Norwalk Virus

[KYCruiseCrazy]

if you have the flu bug please dont go cruising. and if its a child thats got the flu bug please by all means leave the child in the stateroom or leave him/her at home. there is nothing worse then going on vacation and getting sick. this happens every year. i know its difficult to change plans at the last second(trust me i know how hard it is) but if it comes down to it please by all means leave the sick person in the stateroom. i think the cruise line CM's need to start looking much closer at the passangers when they are onboard and while waiting to board. i hope that there is no norwalk virus on DCL this year.
thanks

 

[AnnMorin]

Originally posted by KYCruiseCrazy
. i think the cruise line CM's need to start looking much closer at the passangers when they are onboard and while waiting to board. i hope that there is no norwalk virus on DCL this year.
thanks

The CM's do all they can, everyone is asked at boarding if they have been ill in the past 48 hours (maybe it is 72) if people choose to be dishonest there is nothing else DCL can do. To ask for more vigulance would be forcing many more people to be unneccessarily quarentined like what happened to 4Nana. It is up to the cruisers to be honest, responsible and think of their fellow man, not up to the CM's to become spy's and inforcers. To protect yourself simply use good hygiene, wash your hands, use hand sanatizer, keep your hands away from your face etc.. we have been on two "infected" cruises and have been fine.

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

i don't want the CM's to be more like spies its more like i would love to see the passangers do this. i just hope the passangers will be more truthful and stop the spreading of the bug. its up to the passangers. thats all i ask. im not trying to make waves. its just that i hate to hear on the news that the cruise lines aren't doing nothing to stop it. that is what was said on a local tv station here in louisville. i know DCL does there best. sorry to complain.

 

[Cruisin]

In my opinion, there is not much you can do to escape virus and illness.

You cannot quarantine the whole world. People are still going to shop, go to work, go to school, socialize and go on vacation.

All you can do is take whatever precautions you can to keep yourself healthy, including healthy eating and healthy personal hygiene habits.

I don't think the cruise lines are responsible either. I wonder if anyone has done the statistics and seen if in actuallity the rate of illness is higher on a cruise line than in the general population.

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

3 weeks ago in knoxville tn they had a norwalk type virus spreading like wild fire in there school system. im 7 day they went from 22 kids sick to 250 kids and it was just getting worse. for stats on the illness i would guess to goto www.cdc.gov i guess

 

[havinfun1093]

Just wanted to chime in because I got sick on the first cruise last year to report the virus and in no way faulted Disney. Even before it became apparent that there was a virus I was impressed by the cleanliness of the cruise ship. You could not move without seeing some one cleaning. It is human nature to wish for some way to control that which we cannot. I do believe people could do better at monitoring themselves. On our cruise I saw parents walking their child around with a barf bag and then going into Lumiere's to eat. I was a little upset to see that. Once I realized I was sick I did not leave my stateroom. Didn't want to quite honestly!!! Here's to a virus free cruising season!!!(ok so I am an optimist!)

 

[TheGlensideGregorys]

The basic idea is exactly what Ann pointed out - be sanitary. Yes, people should monitor themselves more truthfully, but you will not get all people to do this, so the only thing you can do is prepare for the fact that somebody will probably be on the ship in the public areas that is sick. Like the old saying goes -- "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure..." (or Pixie Dust in this case).

 

[NAT&MAGSMOM]

I agree...be as sanitary as you can.

DH is a pharmacist and when I told him about the outbreak on
Carnival...since we are crusing in 12 days...he said we and everyone should start taking at least 1000 mgs of Vitamin C a day. He is a firm believer in Vit C and he said it will help keep your resistance up and hopefully keep the nasty bug(s) away!!!!

Just a precaution...not a cure.....

Phyllis

 

[plutojudy]

havinfun1093, a few years ago some parents had their two sick little girls laid out on the picnic tables at Serentiy Bay. The girls obviously had measles or chicken pox as they were covered with red spots. I still don't understand how they were not noticed getting off the ship (before 9/11 and norwalk). Then they bring them down to the adult only area to sleep. Poor babies should have been in bed in their cabin.

 

[AnnMorin]

Does that apply to children too? Mike will be 11 in Feb. can you ask your husband if that is too high a dosage for a child (he weighs like 105 though so not a small child )

 

[4nana]

Our last Dec. family cruise we took/used every kind of sanitation prevention possible - lysol spray, sanitary hand wipes, Purell hand sanitizer, a case of gatoraid, a case of water, even an RN....still, low and behold, I was misdignosed and quarantined.
I can smile about it now - it was not so dang funny then!!

