How to keep Norovirus away

[Hlitner]

11) Stay home, never have friends in to visit, don't go out anywhere, wear a hazmat suit at all times.

 

Like! My goodness, enough of the paranoid hysteria. Noro is a very common virus and at least 98% of all cases occur on land (not on cruises). Just washing your hands with soap and water, and avoiding touching your face with your hands, is going to give you the maximum level of protection. When I worked in an Emergency Room this was how we avoided catching most bugs (and transmitting them to the patients).

 

If everyone just did the hand washing and avoided touching their face (unless you hand wash first) then Noro outbreaks would be far fewer. Wiping down surfaces is a bit of hysteria since you cannot possibly wipe down everything on a ship....and as soon as a wiped down surface is touched by anyone else (including your cabin steward) all the good of wiping and been undone.

 

Hank

[phish tales]

All the better.

Those of us who go on a cruise to have fun don't want to be surrounded by a bunch of Nervous Nellies. :p

very true and a good answer...

IMHO, if this noro BS frightens you, stay home and lock yourself in your bedroom with a very large box of sani-wipes.

Edited February 25, 2014 by phish tales

[Kris74]

Oh please dont use antibiotics. Its because of them being overused that there are allready at this moment a lot of bacteria that dont respond to antibiotics at all! Think of india for example, they have now in there watersystem allready multiresistant bacteria. And its spreading over the world. And all because of useing antibiotics when not necessary.

 

Mostl likely antiobiotics make noro worse as they destroy normal bacterial flora from the gut leaving there more room for noro.

[ducklite]

Antibiotic resistance is only partially due to those people who take them when not needed. The biggest culprit is the meat you eat and milk you drink. You can never take an antibiotic in your lifetime and still have a resistance to them due to the way meat and dairy are produced in this country with antibiotics and growth hormones being given as a matter of course rather than due to an actual illness. There 's a reason our kids enter puberty at very young ages, boys grow breasts, and antibiotic resistance is on the rise. Look to the basics--the food chain for your answers.

[nolesrule]

Growth hormone and antibiotics, while both possibly coming from the same food source, are two separate issues. Growth hormone has no bearing on the effectiveness of antibiotics and thus has nothing to do with the subject at hand.

[ducklite]

Growth hormone and antibiotics, while both possibly coming from the same food source, are two separate issues. Growth hormone has no bearing on the effectiveness of antibiotics and thus has nothing to do with the subject at hand.

 

 

I didn't say that the hormones had any bearing on antibiotics. They might be separate issues, but are completely intertwined when it comes to food.

[Sherlock43031]

so much bad information and wasted effort..

 

simply wash your hands correctly and often

[Laurie S.]

Elbow on stairway railings? That pretty much defeats the purpose of using a railing, so why touch it at all?

 

When the ship is a'rockin' and a'rollin' holding your arm against the stair railing will help keep you from taking a tumble. Obviously, it's not just my "elbow," but my elbow and on down my forearm braced against the stair railing. Works like a charm and I've yet to get that part of my arm on my face.

Edited February 25, 2014 by Laurie S.

[mom says]

With lots of media coverage on Norovirus and cruises bombarding us, I have come across many folks who are too scared to cruise because of this illness ruining their vacations. Older and immunocompromised people are the ones who are especially concerned, and rightly so.Pardon me for saying so, but you know waaay too many Nervous Nellies. Perhaps you should have spent a little more time just reassuring them with accurate info, instead.

 

So, how do you protect yourself from this horrible illness as best as you can?

 

Here are a few of my tips, which, hopefully will help you, too:

 

!) Carry your own medical kit - Immodim, electrolyte replacements, Florastor, and if necessary, get your doctor to ensure you have a relevant antibiotic with you. Much better to be prepared than having to wait for the ship doctor and pay out even more. None of these will prevent Norovirus, nor any other gastrointestinal misadventure. And while some may treat some of the symptoms, antibiotics should never be given on a "just in case" basis.

 

2) Keep your hands scrupulously clean at all times. I carry my own bottle of hand sanitizer, and if I touch anything public ( a hand railing, dish up spoon in the buffet, shake hands etc), I clean my hands immediately afterwards. How about just using good old soap and water and proper hand washing technique. Save that minimally helpful sanitizer for those times when you cannot find a sink and soap. Very few sanitizers will kill Norovirus.

3) Keep your hands away from your mouth, nose and eyes at all times. Unless you've washed your hands with soap and water first, right?

 

4) Carry your own disinfectant ( I like the P73 Oregano spray) and a clean cloth, and wipe down your door knobs, railings your toilet seat, your faucets and the telephone. This will kill off any germs left behind by earlier passengers and even your stateroom attendants. Most disinfectants will not kill all of the viruses and bacteria. Most people don't know how to properly apply said disinfectants. Surfaces will most likely be contaminated again as soon as someone touches that surface. Someone else in your party. Room steward. Mini bar attendant. And just how often do you "catch" something from a toilet seat if you wash your hands after you "go"? There is no way that you can hope to effectively disinfect your world. Stop wasting your time. You're doing more harm than good.

