Anyone else trying hard to keep the family "germ-free" before Disney?

[pjlla]

My DS had a classmate vomit EVERYWHERE in the class last Thursday. According to a good friend who was volunteering in the class that day, it just kept coming up. And when she got to the nurse's office, it was coming from both ends (not to be too graphic!). I am horrified that my DS will end up with whatever that was before we leave on Friday. Or for that matter ANY of us will catch anything else going around. We had a very sick Fall in our family (considering how healthy we usually all are). DD had bronchitis and several "colds", DS had walking pneumonia and several undiagnosed ailments (colds?), DH had pneumonia TWICE, and I finished the lot with bronchitis and a sinus infection at Thanksgiving. But KNOCK ON WOOD, that was the last of the illnesses for us. If we can just stay healthy another ten days, I will be ecstatic!!

Anyhow, I've been pushing the hand-washing and have been sending the kids to school with anti-bacterial wipes in their pockets and backpacks. I've also been washing my hands more than usual and wiping down the "high contact" surfaces at home with bleach about every other day. So far it is paying off! Any other suggestions? If we can just avoid the dreaded "plane germs" now!!..........................P

 

[Gluman11]

So funny that you should bring that up..........Not funny, ha-ha.....but funny, Ironic........



My mom and DS (14 mos.)are both sick right now..........we don't check in for another week and both "Should Be" fine by then........but DS is on his anti biotic and will probably be just finishing up when we get there...........

I told DW........"No, Gymboree for the little guy, until we get back and no visiting the cousins (who are always coming down with something), until we get back"........

I thought I was the only "neurotic" person about trying to keep DS germ free over the next several days............Glad I'm not the only one..............

Keep 'em washing their hands...........Mom, who works for DS's pediatrician says that is the single most bestest thing you can do to help prevent colds, etc...............Good luck!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MikeWazowski]

GOOD GRAVY LADY, LOL

As gross as your story was I totally understand your concerns b/c I ended up getting a nasty cold that turned in to a mild ear infection on my last Xmas trip.

Washing your hands is probably the most important things when being in the parks. I also try not to touch to much stuff, like the railings in the lines. The same railings that people sit on, rub there hands on, and the kids who put their mouth on (which is when you here a mother yell out, "GET YOUR MOUTH OFF OF THAT").

I can imagine the hand to face contact that you do in a day, especially in a place that has people from all over the world touching things can generate alot of germs. Not that that means anything about people traveling from other countries are dirtier then others. But, there is actually anything you can get in Orlando b/c everyone brings there sicknesses with them.

Here some stuff I bring "just in-case"

Nyquil
Dayquil
Tums
Tylenol
NoDoz
Claritin
Contac

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I've been wiping our doorknobs with Lysol wipes for the last couple of months. I just don't want the nasty flu this winter. I will step up the germ watch a week or so before my trip and hope for the best. The worst place is the airplane and other than washing hands a lot there isn't anything I can do about that.

T&B

 

[jpd3]

My DW the microbiologist always swaps out our toothbrushes the minute anyone in the family starts showing the first symptoms of a cold to prevent the spread.

You may want to change them out in a preemptive strike to help prevent illness before your trip to the world.

 

[SnackyStacky]

You also need to take care of yourselves. Taking care of the environment is good, but help yourselves. Take a mutli-vitamin everyday, and supplement the multi-vitamin with extra Vitamin C. If you give the kids the Flintstones vitamins, they're chewable, so they're easier for the kids to take. They also have chewable Vitamin C. Your body will just flush itself of any Vitamin C you don't need.

Echinacea is a natural herb that boosts the immune system and better helps it to fight bacteria. You can buy it anywhere they sell vitamins.

 

[pjlla]

Thanks for all the great ideas! I will push the vitamins for the last few days before we go and tell everyone to hold their breath on the planes and not touch anything (ha, ha!). I'm wishing good health for you all!....................P

 

[Grumpy92]

I start daily doses of echinacea about 1-2 weeks before I travel and wash my hands more frequently. So I definitely understand.

 

[CamColt]

Im not usually a germ-phobic, but before our Christmas trip I was. We washed our hands quite a bit that week or so.

