Norovirus vs. Coming home from cruise with bad cold

[tbmrt]

We've cruised quite often and thankfully never experienced Norovirus or Code Red on any of our cruises. We do the handwashing and sanitizer thing religiously onboard.

 

That being said it seems that on the first day home from most of our cruises I start feeling ill with much coughing. It takes a good week to get rid of this. I rarely get a cold other than after our cruises.

 

We live in FL so don't fly to the ports here so I can't blame the plane.

 

Does anyone else experience this? I'm attributing this to contact with so many passengers daily.

 

Barbara

[rubydoobydoo]

I very rarely get a cold but on my last cruise with P & O both my husband and I had really bad sore throats that led to a full blown cold by the end of the second week of the cruise. I blamed that on the air con, it took weeks for the cough to go

[arazoza]

Between the close contact with almost 5,000 people on board and visiting multiple countries within a weeks time I am sure that we are all bound to catch something on the trip. All we can do is take proper precautions such as healthy hand hygiene.

[kdooley]

I think it night be allergies. I get that when I visit Florida in the winter. Coming from where everything is dormant to where things are still in bloom affects me. I started taking allergy meds a few days before my trips now.

 

 

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[AviGirl]

The only time I get a cold is when I'm on a cruise ship, it's frustrating because I'm very cautious of what I touch, I wash my hands constantly and never touch my face with my hands unless I know they are clean, yet, I still get sick.

[Big Chief]

Came home from an 11 day cruise on Equinox in February with a doozy of cough and cold.

[ECCruise]

The only time I get a cold is when I'm on a cruise ship, it's frustrating because I'm very cautious of what I touch, I wash my hands constantly and never touch my face with my hands unless I know they are clean, yet, I still get sick.

 

Same here. Much of it goes to hygiene issues. People who do (or do not) use the sanitizers in the buffet, put their fingers in their mouth and then use the tongs immediately before you (so it doesn't matter if your hands were clean). People who sneeze and wheeze and sweat all over the machines in the gym and then don't clean the machine after use. Elevator buttons, hand rails, door knobs, etc. etc. Some contact is just unavoidable.

[kevinyork]

I got a cough about half way into our 14 day Eclipse cruise last year. It lasted about a month after getting home. Just a cough, nothing else.

 

If you google cruise cough then the general view seems to be the air con dries out your nasal passages which leaves you more likely to pick up a bug. People recommend sterile nasal spray during the cruise to keep your nasal passages moist.

 

 

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[HokiePoq]

We've cruised quite often and thankfully never experienced Norovirus or Code Red on any of our cruises. We do the handwashing and sanitizer thing religiously onboard.

 

That being said it seems that on the first day home from most of our cruises I start feeling ill with much coughing. It takes a good week to get rid of this. I rarely get a cold other than after our cruises.

 

We live in FL so don't fly to the ports here so I can't blame the plane.

 

Does anyone else experience this? I'm attributing this to contact with so many passengers daily.

 

Barbara

 

Me, too. Seems like our sanitary precautions help with avoiding Noro, but not with the airborne illnesses. We were on the Westerdam in early December and I caught an awful bug of some kind on the last night. We had tickets to Bocelli in Tampa the night we disembarked and I was too sick to go. Just laid in bed in the hotel. DH got it from me after we got home to Virginia and we had to postpone our family Christmas celebration.

[sassy12]

I started coughing the second day of a TA in Nov. Finally got over it in Jan. Had three weeks of excellent health. Got off the Enchantment on Feb. 14 and was just starting to cough a little. By 4:00 p.m. that afternoon I was really sick. Cough medicine wasn't cutting it. Went to Urgent Care on Sat. a.m. and was diagnosed with URI. Stayed in hotel room 3 days. Finally got feeling a little better so we made the two day drive home. Went to my dr. and I had pneumonia. I am finally, just this week, starting to feel human again.

 

I do take precautions but I think on our TP in September I'll ask to have the air filters changed as soon as we get to the cabin as suggested on another board. Sure don't want to be sick like that again.

[tbmrt]

I started coughing the second day of a TA in Nov. Finally got over it in Jan. Had three weeks of excellent health. Got off the Enchantment on Feb. 14 and was just starting to cough a little. By 4:00 p.m. that afternoon I was really sick. Cough medicine wasn't cutting it. Went to Urgent Care on Sat. a.m. and was diagnosed with URI. Stayed in hotel room 3 days. Finally got feeling a little better so we made the two day drive home. Went to my dr. and I had pneumonia. I am finally, just this week, starting to feel human again.

 

I do take precautions but I think on our TP in September I'll ask to have the air filters changed as soon as we get to the cabin as suggested on another board. Sure don't want to be sick like that again.

 

Never heard of this before, but I thing I might try it....I really was sick after last cruise and missed Christmas holidays. When we were in the theater ready to disembark, numerous people were coughing alot.

[Karynanne]

We've always noticed quite a lot of coughing on a given cruise. The confined, contained areas spread viruses, and the drier air seem to contribute to this.

 

We've also had our fair share of colds and bronchitis while cruising also. There really isn't anything than can be done, except to stay home and isolate yourself all winter. Not my choice of action...

[TowandaUK]

Don't really want to come home with a cold - bit I'd rather have a cold than Noro!!

 

 

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[Hockeylovinmom]

You folks are really scaring me! Stay healthy, my friends!

[M&Dcruisers]

Last year the day after returning home, I got the Norovirus. I was very sick for three days. This year, my husband got a bad cold the day after returning from two weeks on a South American cruise. We are very careful with hand sanitizer and hand washing. I even wash down the airplane table and armwrest with anti-bacterial wipes.