 

5) Watch people in the buffet area. I have seen folk dishing up with their hands, or picking at food items and putting them back. If you see this, please let an attendant know immediately, so that the food can be removed and replaced. Ditto if you see anyone coughing or sneezing into/near a food item. I have better things to do in a buffet line than monitoring the actions and health status of all of the other guests in the room. That is the job of the buffet staff.

 

6) If you work out on gym equipment, wipe it down first, and also do so when you have finished your workout. Is this not common practice in any public gym, whether on a ship or off?

 

7) Be aware of food which could be contaminated and either avoid it or wash it yourself. This pertains to fruit, vegetables and salads, mainly. Ensure your meat, chicken, fish is cooked through properly. While this might be useful advice at a 3rd world country food stand, I hardly think that it applies to onboard a ship. Their standards of food handling and food safety are probably higher than yours are at home.

 

8) Be aware of what you eat on shore. Standards in some countries may not be what you are used to, or your system many not be able to tolerate lesser cleanliness. Especially watch out for food items that lie open in markets or food from mobile street units.

 

9) Be aware of ice in drinks and poured soft drinks. Always better and safer to get something in an unopened bottle or can. Again, applicable only onshore in those countries known to have contaminated water supplies. While I would not use ice cubes in a Mexican cafe, I have no qualms about using the ice cubes on a ship that are produced from water derived from a reverse osmosis system. I have never worried about a bartender aboard a ship contaminating my soft drinks.

 

 

10) If you do pick up a gastric bug, treat it immediately. Stop eating solid food for a day or two. Drink lots of fluids and introduce solids slowly and carefully. Rest up and let the authorities know you are ill. Keep washing your hands and keep any surfaces you touch disinfected. If you pick up a gastric bug while on a cruise, contact the medical office immediately. Follow their advice. Remain quarantined as long as you are ordered to so. Don't try to self medicate. Allow the ship staff to properly clean and disinfect what is necessary.

 

 

Safe and healthy cruising to us all!

 

Sorry, but I just couldn't help myself. So much nonsense.

[Ethel5]

Sorry, but I just couldn't help myself. So much nonsense.

 

Good post. :)

[YubaSutter]

With lots of media coverage on Norovirus and cruises bombarding us, I have come across many folks who are too scared to cruise because of this illness ruining their vacations. Older and immunocompromised people are the ones who are especially concerned, and rightly so.

 

So, how do you protect yourself from this horrible illness as best as you can?

 

Here are a few of my tips, which, hopefully will help you, too:

 

!) Carry your own medical kit - Immodim, electrolyte replacements, Florastor, and if necessary, get your doctor to ensure you have a relevant antibiotic with you. Much better to be prepared than having to wait for the ship doctor and pay out even more.

 

2) Keep your hands scrupulously clean at all times. I carry my own bottle of hand sanitizer, and if I touch anything public ( a hand railing, dish up spoon in the buffet, shake hands etc), I clean my hands immediately afterwards. a

3) Keep your hands away from your mouth, nose and eyes at all times.

 

4) Carry your own disinfectant ( I like the P73 Oregano spray) and a clean cloth, and wipe down your door knobs, railings your toilet seat, your faucets and the telephone. This will kill off any germs left behind by earlier passengers and even your stateroom attendants.

 

5) Watch people in the buffet area. I have seen folk dishing up with their hands, or picking at food items and putting them back. If you see this, please let an attendant know immediately, so that the food can be removed and replaced. Ditto if you see anyone coughing or sneezing into/near a food item.

 

6) If you work out on gym equipment, wipe it down first, and also do so when you have finished your workout.

 

7) Be aware of food which could be contaminated and either avoid it or wash it yourself. This pertains to fruit, vegetables and salads, mainly. Ensure your meat, chicken, fish is cooked through properly.

 

8) Be aware of what you eat on shore. Standards in some countries may not be what you are used to, or your system many not be able to tolerate lesser cleanliness. Especially watch out for food items that lie open in markets or food from mobile street units.

 

9) Be aware of ice in drinks and poured soft drinks. Always better and safer to get something in an unopened bottle or can.

 

 

10) If you do pick up a gastric bug, treat it immediately. Stop eating solid food for a day or two. Drink lots of fluids and introduce solids slowly and carefully. Rest up and let the authorities know you are ill. Keep washing your hands and keep any surfaces you touch disinfected.

 

 

Safe and healthy cruising to us all!

 

Hand sanitizer won't keep nori away.

[jaybird from SC]

According to reliable information and common sense, some of the worse places germs are located in a restroom...These are some of the things you touch immediately after using the toilet. You should be very conscious of these things especially if there is noro on board.

 

Germs on:

Not so much the toilet seat but the handle if you have to manually flush.

The toilet stall door slide lock/handle.

The faucet handle. (Remember to wash your hands 20 seconds)

The soap dispenser handle.

The exit door handle. (Use your paper towel to open the door as you leave)

 

Why? Because after you use the toilet, those are the things you touch before washing your hands. Sad to say a lot of people don't follow these simple steps. Hygiene 101

[kgraham56]

Accurate Information is the #1 preventative against ignorance.

