Doing Disney with a weakened immune system

[CalsMomma]

My DS4 was recently diagnosed with a blood disorder that causes his spleen to be enlarged, and thus, he has lower than normal blood counts and a weakened immune system.

We've had our Disney trip booked for over a year; once we got our diagnosis I was planning to cancel, but DS has started treatment and our doctor gave him clearance to travel. So we're going - we leave in one month!

So....as an overprotective mom who is freaking out a little...have those of you with compromised immune systems taken any special precautions in the parks? on the plane? We are so new to this; any advice is appreciated.

 

[brettcw23]

Familu friends usde a surgeons mask on the plane and that's about it. In the park, just made sure to keep their daughter's hands clean.

 

[dis-happy]

From one mom to another, I've been there. My ds' pediatrician actually called me while I was on vacation at WDW to let me know several of his immune counts were low....not the happiest news on earth. Anyway, this has turned out to be a chronic condition for him, so I am super vigilant, especially during our wdw trips. One suggestion I got was to get a GAC to use the stroller as w/c..if he's in it he's less likely to be touching the million and one germy places while in line. Whenever he does move out and back into the stroller I am hyper-crazy about using wipes and sanitizer on his hands. Of course I also do the normal Mom stuff, like wipe down the hotel room when we first arrive. So far we've been okay. Wishing you the best! Btw, my ds is about the same age.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Hand sanitize every 5 minutes!!! No, really....as often as possible. I know it's not great to overuse, but our little one gets sick every year. Those railings in line that everyone touches, the lap bars on the rides, etc. And my big one... Wipe the entire room down with Clorox wipes when you get there. The family before you was living in that room for days, and the housekeeping only does so much. They don't wipe down doorknobs, tv remotes, you know the things people TOUCH. But try not to worry too much, and have fun!!!

 

[CalsMomma]

Thank you for all of the great tips - I am definitely becoming a hand-sanitizing freak so I will be vigilant about that. We are staying at Bonnet Creek, so that will be a lot of rooms to wipe down when we get there, but I am totally doing it!!

And thanks for the advice on stroller as w/c; I was on the fence about that because he does suffer from fatigue on occasion but he can certainly walk...but I am definitely going to request it now; that's great advice about keeping him in the stroller to minimize touching the rails. Because we all know that a 4yo will hang from any rail within his reach!!

Thanks for boosting my confidence - we are going to be careful but we are going to have FUN!

 

[ZPT1022]

I'm the one in my family with the compromised immune system. We did like the others suggested and cleaned the room as soon as we got there. I had clorox wipes in my carryon bag with all my meds. I had to use a scooter for some other problems but it does serve the secondary purpose of giving you some space from other people. And the last recommendation may sound weird, but I had a checkup prescheduled with my dr for when we got home. I love my pcp but she is hard to get an appt with so I scheduled one in advance so we could do a status check when I got back, and sure enough I came back with an upper respiratory infection, but the trip was great and I wouldn't change it for anything. Minimizing risk is great but you have to enjoy life too

 

[Schmeck]

Try to get the alcohol hand sanitizer and not the biochemical one. DD (bioengineering major at MIT) says they are hearing some pretty bad things about the biochem components, and that people with immune issues should not use them, nor people who have had cancer. I've had cancer, and have a chronic low WBC, so she immediately thought of me!

 

[CalsMomma]

Try to get the alcohol hand sanitizer and not the biochemical one. DD (bioengineering major at MIT) says they are hearing some pretty bad things about the biochem components, and that people with immune issues should not use them, nor people who have had cancer. I've had cancer, and have a chronic low WBC, so she immediately thought of me!

Wow, that is some scary stuff. Thanks for the heads-up; I just started looking into this and I might try some of the "green" sanitizers and wipes with natural ingredients. I'm looking for maximum effectiveness but I certainly don't want to do any further damage to DS's immunity!

 

[PatsMom]

I haven't had to deal with a child who has a compromised immune system, but I've done Disney on chemo when my own immune system was shot. I really didn't take any special precautions, other than maybe washing my hands a little more often. And my husband wiped down the remote in our room with a Lysol wipe because he saw on TV that it is the germiest spot in the hotel room!

For a child that young the stroller sound like a good idea. I did get a little concerned at some of the pre-shows where they pack you in really tight with others. But mostly we go when the crowds aren't bad so that isn't an issue.

I don't use hand sanitizer, just soap and water. Bring hand lotion because the soap in the WDW restrooms will dry your hands out something awful!

But if your child tends to put hands near the face or in his or her mouth or nose, I would definitely try the green sanitizers. My doctor was a fanatic about telling his chemo patients to keep our hands clean and away from our faces since that is how you pick up germs - they transmit from the hands to your nose, mouth or eyes.