Keeping kids from getting sick during winter trip

[anneofgreengables]

We are going to WDW the week before Christmas. Since it is smack dab in the middle of cold and flu season, I just hope they won't get sick before/during the trip or catch some virus in the airplane. What are your WDW winter experiences with little kids? What helped you prevention-wise?

 

[all4fun]

Well that's simple, but tough, IMO. My ds is a former preemie so I have a lot of experience trying to keep us all from getting sick. The best way to avoid getting the cold or flu is washing hands frequently (I also use hand sanitizer when soap & water aren't available), try not to touch your face much, eat healthy, get enough sleep, and we also take a daily multi-vitamin. If you start to feel cold symptoms coming on then I recommend Airborne, which helps boost the immune system. Tamiflu is supposed to be really good to curb the early onset of the flu, but you need a prescription for it, and you have to catch it in the first 2-3 days for it to be effective.

As far as catching virus's on the airplane - I tend to take antibacterial wipes on board and wipe down the plastic surfaces in our little area. I know antibacterial wipes won't kill virus's however I doubt the surfaces get wiped down much at all between each flight so I figure it's better than nothing. I use hand sanitizer while traveling as well. hth!

 

[amarberry]

I was so scared of DD getting sick on our last trip. To make my anxiety worse, due to a severe egg allergy, DD did not have a flu shot. I actually "quarantined" her for the last week or so before our trip. No playgroup, no Gymboree, no storytime at the library, etc. I basically just limited her exposure to other little ones. I'm also a handwashing fanatic...anytime we walked by a bathroom, it was handwashing time (we had a fun little song that we made up to go along with it ). I bought a few boxes of the individually wrapped anti-bacterial wipes from Target. I always kept a few in my pocket and everytime we got a ride, we'd wipe off our hands. My DD was 18 months at the time, so I also decided to continue to breastfeed until our trip and through the winter months for an immunity boost.

So guess what....she had a 102 temp. on our third day of our trip and continued to be a little off with something for a couple of days after that! Just bring some basic medications along and hope for the best!

 

[Twingle]

We traveld to WDW last December, and wouldn't you know, the Tuesday before we left I found out that the stomach flu was going around my DS's classroom ! So, he went to school on Wednesday and then didn't go for the rest of the week!

We are big handwashers, hand sanitizers, wipe down with wipes, kinda people, so I just went a little nutzo with that. I also limited the playdates, which really wasn't all that hard.

LOVE the idea about wiping down the airplane seat - never thought of that!

Also, I've found that when I flip out about sickness before a trip, my kids usually do not get ill - go figure. We were in Disney for eight days, and I packed Tylenol, Motrin, Dimetapp, those Sudafed plug in things, Vicks vapor rub, three brand new thermometers (I have three children, thought they each needed one!), and Pedialyte. I literally had a suitcase full of medication, diapers, wipes, and snacks! I also found every bit of information I could about the nearest hospitals and emergency care centers. My doctor wouldn't prescribe any medication when my kids weren't actually sick, so that was that. Well, NOBODY got sick on our trip, and I thank the no sickness fairy for that. However, I got super sick once we got home and spent a week in the hospital, but that's a different story!

Try to have her get plenty of rest, eat lots of fruit and veggies, up the handwashing and have a great time!