1st trip home was a disaster!

[Tiger926]

CarolA - I've had Strep many times as well - lots of sinus issues, Scarlet Fever, tonsils removed at 17, so I know the drill. I never went out in public when I was sick (nor do I now) - we stayed at our resort and rested, not only for the good of her health, but for the health of everyone else around her. Orlando is having a Strep/Rotavirus outbreak right now according to the hospital, and it is quite common as I can name 5 people who have caught Strep while vacationing in WDW. I do understand that people are concerned with the whole antibacterial thing, but all of the health care people, as well as my own doctors (family & pediatrician) say to keep being vigilant (we use Purell, antibacterial wipes) - especially in places like WDW, airports, zoos, etc... because the germs and bacteria are at an all-time high. It does upset me because we are very vigilant and altruistic in that we keep our baby home from Montessori if she even has a sniffle as we don't want her infecting anyone else - I must say that we are in the minority on that one though (our Montessori school is very appreciative of it though!)

I do so understand that going to a place the size of Disney World means greater risk for germs, but this past week was a nightmare, and from all of the people whom I have spoke with over the past week, it is actually a very common occurence in Orlando unfortunately for a multitude of reasons, the top one being that people just don't practice proper hygiene.

Tiger

 

[lenshanem]

Sorry about your baby being sick.

I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer laying in the stroller tray by the handle. We use it ALOT while at WDW. I've gotten pink eye several times while at WDW! YUCK!!! I seem prone to it, I have contacts and I guess I rub my eyes alot.

I'm sure it is a germ fest! I imagine many people still go into the parks sick cause they've planned their trips for so long...

 

[pbharris4]

How freightening for you and your child. My DD is 21 months and just got over that nasty, nasty rotavirus. I guess in WDW and everywhere else it's running rampid right now. I am sorry you all didn't have that great of a trip. It was nice of you to warn Housekeeping (a lot of people won't do that). Doesn't having asthma make you more prone to viruses as well? Or when you get them they are usually worse? We've been fortunate to never catch anything there and hope it stays that way. But I thank you for the warning, I will bring Lysol with me on this trip as well as a bigger bottle of hand sanitizer! Hope you are all doing better! Take care.

 

[jnrrt]

Wow, I never thought of bringing Lysol, but that would make me feel better about the room. And we definitely do the antibac gel thing on vacation. All those shared surfaces just gross me out. Honestly, we don't do it at home at all - we just wash our hands and try to be smart about it, but I don't want to help breed anymore superbugs. But on vacation, it's another matter - too many things that the kids aren't normally exposed to and being sick on vacation is the worst.

I'm so sorry that you had such an awful experience. I will say that we've taken our kids a bunch, and they've never been sick. Hopefully you just caught a really bad week there!

 

[Tiger926]

Thanks, hopefully we did just catch a bad week there - they did say that Rotovirus is at its peak right now (we don't really have this here at home very often, so it was a new one for us), wish we would have known that. We also Lysol and wipe down each and every hotel room before we enter it - phones, remotes, light switches, handles, knobs, etc... the doctor's all said this is a good idea while on vacation especially because of everything that we have talked about. In regards to asthma, my baby hasn't been fully diagnosed with yet as she hasn't had an attack as of yet - she constantly wheezes and has lots of Bronchitis, so our doc is assuming that this may be it, or she is super sensitive to chemicals and such like her Momma (I really only need my puffer if I'm near smoke (which I never am!) or other chemicals, or while doing sports, so staying in a smoking hotel room isn't a possibility for us at all!

Tiger

 

[crisi]

I'm a strep carrier.

Doesn't happen often (my own kids have had ONE case of strep, my husband hasn't had one in 10 years of marriage - he'd probably built an immunity before we started dating), but its feasible I'm passing it where ever I go. There is no "staying home when I'm sick" because I'm shedding the virus all the time - and I'm not sick.

The reason I say this is because it isn't a matter of "being careful" or "staying home when you are sick" for me. Nor for people like me - any of whom could be next to you in the airplane or the monorail car. Yes, I wash my hands and cover my mouth when I cough or sneeze. But that is only going to do so much.

 

[Divamomto3]

You had a scary week and a crappy vacation and I feel so sorry for you. There would be nothing worse or more scary for me to have to spend any second of my vacation in Disney at a clinic or a hospital, especially with one of my kids. I'm a nurse and I'd be scared to not have my own personal doctors and be at my own hospital if my kids were sick.

