sick kids

[cheeringmom]

What a total nightmare. But you sound like a real trooper. I don't think I would have done as well in your condition. How sweet of you to think of your grandmother. Very unselfish. Not sure what I would have done!!! Hopefully the same as you. Keep healthy

 

[jacksonsmom]

I can only relate to my experiences & taking sick kids on planes.
As for my family, my son does get sick alot. Test have been ran on him to see why he gets sick so often, every test has come back normal, including things like cancer & other serious illnesses.

So most of the time when my son gets sick I know it is just a cold/virus/flu. What is weird is NO one else in the whole family catches whatever my son has.

Before our trip when my son first came down with symptoms, I took him to the doctor to get him checked. I mentioned we were going on a plane the next day & they said to continue with our plans. That he probably just has a common cold/virus.

As for the plane ride itself. He slept 99% of the time & I had him covered up & tried to aviod people. The "good thing" was at this time he had not developed a cough yet so he wasn't coughing out germs.

I am big on handwashing, cleaning the house, etc. My son still gets sick. We (I & his doctor) are hoping he out grows this getting sick all the time but only time will tell.

Once we got down to Disney we do not go into any parks until his fever was gone. Btw--no one else on the trip got sick.

So in our situtation my son being sick is a common problem in our house. We have learn to deal with it. I DID go back & forth about should we go on the plane or not. When we were leaving he wasn't THAT sick. His temp was only 100-101F, gave him some Mortin & THOUGHT he would be OK. It was not until we got down to Atlanta at our transfer that his temp was up to 103F, (of course gave him some Mortin) & it wasn't until we got to our room his temp was 105F.
Also, as soon as we got in our room I called the front desk to see where the nearest hospital was, they told me they will send the EMTs right away. They started with us until my son's fever was down to 102F. We then left to go to the local clinic, which we were told "it was just vuris" since his strep test was negative, his lungs/chest was clear and everything else seemed OK.

The only way I can keep my son from getting sick is to make him live in a bubble. That is not an option.

 

[dijid]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who has made the trek with a sick kid. My DS was in the middle of a bad asthma spell the night before we needed to hit the road. His ped acted like I was the world's most horrible mom for saying we were still going. We ran to Radio Shack and got a power inverter that let us run his nebulizer off the cigarette lighter. We didn't even have to stop for him to do his breathing treatment, as he holds the mask himself. I don't know whether it was the meds, but he got car sick and that was by far the worst part. The funny thing was, after that he was much better. For the first couple days we still gave him his nebulizer before heading out to the parks, and never stayed out more than a couple hours, but he was fine and we were glad we went.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

Jacksonsmom-I can relate. My DS was sick ALL the time when younger. They actually ran some blood tests(Ig study or something like that!) and other tests on him too-they were normal. Getting tubes in his ears helped some of the sicknesses, but he still seemed to pick up everything. It was not until we got his tonsils/adnoids out at age 8 that he became a healthy child. He would get EVERY virus out there-not sure if his huge tonsils/adnoids "trapped" things that would normally be fought off or what. DD is 8 now and gets more than the rest of us, but NOT like DS. I think as they get older and have had more, it gets better. Hopefully your DS will outgrow this .

 

[lmhall2000]

I haven't (and really don't want to read all the posts for fear I might see one of these) read all the posts but I have read trip reports where parents are describing a child with a high fever- popping them with motrin then taking them on rides at the parks. HOW COULD YOU???? Do you care more about your own entertainment than your child's health or at worse infecting other unsuspecting children?? My son has had asthma attacks- which are not contagious almost each Disney trip- we still stay in our room or let him get fresh air at the pool laying down for a good day or two until HE feels up to enjoying the parks. And I would NOT fly with a child with a fever- I may let the other members go ahead and then fly the next day or just postpone the trip. I've even heard some say "it's only an ear infection- nothing contagious" BUT flying with an ear infection- are you sadistic??? Get in your car and drive if you must but on this issue I really get irked.
I do take steps to prevent sicknesses- the week before we travel I am pretty careful about not letting them play in McDonald's playlands, and remind them that washing their hands is good. Now when they get sick while you're at Disney- just please give them rest- don't lug them around in a stroller in the heat so everyone else can enjoy their trip- delegate one parent to stay back at the hotel. Okay- soapbox is given up- this is a sore subject with me.
Tara