We went bowling a week before the trip and I was cringing thinking of what was on the balls. Then in church I was scoping out all the people around us(thinking of shaking hands for peace). Wouldnt you know a family with 3 boys sat in front of us. One was sucking on his hand for a while and sneezing into them and one other was wiping his nose with his hand. At peace time I was seriusly thinking of grabbing the kids hands to not let them shake with them.
In the end we were ok. DH started getting a cold in the beginning of the trip but he fought it off. Both kids had coughs, but not too bad. Colt had a fever for like an hour but the medicine knocked it right out of him. Cam got sick toward the end of the trip, but it didnt fully hit and make him miserable until we got home.

 

[Kevs mom]

I'm glad I'm not the only one! It is so not like me to worry about "germs" but I have been obssessing about it the last month, I was so happy when the kids were out on Christmas break so they wouldn't have to be in school with all the stuff going around. They all 3 had their flu shots and I have had them on Flinstones vitamins with extra C for the last month, I about cried when my DS, 6, teacher told me the other day that she thought he might be coming down with something because he wasn't himself but luckily she was wrong! We are so close now, I have my fingers crossed no one gets anything in the next week!

 

[Shellh]

This is so funny - not funny like I am laughing at you but funny that you should send it.
My husband and I just had a discussion a couple of days ago about our paranoia before going on any vacations. He works in the public health field and so you can imagine what horrors he loves to share with his family. So I am always careful about handwashing, wipes for everything, etc. but around trip time, I step it up into high gear. My sister laughs at me all the time. But, knock on wood, we have never been sick on a vacation, and I don't mean to brag but it has alot to do with my diligence. Hey, who wants to ruin a holiday because they failed to make an extra wipe on that grungy looking door handle - who knows who last touched it!!
Also, we travel to WDW in the fall or winter - prime time for eveyone to get sick. So being careful pays off - keep up the good work!

Shell

 

[MsLefty]

This is only my second time posting, but I had to speak up... I too have been battling germs. My number three weapon (after handwashing and sending those antibacterial wipes in the kids lunches) is a product called Airborne. I get mine at Drugstore.com, but it can be found in many stores. It's like an alka-seltzer that you can put in water or oj. This stuff WORKS!! You take at the first sign of a cold or before entering crowded, potentially germ-infested environments, like an airplane or Disney World! They have a website www.airbornehealth.com. Good luck!

 

[tink44]

I inherited my germaphobia. Our house was so clean you could eat off the floor - although we wouldn't even sit on the floor, much less eat from it. I was glad my DD was easy to toliet train until I realized that meant taking her into public restrooms.
(Don't like to eat McDonald's but their restrooms are pretty clean and don't cause me to go into a panic attack.)

I carry 2 antibacterials- one liquid, like Purell and individual towelettes. So depending on the situation I use either or both. The other day at the movies someone behind and above me (stadium seating) had an ugly cough. It could have been asthma but just in case I took out a towelette and breathed through it during and a little while after each coughing fit. For other's comfort I try to hide my wiping and dousing. When I have lunch meetings, I shake everyone's hand then go to wash mine. If someone is late I take a bite of food and wave with a utensil in my hand. Mind you I haven't gone completely crazy yet. I don't mind shaking hands if I'm not eating.

I do not touch public restroom doors with my bare hands. My DD knows the routine: wash, dry, get a paper towel to open the door, one of us holds the door while the other throws the towel away. Sometimes when alone I have to use the Rose Mary Woods method (remember Nixon's secretary who erased the tapes ? ) - a big stretch with my foot in the doorway- while I tried to reach the trash can. We press elevators buttons with our knuckles just in case we touch our eyes or mouth. (I was rewarded with the knowledge that I was totally justified the other day when I saw the office cleaning woman go from cleaning the restrooms to the elevator with the same gloves on and press the buttons). Also we drink OJ with extra C.

Are we healthy? You bet! DD will pick up a cold now and then when she forgets her training (or I run out of wipes to include with her lunch). But we never have cross contamination in our household. And when DD was in second grade and had a germaphobe for a teacher, she went the entire school year without a sniffle (lots of hand washing, no sharing food, etc.) Do we have the worlds driest skin? You bet!

Of course WDW is a germophobe's nightmare. So many people, so many surfaces. But on my first trip when I saw they had open doors and automatic flushers and water in the park bathrooms I was so relieved. That way I only had to concern my self with sanitizing after the rides (and if you rode after me, I probably sanitized the bar for you)

Good Luck pjlla- you can do it!
http://www.dorsai.org/~walts/rwoods.html (Rose Mary Woods - for the youngsters)

 

[jd_mouse]

I, too, am a HUGE germaphobe. Particularly since we do not have prescription coverage and if all 3 kids get sick...!!!! Has anyone seen the price of antibiotics NOT covered by a co-pay or some type of insurance! UGH! It can cost hundreds!!!

