Does anyone else keep the kids home to avoid sickness before your Disney Trip?

[o2bacelt]

Airborne now makes a children's variety now. I saw it right before we left for WDW in March. Didn't give it to my DD but we did see it.

She did get sick 8 days into our vacation with a nasty little stomach bug, this time we're going for a shorter period of time and I guess we're going to have to try and use a little more sanitizer this time.

My DD stays at home so she hasn't been exposed to tons of germs, it was inevidible that it would happen. I just hope this time we can fight it off a little more.

 

[Quinn222]

It's a good idea but a lot of the good is gone the second you step on an airplane. They're flying petrie dishes. I get sick every time I fly anywhere.

 

[GoodFairies]

It makes more sense to teach good hand-washing methods with good old soap and water. Also, a well-balanced diet with lots of green foods will do much more for the immune system than anything that comes in capsule form.

 

[disneyfan6301]

I don't keep my DS or me home from school. I teach there, and for it to be effective, we would both have to stay home--no can do!! However, last year, about a week and a half before we left, an EVILLY WICKED stomach virus started around our school. This was one of those 2-4 day bugs, not a 24 hour thing. I reminded my son over and over about hand washing, not eating or drinking after anyone, etc. I even sent him his own water bottle with no refill from the water fountain instructions. Furthermore, on my end of the hall (7th-8th), I went Lysol crazy. I sprayed everything at the end of everyday. If a kid threw up in my room, I sprayed everything immediately--including the doorknob that the kid touched on the way to the bathroom!! On the day before we left, I even sprayed a kid's seat and backpack while he was in the bathroom throwing up ; then I sprayed again when they called him to leave. My kids wanted to know why I was spraying so much, and I gave the standard "Well, I don't want anyone to get sick." While in my mind I added, "especially me, since I'm leaving for Disney " Thankfully, we escaped, and when we came back, the bug was gone.

Are you crazy? Well, join the club; I think we are all crazy--gotta be to survive sometimes!!

 

[daisyduck123]

The week after New Year's, DS (then 7yo) came down with pnuemonia. He missed a week of school. When he was better, I would not let him go to any swim team practices because 10 days later we were going to Disney for 8 days. I wanted him to be fully recovered & well rested!

 

[mill4023]

Airborne has aspartame in it, just so you know.

I'm not a big fan of the junk,er, ingredient.

There's also zero scientific evidence that it does anything at all to keep you from getting sick.

 

[MyZoeJane]

I am not sure that it would be that effective to keep your kids out of school right before your trip. Incubation period for most virus stuff is 10 - 21 days. If your kid is coming down with something right before or shortly after you leave for WDW, odds are they actually picked up the bug 2 weeks earlier.

yeah to that.... ^

My daughter and I got sick (sore throats/viral thing) on our third day of our trip last January.... I'm going to fill up on Airbourne for the few weeks before our September 30th trip this year!

 

[PattnFmly]

Well, I don't keep us home before a trip. But about a month before I turn into a lunatic about harping on the washing hands issue, getting full nights' sleep, eating better and taking our vitamins everyday. I try to do all these things on a normal basis, but sometimes life gets in the way! But that month before - it's like my obsession! Seems to be working pretty good though, we've only ever gotten one stomach virus and that was the year we were sharing a cabin with a friend and her children! We were all just tied to the cabin sharing germs for 2 days. But we survived and luckily it was at the end of a 10 day trip (I think we picked it up on vacation!) I'll keep up my regimen thank you ... whether or not it makes me appear crazy!

 

[DaisyD]

We have a trip coming up in 10 days. Since DD got out of school last week I am keeping her out of the malls. No birthday parties or playdates indoors either. The only place she will be allowed in is maybe the grocery store and Target! LOL!

 

[CarolA]

Just an FYI

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON AIRBORNE!

Studies have been conducted that show this stuff does NOTHING except put money in it's owners pocket. (She is a crackpot, I saw her interviewed on Good Morning America... it was too funny. They would haul out the study they had found and she would have some "story" about how wonderful her product was!)

 

[LisaMaz]

Anyone know the Incubation period for the stoach flu?

 

[Bunchkin]

I don't see how keeping kids out of school is going to keep them from getting sick. Unless they are already sick. Incubation periods mentioned are true. Some viruses can be in a persons body for some time before it presents itself.

We've only had one illness while at WDW. My DS was only 1 1/2 yrs old and came down with the flu. We took turns staying with him in the room, while the other parent would take DD to the parks. We gave him the appropriate meds and he was fine in days. This was on a 2 week trip so it was not a big deal to us to give him the time in the room to feel better. I would never take my kids to the parks sick.

We usually worry more about the airplane. Without fail we seem to end up by a sick child and a parent who does nothing to help this child to not spread germs.

We do all take sinus meds before flying to help with the pressure. We all have bad sinuses and allergies here. We don't use the plane's bathroom unless we really have to go and never use the pillows or blankets they have. And we never get cups of ice with our drinks!! Bleech!! Studies have shown this is the biggest germ fest on planes.

 

[pafer]

I fear that keeping children home for only a few days will not help. Like others have said the incubation period for many viruses is closer to a week or a little longer.