Phyllis,
Thanks, excellent advise! I am a firm believer in vitamim supplements! My counter looks like a pharmacy...LOL! Many years ago my DH got very ill with a cold/respiratory problems while vacationing in Fla. From then on we stocked ourselves with C, plus many other vits, minerals, etc. My DH is 67, hardly ever sick, and thank God dr. says, is in excellent health.

Ann,
I hope Phyllis can answer your question. Meanwhile, I would investigate thoroughly before giving any child 1000 units of C.
Our grands use a lower dose orange flavored chewable one. From all I've read C is not toxic, anything the body does not use will be passed off in urine.

I swear by C & Echinacea (immune system strengthener) and take soon as I feel something coming on. My SIL, an RN, promotes Zicam, so I have stocked up on that too! I catch bronchitis very easily. Praise God, I only had one case last yr. and no colds so far this yr. ^i^

The virus' and flus are rampant early on this yr., causing some school closings already. PLEASE take the time for some extra precautions!! I would not want to see anyone get sick or quarantined on their cruise. It is NOT fun! Flu strain AH3 is very dangerous, and there is no proof the flu shot protects us from this one.

Best wishes,
~ Sandie

 

[NAT&MAGSMOM]

Ann....have him take a 500 mg every day. Natalie has taken a 500 mg almost every day of her life and she is never(knock on wood) sick.

She takes Nature's Made Chewables....you can get them at CVS.

As I said....just a precaution..

Phyllis

 

[NAT&MAGSMOM]

4 Nana....we remember....we tried to get you sprung!!! lol

Natalie dd age 10 3/4...going on 16....as I said has taken 500 mg vc almost every day of her life.

I didn't think about the kids and the vits....but she also takes a multi vitamin with flouride(because of the water around here).

If she gets the sign of a sniffle...we give her Amoxicillan and she clears up right away. We always seem to get the sniffles on a
cruise...

Anyway...everybody VITAMIN C up and we'll see ya in 11 days...or so.

Phyllis

 

[AnnMorin]

Thanks Phyllis I will stop at CVS after preschool tomorrow!
We have two cutie pies that are coming down with the flu and of course want me to hug and comfort them., I love them so I do.. but I sneak into the bathroom OFTEN and wash my hands...

 

[mudnuri]

if she gets the sign of a sniffle...we give her Amoxicillan and she clears up right away

Your husband is a pharmacist and you use an antibiotic for SNIFFLES???

You do realize that antibiotics do absolutely nothing for a viral infection correct? And that the US has a major issue currently with different BACTERIAL infections becoming resiliant to antibiotics due to misuse, including but not limited to OVERUSE??

Sorry to rant, however I'm really struggling to understand this.

Brandy

 

[NAT&MAGSMOM]

I'm not going to debate this with anyone.....and no one needs to understand.

WE give our child what my dh recommends. We do not overuse or abuse any medication that we give her or ourselves. He has been a pharmacist for 27 years....I think he knows what he is doing.


Enough said..
Phyllis

 

[Cruisin]

 

[lsmac]

Today is the second day that my ds's high school has been closed because of a major flu breakout. They were starting to have it go around before we left for our Thanksgiving cruise so I had ds be more diligent with washing his hands, using purell, and yes, taking vitamin C. It seems to have worked. So far he is about the only one in his school that isn't sick. He of course, is doing the happy dance because this epidemic (we are in Colorado and yes, it is epidemic: over 4500 cases confirmed) has extended his vacation by two days so far!

There are so many different strains of the flu this year that even the CDC is saying that flu vaccines aren't as effective as they should be. My father in law had a flu shot and still got sick. All we can do is try to prevent it and if it happens, be responsible and stay out of close contact with others as much as possible to stop the spread. Unfortunately, I think the airplanes are worse for the spreading of this stuff than the cruise ships. Nothing like stale recycled air, to get you down!

Lisa

 

[Keggy]

I have gotten sick after leaving the ship on my past two cruises. This past time was the worst of the two. I was vommitting for an entire day. We were not sick prior to coming on the ship. We were very conscious of washing our hands throughout the day. It didn't ruin my cruise though. I am just thankful we got sick after the cruise was over and not during our time there. I am really stumped as to why we get sick after these past two cruises though. When we went on the Eastern, we did not get sick.

Kelly

 

[tezb]

Norwalk (stomach flu) and Influenza are 2 different bugs. There is not a flu shot for Norwalk...unfortunately. Just wanted to mention as this thread seemed to be going off on the FLU more than the original post of Norwalk, otherwise known as Stomach Flu.