Absolutely NO ONE in our house drinks from public water fountains (but that rule I started years ago, after I saw children at school put their mouths right on the metal...yikes!).

We were in Disney in December and we just tried to remind the kids to keep their hands away from their mouths/faces and we used antibacterial wipes before we ate anything.

Have a great time on your trip and I'm sending lots of HEALTHY vibes your way!

 

[momof2inPA]

We drove down to Orlando, when we usually fly, and stayed illness free for our first trip in a long while. I think that re-circulated plane air must be filled with germs. Yes, I'm sure they use filters, but in that enclosed space everyone is breathing all over each other anyway. Yuk!

When we're at church, I break out the anti-bacterial right after the sign of peace. I would rather have a stranger be a little offended than have a sick kid.

 

[pjlla]

Wow... you guys are waaaaaay worse than me (ha, ha!). But the last few times we went out to eat, I handed around the antibacterial wipes to all (including DH), right as the waitress brought the food. (Of course, I had already wiped down the table with one as soon as we sat down!) But I must admit, I am not normally so diligent. But with that horrible flu going around, I am extra paranoid that we will get sick for the trip. But less than 48 hours left to go and we are all still healthy (knock on wood!!). I've even taken to wiping down the steering wheel in my van when I am sitting at red lights.

My kids were taught the "don't touch anything in the restroom" rule as soon as they were potty trained. When you wash your hands you leave the water running after you rinse, until you have a papertowel in your hand to turn it off with. And then you use that papertowel to open the door. I love the places with everything automatic (flushers, soap, water, papertowel). A germophobes dream come true!..................... P

 

[disneyjunkie]

I'm worried about my son and I staying germ free while we're at Disney. I was reading trip reports last night. I can't believe how sick people were, yet they still went to the parks.
How much fun can you have if you're running a high temp and have to keep running to the bathroom?

Oh well, all we can do is be careful about what we touch and wash our hands as much as possible.

 

[perpetualplanner]

I just reminded my oldest DS to be REALLY diligent about hand washing. Our last trip a kid in his class got sick everywhere a day or so before our trip and we ALL ended up with it at some point. At least it was a longer trip and it was only a 24 hr bug but we were all tired the rest of the trip. I'm hoping this trip is GERM FREE. We're doing GREAT so far this year - I just hope it continues.

On another note - my DS and DH have allergies and we've never had a problem in Florida before but this time since it's like "spring" in Floriday now do you think we'll have more problems?? Allergic to Trees, grass, dust mites, and the list goes on....

 

[jfranklyn]

We just got back from WDW and I thought I was the only one who was a germaphobe!! I was so paranoid about getting down there and all of us getting the flu. I was the Purell lady the whole trip - everytime we came off a ride or anything - everyone got some purell in their hands. And my daughter and I (she's 5) sang the alphabet song everytime we washed our hands (to make sure you wash long enough). We got some funny looks, but it worked - we stayed germ free the whole trip and came home healthier than when we left.

Of course we drove...... which in my opinion makes a huge difference. The last time we flew to WDW was also in January, 4 years ago, and we all came down with the flu exactly 48 hours after getting off that plane. I'm convinced we were infected on that plane. At least in the car you know what and who you are dealing with!!

 

[skiwee1]

I always try to keep DD, 4 y/o, germ-free before each trip. She is in preschool so I can't keep her from going there but I do keep her away from kids in the mall play areas and out in public in general for 2 weeks before a trip. I usually have plenty of shopping to do right before the trip but I leave her home with daddy so she isn't exposed to any extra snotty nosed, coughing kids! LOL! I never even thought about airplane germs. We flew last time but usually drive. We are driving again in April so I guess I won't be worrying about plane germs this trip. No matter how hard I try though once we get there it is another story! Last trip we were in the que for the Land boat ride. I look down and DD is running her tongue along the metal handrail where 2 million dirty germy hands have just been! Ack!!! She said she liked the cold metal feel on her tongue. Gross! I wanted to make her gargle with the antigerm soap but she refused! J/K!