The only thing that worries and amazes me about this thread and other threads on this board is the level of germ paranoia I see. I totally agree with the OP...people need to wash their hands! That's the only way to prevent the spread of germs. Especially after coughing, sneezing, or going to the bathroom!! But I can't imagine living in fear of autograph pens, pens tied to desks, biometric scanners, etc. Honestly and truly...my most vigilant germphobe friends (especially my own dear sister) have the sickest kids in the world. Your body can handle a certain level of bacteria and viral exposure...you can't sterilize your environment, nor should you.

The above vent was in no way meant to undermine what the poor OP went through. For me, it would be a nightmare as well. ((hugs))

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

I get so angry when someone posts something along the lines of,"Trip tomorrow and DS has high fever!" Invariably, 90% of the responses say,"Just give her some Tylenol or Motrin and have a great time!" Excuse me? What about all the other people at WDW she's about ready to infect? It's sad how thoughtless some people can be. We all know that WDW trips are expensive and usually planned out for months ahead of time. But if you have a sick child, it's just common decency to stay in your resort for a day or to and see what's what.
I'm so sorry you had such a scary time!...especially being so far from home. We're big believers in the Purell-after-touching-anything plan...mainly when we're on trips or attending events where there are large amounts of people from many different places.
Glad to hear your baby is better!
Karla B.

not to mention what your child could catch with a weakend immune system. They could be fighting off one thing (hence the fever) and catching another germ on top of that. When DS had the ear infection on the last night of the cruise we were told by the docs to go to the room when we got to SSR and stay there until there was no fever and he was on antibiotics for at least 3 days. We paid alot for that vacation too but I sure would not have DS exposed to more stuff ontop of being sick just so we could leave the room. Too many people would just drug the kjid and put them in a stroller. It isn't good for the child who is sick on top of those who would get exposed.

 

[dvcmember]

The thing that no one seems to mention is the airplane. You can be as vigilant as you like but with airborne illnesses it is hard to prevent the spread on a plane. Both of my kids were sick when they were small after flying - it didn't have to be to Disney just any flight. Barb

 

[Dean]

First, I'm sorry for your ordeal and I'm glad your daughter is doing better. It is a risk anytime you go to where crowds are or people are in tight places, just the nature of the beast.

I wonder if she had strep at all as the illness is obviously not c/w strep throat. Did they test her and find her positive or just make the judgement?

While strep isn't usually carried by fomites, it can be for fresh secretions like door knobs and hand shakes. Even most experts can't agree on what a strep carrier is but even the ones that seem to be carriers aren't for dramatically long periods of time, 6 months is about the outside limit for most. And where do you draw the line between an as-symptomatic acute infection and a carrier is always a tricky issue that takes time and multiple positive tests. Omnicef for Strep is more than overkill unless there are other specific concerns you feel you need to cover with antibiotics. Regular Penicillin, Amoxicillin and cheap cephalosporins like Keflex actually cover as well or even better than things like Omnicef, ceftin, suprax, cefzil, vantin and the like though all are appropriate treatments for some situations.

 

[off to neverland]

Just wanted to mention something....

My pediatrician swears that kids tend to go in yearly cycles in which they are sick. One year, he'll see his patients over and over for one thing after another, and the following year not see them at all. He attributes this to the body's natural way of developing immunity. A kid will get sick with, say, strep throat, and while their body fights the strep, it becomes susceptable to other viruses and is easily infected. This will go on for a while until the body becomes immune, and the following year the kid will tend to be super immune and barely get sick.

I've watched my kids the last four years, and he seems to be right. The do go in yearly cycles, and we are in a "not sick" cycle this year.

I guess where I'm going with this is to urge you to not get down on going again.... your child's immunity might be much better when you go again.

Sorry to hear about the worry and stress!

 

[BCV23]

Dean, I believe I remember reading that you are a pediatrician.

What do you think of hand sanitizing products? A few years back, a teacher at my son's HS wanted all the kids in her special needs class to carry and use such a product. I had read a layman's article about such products encouraging "super germs" so I wasn't crazy about the idea. I asked our pediatrician and he told me he wouldn't worry about that but that such products just didn't do much except make people feel better. Washing hands was still the best defense.

To the OP, I'm glad your little one is doing better. My heart goes out to you all on what had to have been anything but a vacation!