[dioxide45]

Not that I want a cold at all, but it would be better to get it after getting off the cruise than when just getting on.

[ClaudiaB]

I've gotten bronchitis on the ship twice - both times about 2 days before the end of a 14 day cruise. I'm not sure I'd blame the air conditioner -- I live in air conditioning from end of February to the beginning of December every year here in south Louisiana and it doesn't bother me here. I blame it on close quarters on the ship, the airplane, and people's lack of hygiene. We've all seen those people leave the bathroom without washing, skip the hand sanitizer, etc.

Whatever the cause, however, I go on each cruise with a spare antibiotic and a bottle of my Rx codeine cough syrup and cough drops, etc. just in case.

[awhfy]

Ayr gel really helps with dry nasal passages. DH always gets sick from the plane coming home. This year he shared with me (he ended up with bronchitis & I had walking pneumonia). Some things you just shouldn't share...

 

 

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[Shining Clem]

Another cold catcher here. This fall I'm going to try to get some preventative meds out of my doc, before leaving for Europe & the trans-Atlantic back.

 

Not only do I get hit hard with a cold/cough, but I end up coughing and blowing for 4-8 hrs all the way home on the airplane, rightfully earning dirty looks from the other pax. And like others posting here, it's a tough cold to get rid of, lasting for 3 weeks afterward. Ever since I had a viral pneumonia that I nearly died from, and was in the hospital for 8 days, I seem to get colds which are deeper. DH has gotten one once too.

 

Will look into nasal sprays.

 

What's this about getting a room attendant to change the air filter in cabin? Is this request a likely one to be granted (with a bit of an extra monetary reward, of course)?

[bluewhite]

Another cold catcher here. This fall I'm going to try to get some preventative meds out of my doc, before leaving for Europe & the trans-Atlantic back.

 

Not only do I get hit hard with a cold/cough, but I end up coughing and blowing for 4-8 hrs all the way home on the airplane, rightfully earning dirty looks from the other pax. And like others posting here, it's a tough cold to get rid of, lasting for 3 weeks afterward. Ever since I had a viral pneumonia that I nearly died from, and was in the hospital for 8 days, I seem to get colds which are deeper. DH has gotten one once too.

 

Will look into nasal sprays.

 

What's this about getting a room attendant to change the air filter in cabin? Is this request a likely one to be granted (with a bit of an extra monetary reward, of course)?

 

I am also interested in the air filter option. What a great idea. Getting colds on a cruise is not fun.

[sassy12]

I'm not sure if I read it on CC or the RCL board but there were several people who said that they always ask to have it done due to health concerns. They said that the cabin steward always saw that it was done. Not sure if he did it or maintenance.

 

Rest assured that when we embark on our B2B TP in September I will have an arsenal of meds with me especially since my doctor said I will be more prone to picking up viruses, etc. since I had pneumonia. Will also be wearing masks in some of the Asian ports.

[Lastdance]

I guess that my DH and I are very fortunate to get antibiotics from our doctor before we leave for a cruise. I am the only one who has ever had to use my antibiotics...we did a small group excursion to Lake Bled in Slovenia last May. The weather was unusually cold, wet and it even snowed. To make matters worse, I was in the very back of a van that had very little heat, while my DH was in the warm front seat. That evening I started feeling awful; didn't know if it was from the ship or the excursion, but decided to take a Z-Pac because Montenegro was a private tour in two days. Well, it worked and I never got really sick, just tired and a slight headache. I rarely take antibiotics, so I made sure to add some extra probiotic too! Worked like a charm! Probiotics are a must for staying healthy and well while traveling...my opinion!:)

Edited April 6, 2014 by Lastdance

[poolwife]

Wow! So glad to read this thread.

 

I was just on the Silhouette March 2 to 9 and on March 5 I came down with the cough/cold/upper respiratory thing. I was so wishing we were flying home to California after the cruise on Sunday, March 9 but we were booked 3 nights in Ft. Lauderdale after the cruise. I was flat miserable. I was non-stop coughing at night particularly. I had brought decongestant with me and that sort of helped. I bought cough medicine when we got back to Ft. Lauderdale but that didn't help at all. There were nights I only slept for 45 minutes.

Got home and went to the doctor and I had 2 ear infections and bronchitis. First tried the Z-pack and it did nothing. Had 2 days of fever while on it. Then they switched me to Augmentin which finally started to help, but the cough was still real bad with the strongest codeine cough medicine not working. The doctor then said for me to take 5 days of prednisone. I did it and that finally arrested my bronchial tubes to calm down. Apparently, they use that steroid to help calm down the inflammation in the bronchial tubes.

 

Well, like some of you, I will definitely hit my doctor up for some meds before my next cruise as it definitely put a damper on my trip.

 

I will try and remember that business about changing the air filter. sounds like a great idea.

 

We were meticulous about using the hand sanitizer and I wiped down things in my room so who knows where I got it but it is miserable to be on a cruise and be sick.

[Buckeroo00]

Take your own pack of plastic glasses avoid the glasses in the bathroom.Had reason to go back to the cabin after they were already getting the cabin ready for the next guests. Caught the steward wiping the glasses in the bathroom with a rag ------makes you wonder what is waiting for you when you board.

 

 

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[k9x8]

My doctor told me that we build immunity to our local pathogens. When we travel or come in contact with people from away, we are exposed to variations of those pathogens, to which we haven't built any immunity.

 

Last year, we armed ourselves with Zicam. Sure enough, a few days into the trip, there came that tell-tale scratchy feeling, and the Zicam really helped.

 

Of course, we do probiotics, Vitamin C, and a multi-ingredient immune booster.