buildings."

Edited June 6, 2013 by jtl513

[liketraveling]

I got pneumonia after I got off the oeosterdamn two years ago. I was fine during the cruise but I did not but came down with it til two days after I got off the cruise . I know I got it on the cruise. The first day at sea when I was in line and the lady behind me stated she could hardly wait to get to puerto Vallarta so she could get antibiotics for her cough. By the end of the cruise the whole ship was hacking.

 

I have gotten coughs and colds with from other types of travel including air and bus tours, but never as bad as the trip on the Oeosterdamn.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[billie5]

Hi

On a cruise you relax you don't do what your normally do at home. So your body relaxes and that germ is ready to jump and make you sick.

 

For MOST people, and according to virtually all medical literature, relaxing boosts your immune system, so the above statement makes no sense.

 

On the other hand, I was one of those individuals who consistently seemed to get sick when I was relaxing. I posed Watson's aunt's conjecture to many a physician and never found one who would agree that relaxation could decrease the effectiveness of the immune system. Still I have to suspect that Auntie is correct -- but only for obviously rather rare individuals with weird immune systems. I, alas, am certainly one of those: an overactive immune system causing ulcerative colitis for many years (resolved by removing my colon) and now an apparently underactive immune system unable to protect me from malignant cells.

[arewethereyet]

I too have come home from cruises with URIs, however, ONLY when getting home also involved a really long flight(s) like from Asia. I never was sure where I got it, but have not had a problem with only on a cruise, even a long one.

 

In response to one comment, URIs can be bacterial in nature. Also, URIs don't have to be viral and blaming the air conditioning is NOT ridiculous. I realize this is a rather isolated example, but what about Legionnaires Disease? A respiratory condition and does Air Conditioning sound familiar? You bet.

The comment I responded to was the one where the poster said the temperature setting on the AC made a difference in catching a "cold". The temperature setting makes no difference. Of course the air handler system can recirculate all the little organisms that can make you sick. Airplanes are the best example of that. That wasn't what I was referring to. It was the temperature setting, which makes no difference in catching a "cold".

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

Just wondering if anyone has returned from a cruise and developed an upper respiratory infection several days later? We returned on 5/3 and my DH began with symptoms that seemed like a cold, led to lots of coughing and a diagnosis from a doctor of an upper respiratory infection. We did fly home, and there was a woman sitting next to him who was coughing, so maybe he caught it that way.

 

Anyone else have this?

 

It has happened several times, and not just from cruises. Also from other land based trips. I believe the culprit may have been the Flying Germ Pit (the airplane), in most cases. One time for sure I got one on a ship, but not HAL, it was RCI. I believe it can happen anywhere, really. But being in close quarters with others on a plane or a ship probably ups the chances of catching one.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

The plane ride is a problem for my wife ..

[sail7seas]

MANY (most ?) of us find air travel a problem these days.

[arewethereyet]

MANY (most ?) of us find air travel a problem these days.

 

Flying is on my list of things to avoid if possible. The older I get, the more things I choose to not do again, based on personal experience. OTOH, I seem to enjoy the things I will do more than ever.

[gigianne]

Just off the Prinsendam on Saturday - the chest infections/colds/pnuemonia continued on. Several of our CC friends contacted it and were on meds. Apparently several passengers were taken off the ship with pnuemonia. There was a lot of sneezing and very raspy voices on board - hopefully it clears up. I did notice while on the plane on Monday while on our way to Iceland several passengers had face masks on - perhaps they are the smart ones - or sick ones?

[innlady1]

Just off the Prinsendam on Saturday - the chest infections/colds/pnuemonia continued on. Several of our CC friends contacted it and were on meds. Apparently several passengers were taken off the ship with pnuemonia. There was a lot of sneezing and very raspy voices on board - hopefully it clears up. I did notice while on the plane on Monday while on our way to Iceland several passengers had face masks on - perhaps they are the smart ones - or sick ones?

 

Wonder if Jacqui ("kazu") is sick :confused: She hasn't posted on her "live" report since Saturday.

[igraf]

While it is true that one generally will not be infected by a virus or bacteria by an air conditoner per se (Legionnaire's disease is a notable exception), the overuse of air conditioning can be a factor in reducing the body's ability to ward off an infection. This is especially true while sleeping.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

The comment I responded to was the one where the poster said the temperature setting on the AC made a difference in catching a "cold". The temperature setting makes no difference. Of course the air handler system can recirculate all the little organisms that can make you sick. Airplanes are the best example of that. That wasn't what I was referring to. It was the temperature setting, which makes no difference in catching a "cold".