Heads up for those going in the near future.

[tamj]

I am sick just at the thought of this; we leave Monday for our long awaited - 2yrs-vacation. ugh!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

It's probably not the same strain and too late but is it too late to get a flu shot just in case? We leave Friday.
Runs off to find some Purell and pack it right now!

The flu is not a stomach virus. It's an upper respiratory virus that causes fever, body aches, sore throat, stuffy nose and coughing. The flu shot is formulated depending on which influenza virus is expected to hit in that particular year. It takes about 2 weeks after a flu shot for your body to build full immunity. There is no vaccination for stomach ailments. All you can do is try to avoid them.

 

[MulanMom]

I don't think purell kills viruses. Isn't it just for bacteria?

www.RotavirusInfo.com

I wasn't aware of that. An infectious disease specialist told us hand sanitizers were actually more effective than hand washing.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

I didn't notice any more sick people than usual. No need to worry.

I never catch any of the stuff going around, so does this mean the sickies will be puking at the resorts while I ride RnR one more time???

 

[neonurse]

I think the stomach bug is going around everywhere. We have it in Ontario, Canada too!!!

 

[LilyWDW]

Luckily no stomach ailments have really hit here at home, but I do know we have a major upper respitory (I can't spell this morning, too early sorry! lol) problem going around. Hopefully no one brings it home up here since finals are next week!!!! LMAO

When you have that many people in one place at any given time, it is nearly impossible to just wipe out this sort of thing. Once you think you have a handle on it someone else with it comes in and starts the spread over again. Disney can just do their best with cleaning because in the long run there is only so much they can do. Everyone has to work together to keep themselves healthy.

 

[kupperman]

Oh boy...hope we don't get sick..I'm paranoid now..

 

[phisigprincess]

I woke up queasy today and wanted to cry! I think it's going away, but thanks for the heads up. We'll be extra concious of washing our hands and using the Purell.

 

[XOoOoVEEoOoOX]

Just pack lysol, clorox wipes, purell, and take airborne from a few days b4 and you should be fine.

Once you get to your room, Lysol anything you may touch. Make sure everyone has a little bottle of purell, keep the clorox wipes handy so that b4 any restroom trips the seat, flusher, and stall handle are cleaned a bit b4. Wash your hands thoroughly.

You should be fine

 

[VickynMickey]

Its flu season, and you can't avoid it, you can only protect yourselves!!!!

WASH YOUR HANDS, THEN WASH YOUR HANDS AND THEN WASH THEM AGAIN!

Keep a bottle of hand sanitizer on you at all times, and wipes to sanitize tables and chairs before sitting down to eat. Keep your hands away from your face between hand washing.
I have worked in the Medical field for 10 years, and we all know that Hand Washing is the number one tool against killing germs.
Also drink lots of fluids, get plenty of rest, and take vitamins!
Ok, I can step down from the soap box, have a great day!!!

 

[Izeesmom]

Gosh, we leave soon....I really hope we stay well for our trip. At least we are leaving the children home this trip!

 

[kohlby]

Thanks for the warning. Normally, I'm less of a germ-a-phobe than most. It would probably disgust some people how little I worry about germs. However, I have two bottles of hand sanitizer for our trip - we leave on Sat. We're travelling with our two young kids, a 3 year old and an 8 month old. I really want to keep them healthy. At least the 3 year old is finally potty training which will get him to wash his hands extra times. I'll keep the baby in the sling as much as possible.

 

[monkeymama]

I just checked my bottle of hand sanitizer and it says it kills 99.99% of all germs so I think that should handle most contingencies I also forgot to mention that we had everyone on a strict regimen of Airborne before we left and I'm convinced that helped us fight off all of the illnesses our extended family had before we left for our trip!

 

[Caitsmama]

Ha, count us in for the ones who got sick in WDW!! Out of 11 of us traveling, 9 of us ended up getting the stomach bug in WDW!!!! One time there was 5 of us sick on one day.. ugh...... it was terrible, and spred like wildfire! I was also told there was something going around down there.. and it is no fun to be stuck in your hotel room (no matter HOW great the view is) in WDW. I was stuck in my room for 3 days - either with me sick or my dd.. it was awful.
So, please people beware... And please practice good hygine while there, If you ARE sick, please avoid others, and cover your mouth when you cough!!! Ugh, it drove me crazy how many "sick kids" i saw getting dragged around WDW.. Listen, i am on vacation too, i paid to come here too, i took time out of work too, but, i stayed in my room when my dd was sick!!! Why infect others??!! It makes me crazy!!!!!!!

