How do you avoid getting sick?

[MichVick]

Out of the four times I've travelled to Disney World - twice I ended up with a cold - nothing too severe however but it does put a downer on your trip

 

[disneynewbee]

We take zyrtec for allergies every day no matter where we are. The weather change from PA to FL puts added stress on our system. If someone starts to show signs of a cold we add in Theraflu Warming Relief (with the purple cap) at night and it works amazing.

 

[EWDonald]

One other thing that you can do is turn off the room A/C, spray Lysol into the disccharge vents and give it a few minutes before turning the A/C back on. In fact, spray the Lysol anywhere you can access on the A/C unit. Helps kill mold on the A/C coil. Suggested by my allergy doctor and it seems to help.

 

[amycakes]

Washing your hands before you eat, before and after using the restroom etc.

And I am not sure anyone has mentioned this but keep your hands off your face. No nail biting, rubbing your eyes, rubbing your nose etc. The germs have to enter your body for you to get sick!! Very important detail!! Very rarely does someone sneeze in your face or transmit illness by droplet.

When you work at a hospital you learn this quick as you are around germs 24/7.... just like at Disney!

Best thing you can do....pretend your hands are covered in mud and keep them off your face!!!

 

[micknpluto]

Washing your hands before you eat, before and after using the restroom etc.

And I am not sure anyone has mentioned this but keep your hands off your face. No nail biting, rubbing your eyes, rubbing your nose etc. The germs have to enter your body for you to get sick!! Very important detail!! Very rarely does someone sneeze in your face or transmit illness by droplet.

When you work at a hospital you learn this quick as you are around germs 24/7.... just like at Disney!

Best thing you can do....pretend your hands are covered in mud and keep them off your face!!!

Im guilty of doing this often. :/

 

[Satchmo128]

Oh, how I wish our Disney sickness was just in the form of a cold or allergies. On every WDW trip we have taken (three in the past three years.... fourth is coming up in December), both DH and I have gotten stomach bugs that have made us lose 2-3 days of our vacation each trip.

Best memory ever........being "that girl" who tossed her cookies in the middle of the Epcot Mexico pavillion . (I'm sure people thought I was pregnant or something.....so very embarassing )

It is my hope and dream that we will make it through our October Cali trip and December WDW trip healthy...........

Maybe Airborne is the way to go? We normally drink Emergen-C every day when we are home. Maybe should pack some of that as well?

 

[WedgieSock]

Oh, how I wish our Disney sickness was just in the form of a cold or allergies. On every WDW trip we have taken (three in the past three years.... fourth is coming up in December), both DH and I have gotten stomach bugs that have made us lose 2-3 days of our vacation each trip.

Best memory ever........being "that girl" who tossed her cookies in the middle of the Epcot Mexico pavillion . (I'm sure people thought I was pregnant or something.....so very embarassing )

It is my hope and dream that we will make it through our October Cali trip and December WDW trip healthy...........

Maybe Airborne is the way to go? We normally drink Emergen-C every day when we are home. Maybe should pack some of that as well?

It might be an idea if you had a probiotic in the form of yoghurt or drink for two weeks leading up to and the duration of your trip. It can help cut the risk of stomach upset quite dramatically. Make sure you look into the brands beforehand as some do not live up to their claims.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Like Satchmo128 we were struck with some kind of stomach bug during our trip last year. In all our trips to Disney none of us had ever gotten sick before. Guess there's a first time for everything, huh?

We arrived Wednesday night, Thursday went fine, but then Friday is when things went downhill. Friday morning DH woke up sick and was in bed at the resort all day. Then Friday night my MIL got sick. DH just had lower GI issues while MIL had vomiting and lower GI issues. UGH! DD & I were fine.

My guess is DH & MIL picked something up at the airport bar. They went to have a drink pre-flight while DD & I looked in the airport shops. That's the only thing they did differently. So maybe......

 

[niffer5150]

I worked in a laboratory so my kiddo and I are usually the only ones not sick during an outbreak of something. Its REALLY easy to not get sick most of the time. Don't touch your face with your hands. Don't stick things like pens in your mouth. Sneeze into your shoulder or elbow. Leave 3 to 4 feet of buffer zone around yourself from other people. Last trip I got ill ONLY because some **** turned around in line and sneezed in my face and I was too close. 7 hours of flying with a wicked cold and only my eeyore pillow pet to save me from my misery! Which, btw, I recommend getting if you hhave to fly home ill. Its just the right size to lean forward and rest on in a plane.

 

[Texas Barbie]

While some infections are airborne, many are spread by touch, as stated above. It's probably not your room, which only exposes you to the germs of the family before you. It's the handrails. The safety bars. The cashier's pen. Things that hundreds of other possibly sick people have touched that day before you got there. Hand washing, sanitizing gel, and keepng your hands away from your eyes and nose are critical.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

It might be an idea if you had a probiotic in the form of yoghurt or drink for two weeks leading up to and the duration of your trip. It can help cut the risk of stomach upset quite dramatically. Make sure you look into the brands beforehand as some do not live up to their claims.

Thank You! Thank you! Thank you!


I felt like the only person saying this!

You can find LOTS of reputable research to back this up! (journal Nature, articles in NYTimes, Wash Post - to name a few)

Most of the DNA in our bodies is not ours. It's bacteria we need to survive. Bacteria do the job of ulimately breaking down the food we eat, and do much of the job of fending off germs. Taking anitbiotics kills the good bacteria along with the bad. Building up the good bacteria is the best way to protect your body and it works!!!