 

From the Wikipedia article on the Norovirus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norovirus):

 

Norovirus is a genus of genetically diverse single-stranded RNA, non-enveloped viruses in the Caliciviridae family. The known viruses in the genus are all considered to be the variant strains of a single species called Norwalk virus. The viruses are transmitted by fecally contaminated food or water; by person-to-person contact; and via aerosolization of the virus and subsequent contamination of surfaces. Noroviruses are the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis in humans, and affect people of all ages.

 

Norovirus infection is characterized by nausea, forceful vomiting, watery diarrhea, and abdominal pain, and in some cases, loss of taste. General lethargy, weakness, muscle aches, headache, and low-grade fever may occur. The disease is usually self-limiting, and severe illness is rare. Although having norovirus can be unpleasant, it's not usually dangerous and most people make a full recovery within a couple of days. The virus affects around 267 million people and causes over 200,000 deaths each year; these deaths are usually in less developed countries and in the very young, elderly and immuno-suppressed.

 

Norovirus is rapidly inactivated by either sufficient heating or by chlorine-based disinfectants, but the virus is less susceptible to alcohols and detergents, as it does not have a lipid envelope.

 

So much for hand sanitizers that are generally alcohol based.

 

Hand washing with soap and water is an effective method for reducing the transmission of norovirus pathogens. Alcohol rubs (≥62% ethanol) may be used as an adjunct, but are less effective than hand-washing, as norovirus lacks a lipid viral envelope. Surfaces where norovirus particles may be present can be sanitised with a solution of 1.5% to 7.5% of household bleach in water, or other disinfectants effective against norovirus.

 

I have been on a couple of ships that have had Norovirus outbreaks. It was not pleasant for the people involved, but most of them came down with it within a few days of boarding the ship. This means that they came on board with it. The ship's crew acted promptly and quarantined the individuals and only a few other people got sick.

 

The normal incubation period is 3-5 days, so unless you are on a long cruise, brought it onboard yourself or are unlucky enough to get infected by someone who was sick when boarding, the window of opportunity for coming down sick is very small.

 

On the other hand, I always use the commercial hand sanitizer that they have for that purpose by every dining room. I prefer not to take chances, so I also wash my hands regularly and consume quantities of alcohol while heating myself to extreme temperatures preferably in a sun baked hot tub or sandy beach. ;)

 

ken

[CaroleSS]

I .... consume quantities of alcohol while heating myself to extreme temperatures preferably in a sun baked hot tub or sandy beach. ;)

 

ken

 

Ken.....you are one of my kind of peeps!!! :eek:

[SPacificbound]

Oh please dont use antibiotics. Its because of them being overused that there are allready at this moment a lot of bacteria that dont respond to antibiotics at all! Think of india for example, they have now in there watersystem allready multiresistant bacteria. And its spreading over the world. And all because of useing antibiotics when not necessary.

 

Mostl likely antiobiotics make noro worse as they destroy normal bacterial flora from the gut leaving there more room for noro.

 

Have you actually been to India? :rolleyes:

[mommasharn]

I just bought Lysol Professional III. It kills Norovirus. (Got mine at Staples, but you can get it elsewhere). Taking it with me on my April cruise. I had norovirus once, and I never want to be that sick ever again. But I won't stop cruising! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[rgmacm]

- going all the way back to the original post:

I bring antibiotics, but NOT for Noro. As many have said it's a virus and simply must run its course if you get it.

Imodium? The body is trying to void itself of the virus...you don't want to stop that process. You need to stay hydrated but let the body rid itself of toxins/germs or Noro as it was created to do....

Viruses live at normal body temps. Running a temperature is HOW the body fights things off. Don't immediately try to bring down that temp. As long as the temp doesn't go to dangerous levels, LET IT BE....let the body do what it wants to do. I personally like to take hot showers when I'm sick...not only is it comforting, but it also raises the body temp...again, creating a inhospitable environment for germs.

 

Avoiding Noro: Best advice is to wash hands frequently (hand sanitizers aren't that effective for viruses...though they might protect you against other things you might pick up on board)

Don't touch your face eyes, mouth, etc....

Do what you can to avoid touching more than you need to on board....

About the buffet line? I totally AGREE with the OP about watching other passengers and 'tattling' on them. hahahaha!! :) :) I've seen some AWFUL behavior at buffet lines...enough to make you never want to eat in another one again!!! ugh!! I do. haha but I agree with the idea of reporting 'unsanitary behavior' to staff.

 

NOW HERES MY SECRET: :) The other thing we do to stay healthy is to build up our immune system before we go. I have a regiment that I follow to do this, but won't share it here as I'm no 'doctor' and don't want to present myself as one. However, I will say that Vitamin C is a cornerstone of it. :) I've made a point to become personally knowledgeable about building an immune system that can fight viruses/illnesses and our regiment has worked well for us over the years.

Bottom Line: Build up your body's ability to fight the viruses et al....then use good hygiene and touch only what you MUST on board to help the body along....

It works, Folks! :) :)

Edited February 27, 2014 by rgmacm