Getting sick during vacation.

[MouseUSA]

Last year I became extremely dehydrated (we went in October, mind you) the heat wasn't so bad, but the constant sun was what got me. I think I was in the bathroom like 7 times or something before I decided I needed to drink some powerade and have some food. After that it was great. Unless im really really sick, I wont miss a day of Disney.

 

[mandypandy818]

I too have this fear of being sick right before or on vacation. I've been thinking about this a lot lately! DH thinks I am nuts. I've never tried Airborne, although it seems that it's highly recommended.

I have tried Emergen-C and that works great as well. It comes in many different flavors. (lemon-lime, raspberry, orange, etc.) I prefer the raspberry in cold water, although I know some people who drink it hot as well. It can be taken every day as an immune booster or when you feel the beginnings of getting sick. It works great for my family. They also make a strawberry mix that is multi-vitamin. Great stuff!

www.emergenc.com

 

[Belle1962]

increase OJ intake before the trip

flu shot every year

Lysol to spray down EVERYTHING

hand wipes and gel in the parks

DRIVE (very rarely fly)

sleep aids every once in a while before the trip (to get a good nights rest even if stressed/excited)

drink a bottle of cranberry juice every morning at the hotel----just always seem to get some kinda of urinary issue--probaby because I get a bit dehydrated

make DGS drink oj every morning too

 

[disneyfan2]

I have seen the powder form for kids, that says no water needed. Just open and finish. Has anyone had luck with there kids using this particular product of Airborne?

 

[margtvl]

Just got back on Friday from DisneyWorld. While we were there our 4 yr old got sick one night and we had to take him to the ER the next morning. The Dr. in the ER told us to save our taxi receipt as Disney would reimburse us. I took it to the front counter at the hotel and they gave me cash. Took about 2 minutes with very few questiosn asked.

 

[Toystoryfan32]

I have seen the powder form for kids, that says no water needed. Just open and finish. Has anyone had luck with there kids using this particular product of Airborne?

We have all come down with a cold bug and we are leaving next week. I bought the pixie powder form of Airborne and just gave it to both my daughters. You eat it just like a pixie stick. They actually liked it. I gave it a try myself and its not that bad. We got the cherry flavor, I am going to buy more for our trip.

 

[mistygapa]

This has been my biggest fear since last year. DH and I both were horribly sick and ended up at the ER in Celebration with severe bronchitis. Not that it's ever a treat to visit the ER, but overall it was a great experience with very caring staff (and a pretty neat x-ray room). At least 75% of the trip for DH and 50% for me was a total waste because we felt so bad.

Thinking back to last year, we were both extremely stressed before leaving - running around last minute, rushing the dogs to the sitter's house, packing, etc. We're doing all of that (except dropping the dogs off ) well in advance this year. We leave on 11/26 and we're going to start packing this weekend to try and eliminate as much stress as possible.

I'm also planning on watching and reading a lot of funny stuff over the next couple weeks. Sounds odd, but I read somewhere that if you laugh alot and keep in good spirits, you can help fight off sickness better.

I'm actually sick right now but it was time to start my pre-trip ritual this week anyway so I'm using the following to boost my immune system: echinachia w/ golden seal drops in orange juice 2 times a day, shark liver oil 3 times a day and Airborne 3 times a day. As other have posted, I hate the taste of Airborne so I started putting it in orange juice and adding a little extra juice. It's not too bad that way. The OJ helps mask the taste. I think all of this is helping because I think I should be a lot sicker than I am right now.

As much as I hate being sick, I'd much rather get it out of my system now than when we are at WDW. Now if I can just keep boosting and stay boosted ...

Handwashing is #1 thing to stay healthy. Definitely stay armed with hand sanitizer for when you can't wash your hands. We're also taking Lysol wipes with us to give the room a good cleansing when we get there. Don't forget to sanitize the TV remote control - a report a few years ago said that was the germiest item in any hotel room.

Here's wishing everyone a happy and HEALTHY trip!

 

[disneyfan2]

As much as I hate being sick, I'd much rather get it out of my system now than when we are at WDW. Now if I can just keep boosting and stay boosted ...

Here's wishing everyone a happy and HEALTHY trip!

Hoping it is out of your system....

 

[shakebear]

I've never been majorly sick on any vacations, but on the last trip to Disney, I wasn't keeping properly hydrated and got pretty severe heatstroke and spent about 45 minutes throwing up in the bathroom of Typhoon Lagoon

 

[irishelysia]

I got crazy sick when i went. I really didnt get to enjoy the MK much
What is it about Florida that makes everyone so sick? I had this weird throat thing(crazy awful sore throat, runny/stuffy nose, you know) that after a horrendous sore throat turned into me not being able to talk for THREE weeks after getting home!! (everyone said i sounded like a 900 number, or a man.)

ive heard others say this as well...is it a florida thing? lol

 

[Texasmomof3]

We are heading to DW on Sat. and this past week everyone of us has had the 12 hour stomach bug. I took my two year old to the doctor on Friday because of a lingering cold/cough (I wanted it gone before DW). Turns out she has pneumonia and an ear infection. The next day she falls and now has a fractured clavicle I keep thinking can anything else happen? I am just thankful it is this week and not next week and am praying that she gets the all clear on Friday so we can go because I really need a vacation

 

[Tinkerbell424]

My brother once fell on a sabel palm at our offsite hotel and he got over 150 splinters in his hand.
Then last October we were in MK and he got this really bad rash on his leg.

Both times we had to go Celebration Hospital.
So now we make sure to keep him from falling into trees and we always pack a medical kit for ANY emergency in the parks or outside of the parks.