I can't say loud enough how well I've seen this work. My extended family simply does not get sick any more - even the toddlers in daycare.

 

[jalaine]

OP, it's probably dehydration. Drink more water! If we are at WDw in the summer months, we ALWAYS have water in hand. We get water with every meal. (know that cofffee, which I drink and alcohol dehydrate you. If you drink either, you have to drink even more water. They are diuretics. Many medications are also diuretics.)

Another thing you can do to bolster your immune system is start injesting more PROBIOTICS. It can be probiotic foods or a pill. Some great foods are yogurt, fermented foods like saurkraut/kimchee, even aged cheese. (Most cheese is aged. But cheesewhiz and velveeta are not really cheese. Real cheese, think: the less plastic the better.)

We haven't been sick in years, beyond rare episodes that are under 24hours. (since adding yogurt/probiotics to my regular diet) I've always tried to eat veggies/reshfruit too(esp berries) - but the probiotics are what really made the difference. You'll notice most WDW fruit is the cheap kind. You really have to keep an eye out for berries and healthier fruits.

YES to this!!!!! I can't believe you're the first person who suggested this

The majority of your immunity actually stems from your intestines, so good intestinal health is key to helping prevent illness such as colds and such! I take a probiotic everyday! For someone who doesn't do that, I would recommend at least taking a probiotic starting about a week before your trip and then during it as well.

I got a very serious illness a bit over a year ago from my dr. prescribing me unnecessary antibiotics and it wiped out all the good bacteria in my intestines. After a l-o-n-g bout, I finally kicked it. That's when I started with the probiotics and I swear to you, I have not had so much as a sniffle since I started taking them regularly even when I come into contact with sick people.

Also the usual hand washing and not touching your face help as well, but give the probiotics a try...can't hurt! Hope your next trip is a healthy one

 

[jalaine]

Thank You! Thank you! Thank you!


I felt like the only person saying this!

You can find LOTS of reputable research to back this up! (journal Nature, articles in NYTimes, Wash Post - to name a few)

Most of the DNA in our bodies is not ours. It's bacteria we need to survive. Bacteria do the job of ulimately breaking down the food we eat, and do much of the job of fending off germs. Taking anitbiotics kills the good bacteria along with the bad. Building up the good bacteria is the best way to protect your body and it works!!!

I can't say loud enough how well I've seen this work. My extended family simply does not get sick any more - even the toddlers in daycare.

haha! just saw you posted about this too! Forgot to mention the brands I use are Culturelle and Florastor. I give my kids Kids Culturelle (little powdered packet that I can sprinkle in their drinks and mix or into ice cream or something ) and they have been awesomely healthy as well. I can't get my husband to take one daily, but when he does catch a cold, I make him take them and it does shorten the duration if he takes them right at the onset...

 

[fitzperry]

haha! just saw you posted about this too! Forgot to mention the brands I use are Culturelle and Florastor. I give my kids Kids Culturelle (little powdered packet that I can sprinkle in their drinks and mix or into ice cream or something ) and they have been awesomely healthy as well. I can't get my husband to take one daily, but when he does catch a cold, I make him take them and it does shorten the duration if he takes them right at the onset...

Ha! This is my family too! I've taken probiotics for several years and my 9 and 13 yo dd's take the Culturelle capsules, but dh can't be bothered with it. He doesn't get sick very often though, so I don't harass him about it too much.

Culturelle comes in individually foil wrapped packages, which I guess helps to preserve them. I've bought other brands from a health food store, and those have to stay refrigerated to keep the cultures alive, so they're difficult to travel with.

This is an older (2009) but interesting article on the subject: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123180831081775767.html

 

[luvallprincesses]

We started taking airborne a week before our last WDW trip, and DS5 and myself both found ourselves congested and dry throats on the way to the airport. It didn't last long for DS, but I was more sick than I've been in years for our entire 8 day trip. Lived on advil and decongestants the whole trip. Had so much drainage that I couldn't stop coughing in the middle of Illuminations, began gagging, and fortunately for everyone around me, I had an empty soda cup to throw up into because we were packed in our spot like sardines and there was no way out. I will NOT be spending money on airborne as preventative measures again. Doesn't work for me! Going the probiotic route these days...

 

[larryz]

I get a sore throat almost every time I go to WDW...

Ordinarily I'd offer advice, but seeing as how I'm popping DayQuil in a Texas hotel right now, I don't exactly have any credibility in that regard.

 

[dillydilly]

Another family here that takes probiotics on a regular basis. We also take vitamin D drops. Our bouts of illness have been drastically reduced since we began this regiment. We have 5 children and have had only one child that has taken antibiotics in the last 3 1/2 years. We do use sanitizer when in zoos, theme parks and the like.

 

[micknpluto]

Lots of great advice! Now if I only had a WDW trip planned. soon I hope! and this time I will be prepared! I might start the probiotics and vit C now for every day!

Thanks so much! Im lovin this thread

 

[kandb]

I would much rather get a sore throat then the vomits that seems like it's always going around disney. With a sore throat, you can still tour, but with the vomiting

 

[jjwags23]

We too always wipe down everything when we arrive with lysol wipes. But most importantly we drink Shakeology. I haven't been sick in years. And I use to always get sick.