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

Having one of my kids get sick on our vacation is one of my biggest fears. We are staying in our motorhome so we are bringing our germs with us. We'll eat most meals there so it will reduce the amount of times we sit at a strangers table. I'll bring little bottles of hand sanitizer to the park and have the kids (and the adults) clean their hands frequently throughout the day. Hope my stategy works!

 

[lovethattink]

I called customer service at Purell (1-800-223-0182 weekdays 9am to 5pm (EST).) I asked them about Purell's recommendations for visiting Disney. The person on the phone told me that it does not kill viruses, but does kill bacteria. For example, she said it does not protect against Hepatitis or other viruses. It does protect against bacteria. She recommended using the product after going on each attractions to prevent respiratory illnesses or other illnesses caused by bacteria.

 

[Fitswimmer]

Ha, count us in for the ones who got sick in WDW!! Out of 11 of us traveling, 9 of us ended up getting the stomach bug in WDW!!!! One time there was 5 of us sick on one day.. ugh...... it was terrible, and spred like wildfire! I was also told there was something going around down there.. and it is no fun to be stuck in your hotel room (no matter HOW great the view is) in WDW. I was stuck in my room for 3 days - either with me sick or my dd.. it was awful.
So, please people beware... And please practice good hygine while there, If you ARE sick, please avoid others, and cover your mouth when you cough!!! Ugh, it drove me crazy how many "sick kids" i saw getting dragged around WDW.. Listen, i am on vacation too, i paid to come here too, i took time out of work too, but, i stayed in my room when my dd was sick!!! Why infect others??!! It makes me crazy!!!!!!!

I was thinking about just that with the last thread about this issue. I've seen parents dragging obviously ill children around the parks so they "don't waste all that money". As hard as it is and as sad as it is, please keep yourself and/or your child in the room when ill. It will probably make the illness pass quicker because of the rest and it will keep it from spreading as quickly around the parks. Most of these stomach things last 24 hours IF you rest, they drag on if you don't get the rest you need.

 

[JudyS]

I don't think purell kills viruses. Isn't it just for bacteria?

www.RotavirusInfo.com

I thought alcohol-type hand sanitizers killed most, but not all, viruses -- I'm surprised with what the Purell spokesperson said. On the other hand, "anti-bacterial" soaps and so forth are really just for bacteria (and can cause bacteria to develop resistance to anti-biotics -- the FDA is thinking of making them prescription only.)

I once was sitting in a restuarant in the Magic Kingdom when the person next to me become violently ill. I came down with it a few days later. I was just reading an article that seems to say vomiting can cause an "aerosol" of viral particles. Ugh! I was wondering if I'd take Disney transit while at the parks in a few weeks, or rent a car -- I think I'll use the car.

 

[JudyS]

Ok, despite what the Purell Customer service agent said, Purell does kill viruses. Here is the "abstract" (summary) of a recent article on this from the American Journal of Infection Control:
http://*******.com/yxn49j
The virus in this study is similar to a class of viruses (noroviruses) that cause outbreaks of vomiting.

Here is another study that says alcohol-based sanitizers work for some, but not all, viruses: http://*******.com/y38n4h

So, hand sanitizer should help. But, considering the risk of aerosol transmission of the virus, I'd also be wary of eating anyplace where someone had just visably gotten ill (that's a euphemism for "threw up.") If it happens again near me, I'm throwing the food away.

Edited to add: Yikes, it looks like the DISboards don't allow links to Tiny Url.com You can replace the asterisks above with the words Tiny Url (omit the spaces.) Or, just do the search that I did -- go to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed
and search for isopropanol viruses (Purell is actually ethanol, not isopropanol, but if you search on ethanol, you get a lot of irrelevant stuff.)

 

[MomofCKJ]

I went shopping yesterday and got about 5 small bottles of Purell (so we can each have our own). I also got Airbourne. Is Airbourne something we should maybe start taking daily next week (we leave next Friday) and while we are there? I have never used it before so I am not sure if that is how it would be used or if it would even help in keeping us healthy on vacation? I am also planning to get clorox wipes at our grocery stop when we arrive and use them to clean off tables, that is a good idea.

Allyson