 

[gopherit]

First of all, condolences to the OP and PD to the little one in hopes of a speedy recovery!!

We too have had our share of vacation illness... On a trip with 18 family members to Disney, over half succumbed to rotavirus and were totally incapacitated for xmas day! Then, a year later, DH and I went with my sister and whaddya know... the kids and my niece and me and dh all got it again at Disney. Then, the next year, we tried again, and darned if the kids and my DH and I didn't get it AGAIN. And it was always on Day 5 of our trip. Being a total science goober, I actually plotted the data... I had all sorts of hypotheses, as there were some bizarre coincidences... like, FLoridians who traveled with us did NOT get sick, but the rest of the crew did. At one point, I even suspected the water.

So for the next trip, I made it official -- No drinking ANY DISNEY WATER! I thought it had worked and on Day 5, with no sick kids, I privately patted myself on the back...at which point my 6 yr old son promptly pitched his cookies and had diarrhea well into the wee hours of dawn.

Hmm.... on the one hand, my Disney water theory didn't really hold, shall we dare say it, water!

On the other hand, his illness didn't last nearly as long -- very mild, by all standards. And NO ONE else got sick! What was with that? Luck?

I realized I had left out some important data... when do we get sick when we're NOT at Disney? Well, dd gets pneumonia every xmas like clockwork. Ds tends to get strep in Oct/Nov. DH (and a token kid or three) gets stomach flu around Feb-March. And we recently had a LOVELY visit at my in-laws wherein literally 73% of us (er, 8 out of 11) contracted rotavirus for THanksgiving!

Another morsel of data -- all of our Disney trips, with the exception of the last listed trip, were done in the Oct - April timeframe. And on the last listed trip -- wherein there was but 1 casualty -- we had traveled in August. I wasn't even completely convinced Ryan had contracted rotavirus on that trip, either -- quite likely it was something eaten of marginal quality combined with a scorching Florida sun and possible dehydration (that kid doesn't listen to his body AT ALL.)

And that was when I made a new edict: bring the bottled water if you wish for the taste, but to reduce odds of illness, just travel in the summer.

And we did. On our next trip, we went again during August. And can you believe it -- for the first time, with 12 people present (among them 7 kids aged 8 mos to 18 yrs), NO ONE got rotavirus or even so much as a sniffle of a cold! But the celebration was short lived, as I still ended up twice at Florida Centra Care.... Eldest DS found a way to contract a wicked wicked case of swimmer's ear (first time in his life, swam every day all summer, no problems, then goes to Disney and voila... Go figure.) Sometimes even the best laid plans can be foiled by a touch of bacteria and a place for it to grow!

I will say, however, my experience at FCC for his ear was VERY fast service -- didn't wait AT ALL on either trip (once in the later evening on a SUnday, another in the a.m. on a Tuesday.) But again -- perhaps that's because there are fewer ill people during that time of year. I know I always try to schedule my kids' physicals for the summertime -- it's so easy to get in and out of there! Winter influenza season, on the other hand -- ugh. I always wonder too, when I visit in the winter and the drs office has seen oodles of sick kids in and out, if my kids and I bring home more than we even went in with, like an extra special "parting gift" (and I'm not talking Rice-A-Roni here...) Yuckee.

In any case, kudos to the OP for her diligence to her child's health and of those around her, and sympathies for a less than stellar trip. You may want to try another resort next trip just to make it a "clean start", but don't give up on the W. Lodge just yet... give it a chance to be fully enjoyed under hopefully MUCH better circumstances!!

 

[rinkwide]

...I agree with the other posters who say WDW is just a "melting pot" of germies...

Just like every daycare center, preschool and kindergarten in North America.

 

[IsAreWasWereAm]

Everytime that we've come down with strep, it has been a time that we either used the drinking fountains (bubblers) or refilled our water bottles. The last time, we finally caught on and began asking for glasses of water at when we could (heck, it's free anyway).
I never thought about the finger scanners at the park entrances. I guess we're really fortunate that we stayed well the last time at WDW.
I hope you'll give VWL another chance to make your stay magical in the future. It really can be a wonderful place to stay.

 

[Tiger926]

Just as a few points of clarification:

1) DD was swabbed for Strep (positive), as someone who has been ill most of my life, I wouldn't have taken a guesstimate diagnosis without the swab, so antibiotics were absolutely necessary.