 

[klmall]

Of our trips to WDW, husband has gotten sick all but first time and last time so that makes at least six or seven times he has caught a bad cold or sinus infection while doing Disney.

We always blame it on the airplane recirculated air but that isn't explained by the cold he got driving down one year! I think it's due to the stress before vacation and then he finally let's himself "relax and be sick" during vacation!!!

And one trip we did visit the I-Drive Walk-In Clinic for him for something like this years ago! They were very nice but we saw several families with very sick children - ugh! Didn't stop us from touring the parks though and I just let him rest in the room and read while I tour if he is sick!

And I do get migraines but bring my meds and don't hesitate to take them at the first sign of a headache. I have never missed a minute of touring due to migraines......but the sun and heat make vigilance very important. And as I learned from an unusual migraine while rafting on the Salmon River dehydration is a big contributor to so many other health problems. Please watch your water intake!

In prep for our trip next month we both got flu shots and will soon up our intake of vitamin C for extra protection.

We always buy NO EXPIRATION tickets at WDW for this reason alone.

 

[CheriePenguin]

DS got pretty sick halfway through our trip when he was only 20 months old [Nov/Dec 2005] He woke up in the middle of the night and had stomach issues - vomiting and diarrhea. One day was completely shot, and the rest of the days were toned down a bit, but we still managed to make it to parks as it was mostly a sick problem first thing in the morning and at night. It was very scary at first (first child, unsure of what to do) and of course quite unpleasant. DH deemed it the worst trip ever (but we're planning family WDW trip #2 now for next fall!!)

I don't think I was vigilant enough about washing his hands - especially after playing in the play areas and play fountains. Plus we were all pretty stressed out before and during the trip. Looking at the photos now from that trip, he seemed to have his hands in his mouth an awful lot!

I've read that it's a good idea to use saline spray before / during air travel, since a dry nose is more susceptible to germs, etc. We've tried to do that now.

Best wishes for a happy & healthy trip!

 

[BigDaddyRog]

What a great, insightfull thread. Im headin to walmartin the morning for lots of airborne and maybe will get some other supplies that I had planned on getting at the last minute to reduce some of the stress level. I fill sew mutch smorter, naiw.

 

[Princess Minnie5]

Three years ago, I had the worst time during our trip to WDW. On the second day into our vacation, I started feeling ill and it lasted all week long. I swore it was the lamb I had eaten in Morocco. (I didn't like it.) I felt so badly on our drive home that DH almost took me to an emergency room in Louisiana. I wouldn't go. By that time, I knew what the culprit was and a trip to the emergency room wasn't going to help. A few days later, my suspicions were confirmed. I was expecting after 4 years of trying to get preggers!

I feel so badly for having blamed the lamb.

Last New years, we had to take our son to the doctor's office on NYE morning. He had developed a rash all over his body 2 days before, then it went away, but had come back that morning. We spent 2 hours waiting to see the doc and it was exactly what I thought it was: Roseola. Doc said he was fine and not contagious and that we could do anything we wanted to do. But by the time we left, MK had reached capacity and so we spent NYE at MGM.

 

[J. Galt]

We leave on Monday and just found out DD1 has an ear infection. It never fails! At least we caught it before we left this time. She has tubes, but they are working their way out and the result is we are getting infections again (looks like we are headed to ear tube set number 3). We'll have to watch DD2 like a hawk to make sure she doesn't develop anything (she tends to be rather stoic about pain).

Funny story I just remembered about being sick in Disney. On my very first trip to Disney as a child, my dad got sick off the whitefish at the Crystal Palace (back when it was a "fine" dining establishment). He spent a lot of time in bed and in the bathroom of our room at the Contemporary. On one return trip from the bathroom, he was feeling a little better, so went to look out the window. He saw the Electric Water Pageant and was convinced he was hallucinating so he went straight back to bed.

 

[feet1]

Everyone recommends Airborne, but when I look at the ingredients it has sucralose (Splenda) in it as an artificial sweetener. I think it may also have asulfame potassium in it. I do not allow my children to have any artificial sweetenters, especially sucralose. It causes terrible heart palpitations in us.

We have found Halls makes a cough drop like lozenge called ProHealth. it has alot of the same herbs, vitamins and minerals in it as Airborne, but with sugar, nothing artificial. I unfortunatly can't take any of them because i am pregnant, But my DH is popping hte Halls 3 times a day. My kids and I are making sure we wash our hands and I am constatly reminding them to keep their hands away from their faces.

 

[vanillarum]

Our last trip in Aug., my DS (15) started feeling feverish and weak about he 3rd day. He was pretty down and out at night, but a little better during the day. He seemed to be better the next week. When we got home (10 day trip), we took him to the dr. because he was still feeling a little weak. Turns out he had mono !! He had been at overnight camp ( 3 weeks), plus a week camping with the family after that, then we went to Disney. My DW and I felt really bad, cause we kept telling him to suck it up while we were at Disney.

 

[Rora]

Everyone recommends Airborne, but when I look at the ingredients it has sucralose (Splenda) in it as an artificial sweetener. I think it may also have asulfame potassium in it. I do not allow my children to have any artificial sweetenters, especially sucralose. It causes terrible heart palpitations in us.

We have found Halls makes a cough drop like lozenge called ProHealth. it has alot of the same herbs, vitamins and minerals in it as Airborne, but with sugar, nothing artificial. I unfortunatly can't take any of them because i am pregnant, But my DH is popping hte Halls 3 times a day. My kids and I are making sure we wash our hands and I am constatly reminding them to keep their hands away from their faces.

So good to know about the sucralose. I choose not to eat anything w/ artificial sweeteners in it. I'm an active Airborne drinker and I didn't even think to check the ingredients ! Thanks for calling this to my attention!