Target, Walmart and other grocery carts are the worst culprits for germs. Think of all the wonderful babies who have sucked and chewed on the handle before you put your child in the infant seat. Think of all the adults who do not know enough to wash their hands after sneezing or coughing or blowing their noses. Worse yet think about those ppl you see leave the public restrooms in these places without washing their hands. Where do those hands end up next and where are yours once you get your cart.

I have a friend who teases me that I am OCD about handwashing. I told her that really it is only a precaution for me not an obsession. I told her if she had gone through the same lab on handwashing that I did in Nursing school she would be washing her hands more too.

I have had a very unbusy few weeks with only a few shopping trips to get the needed things for our trip to Disney on Tuesday. Last evening dd threw up in the middle of Sears while her dad was looking at the craftsman stuff that is on sale. No warning of illness and no obvious exposure to sick ppl but somehow we have found some bug and now hope it will be gone before we leave.

 

[sameyeyam]

I'm always surprised by the number of people that I see carrying around little bottles of hand sanitizer in Disney.

When they first came out with the stuff I asked my doctor about it. He said don't waste your money. It only kills bacteria, not viruses. And as we all know colds, flu, etc. are viruses, not bacteria. So it does nothing to help them. He said it might be helpful in killing ecoli bacteria if someone doesn't wash their hands after using the restroom, but that's about it. But he said why not use the soap & water that's free and available in all restrooms instead.

 

[pafer]

My dh is a pediatrician and we use the hand sanitizer all the time. It is quite effective and some studies have shown it to be as effective if not more effective than handwashing with soap and water. The reason for this is that many people do not wash their hands properly for long enough or scrub vigorously enough to even have bothered washing them in the first place. Also the answer to why not use the soap and water in the bathroom.....even if you wash your hands that does not mean the last person to touch that door handle washed theirs. If you have to pull the handle to open the door you just touched whatever was on their hands when they left without washing. It really is gross when you think about it.

Some hospitals have even installed dispensing systems that dispense a mixture of alcohol and antibacterials much like the hand sanitizers you see ppl using. They have done this because of the studies that have been done to show how effective they are. More people are apt to use this which takes less time and does not involve a sink and paper towel than to actually go to find the sink. Our peds and newborn areas have them as you walk in the patient room for visitors to use before touching the newborns.

I already have mine packed for the trip and you will see me using it and my kids using it while we are there.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

I don't keep my kids out of school. I am a teacher and I don't stay out of school. I fear the PLANE. It never fails one of us and then the rest of us end up with a cold or stomach thing whenever we go on vacation. I always blame it on the plane weather it is or not I blame the PLANE!

 

[slo]

When I read this I said to myself, "Thank God someone else is as neurotic as I am about protecting my kids from sickness before vacation!!!" I don't keep my oldest DD home from school, she will be 8, but I do keep my youngest DD, she will be 3, home from daycare the week prior to vacation. I don't want her exposed to any more germs than necessary!!!!

* Unfortunately it didn't work 2 years ago. The night before we left she had a 103 fever. The next morning my Pediatrician gave me some mediciane and said good luck.

 

[Brier Rose]

I fear that keeping children home for only a few days will not help. Like others have said the incubation period for many viruses is closer to a week or a little longer.

This may be by pure chance, but we just got back from WDW a few weeks ago, and this is the first trip in years that I forgot to bring our hand sanitizer.

We all got Rotovirus!

I won't forgot to bring it again!

 

[disneyfan61]

I always give my sons the wash your hands & keep your hands away from face speech & then this last trip I'm the one who got Pnemonia. Luckily it was 3 days
befor leaving so most of the time I felt ok. I don't believe in taking kids out of
school so they wont get sick. Think about the planes & those finger scanners
they have to get into the parks (talk about germ city)!!!!. I think alot of people
worry too much (I'm told I do).

 

[jwfla422]

I'm always surprised by the number of people that I see carrying around little bottles of hand sanitizer in Disney.

When they first came out with the stuff I asked my doctor about it. He said don't waste your money. It only kills bacteria, not viruses. And as we all know colds, flu, etc. are viruses, not bacteria. So it does nothing to help them. He said it might be helpful in killing ecoli bacteria if someone doesn't wash their hands after using the restroom, but that's about it. But he said why not use the soap & water that's free and available in all restrooms instead.

We use hand gel all the time, especially if we can't get to the restroom to wash our hands. I think it helps A LOT and there have been many threads arguing the strength of the hand gel as far as killing bacteria and viruses. Your doctor is wrong...If it contains alcohol it WILL help kill viruses.

So, we're definitely some of those in WDW and anywhere else for that matter who carrying and frequently use hand gel/sanitizer, won't leave home without it!

When my dd was younger I always kept her out of school a few days before our trips. Since our trips were only a few days long, if she got sick that would be the end of our trip. She never got sick when I kept her out prior. She started getting sick more when I kept her in pre-school before we would leave and then her sickness would linger. On one of our trips she came down with strep on the 2nd night, luckily she was able to take antibiotics and it knocked out her symptoms in 24 hrs otherwise we would have headed home. Now, she's in elementary school, we have to take our chances since I already take her out a few days to go to WDW.