2) This is the first time that we have travelled to WDW at this time of year (end of April 2x- we were sick last year, May, July & August) - we are not going to go at this time of year for awhile as there are just too many outbreaks at this time of year.

3) I know that some people are concerned about the whole 'hygiene hypothesis' and 'superbugs' theories, but the fact remains that when visiting places with high crowds such as: theme parks, zoos, airports, you must be extremely vigilant with hygiene practices - all of the healthcare people we have dealt with over the past week (including our own) have told us this. Those people (and there seem to be a few on this board) who subscribe to the old theory of well, "it's good for kids to get really sick," or "just give the kids Tylenol with a high fever and go to the parks anyway" are not only harming their children, but my child as well, plain and simple. No one should have to go through what we went through this past week!

4) As an aside, I just heard on the radio this morning that 7 children from the Orlando area who visited a petting zoo now have life threatening kidney diseases, and, a daycare in my city was closed yesterday by the board of health as a mystery illness has left hundreds of children & adults sick with diarrhea & vomiting. Very interesting info based on our discussion here - I only hope all of these people are able to get well soon.

5) My DD was cleared last night (all tests negative!) to return to Montessori preschool (which by the way, is extremely vigilant, as is most of us parents, and the strong health of our students/teachers definitely shows!) Because my DD is an extremely strong & healthy baby, she has healed up nicely. We will be taking things easy this Easter weekend though (we don't believe in the whole Easter bunny/candy/gifts thing so it's not going to be a crazy weekend for us anyway) as we just got dumped with more snow last night, and she is sensitive to the cold air, so we will spend a little time with family, and lots of time cuddling and resting up at home!

Again, I thank you for all of your well wishes. This has been an interesting converstation. My DH and I talked last night, and we are going to return to
WDW in July & we are going to fly as being thousands of miles from home with a sick child & a 21 hour drive home is horrible. We will continue to be vigilant: only bottled water, Purell, antibac wipes, Lysol, no touching of characters faces, and absolutely no visits to Once Upon a Toy in DD - that place is a nightmare for germs! As well, if any of us get sick, we will stay in our resort just like we always do for the safety of ourselves, but most especially for the safety of those around us!

Thanks again, Tiger

 

[Alexander]

Just like every daycare center, preschool and kindergarten in North America.

Exactly! It's going to happen. It's unfortunate that it sometimes happens on vacations, over holidays, or when special things are planned. However, if you have kids, they're going to get sick!

We all know people aren't going to wash their hands, and sooner or later we will have to touch something they have. We can't live in a plastic bubble, and unless you are obsessive compulsive, we just need to deal with it the best way we can.

I am very glad your baby got better. I know it must have been a very scary experience, especially because she is so young, and your first child? However, she will get sick again, and you will deal with it just like you did this time. It may be on vacation or it may be at home. I think being on vacation added an extra amount of stress for you this time. You were away from your own home, doctors, hospitals, etc. Best wishes.

 

[Pa@okw95]

Getting sick on vacation can happen to anyone but it especially bad for a baby. My wife and I went on a 6 week vacation last year and ended up in an emergency room 3 times, once was very serious. The service ranges from bad to excellent at most hospitals which is common. Good luck the next time, don't forget to tell them of medical problem so you never get a smoking room.

 

[Tiger926]

Pa@okw95 - What do you mean when you say, "don't forget to tell them of medical problem so you never get a smoking room?" I had non-smoking/medical reasons on my ressie as I mentioned in my original post, but as the castmember stated, it's not a guarantee! I told them that we were very allergic to smoke and needed puffers, and it was put on our ressie, but that really doesn't matter since if they run out of non-smoking rooms, then we are out of luck I would assume. Am I missing something?

Tiger

 

[wtpclc]

Pa@okw95 - What do you mean when you say, "don't forget to tell them of medical problem so you never get a smoking room?" I had non-smoking/medical reasons on my ressie as I mentioned in my original post, but as the castmember stated, it's not a guarantee! I told them that we were very allergic to smoke and needed puffers, and it was put on our ressie, but that really doesn't matter since if they run out of non-smoking rooms, then we are out of luck I would assume. Am I missing something?

Tiger

You're not missing anything, but requests for medical reasons are supposed to get highest priority. NOt guaranteed, but highest priority. Glad you family is well again!