 

[jacksonsmom]

Originally posted by BibbidiBobbidiBoo
. Getting tubes in his ears helped some of the sicknesses, but he still seemed to pick up everything. It was not until we got his tonsils/adnoids out at age 8 that he became a healthy child.

Thanks!
My son has had tubes (twice) & it hasn't seemed to make a difference, except less ear infections.
I have heard of the tonsil/adnoids connection with kids getting sick alot & at my son's next check up (in a few weeks) I plan on asking the doctor what she feels about it.
I have heard of other people with kids that got sick often & once those tonsils are out they rarely get sick.
Maybe there is something to it.

 

[April in Disney]

I spent 9 days Christmas vacation 2000 in WDW almost completely inside our Con Poly room. My DD 6 at the time started vomiting and having fever as soon as we checked in. My DH to follow the next morning. It was cold and it rained almost everyday while we were there. The Con called the doctor for me the first night and he said it was flu and she will be fine in few days. I decided not to take any risk and let them rest until the flu goes away. I called the doctor again in 4 days and he saw them and said the wet weather did not help give it a few more days, So anyway we stayed in the room for the entire trip and had room service and then I drove all the way home and took them straight to the emergency room. They both had pneumonia. If I have seen any sign before hand I would have cancelled our trip. After I got back I found out the child who sat next to her was sick and vomiting in school the last two days of school.(We picked her up from school the last day and started our trip.) Most of the kids in the class ended up being sick during winter recess. I took my DD back in Nov before our AP expired.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

jacksonsmom-I am convinced the tonsils/adenoid removal was key to DS becoming healthy. They were SO big they touched and Dr said he had to have sleep apnea even though we were unaware(not getting good sleep probably lowered his immunity too). It was when he could not get rid of strep that they finally came out, though the surgery had been planned because of how large they were(Dr. said he got the award for the biggest tonsils ). I do wonder if they trapped other sicknesses too, seems possible! He truly became a different child!
DD's are on the big side, but have not been troublesome like his were. Get an opinion- I was surprised that NO one had told me how big they were until we moved and changed Dr's!
Good luck and hope he stays well next trip!
Milmore and April- those are sad stories! Nothing magical there!

 

[jacksonsmom]

Originally posted by BibbidiBobbidiBoo
Get an opinion- I was surprised that NO one had told me how big they were until we moved and changed Dr's!
Good luck and hope he stays well next trip!

Thanks! I am hoping he stays well for our next trip too.
I do plan on asking the doctor at his next appt if his tonsils
seem big.
My son is also a restless sleeper so I do have to wonder if that
has something to do with his tonsils/adnoids.

Glad your DS is much better now

 

[disneycuban]

thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

[ceecee]

We flew non stop from Dayton to LAX with a screaming 2 year old, we overheard the dad telling the flight attendant, he just has an ear infection........the kid was miserable and in pain! I would hate to have to cancel a trip but would rather stay home if sick and go later when we could really enjoy the trip. As someone already commented, it is not fair to everyone else to expose them to your kid's germs. I volunteer at DD's school and it never ceases to amaze me how many parents send their kids to school knowing they were sick. "I couldn't get off work" or "I gave him motrin, cough syrup, etc" meanwhile the kid throws up in the classroom and lays sick in the clinic waiting to go home where they should have been kept in the first place.

 

[jacksonsmom]

Originally posted by ceecee
I volunteer at DD's school and it never ceases to amaze me how many parents send their kids to school knowing they were sick. "I couldn't get off work" or "I gave him motrin, cough syrup, etc" meanwhile the kid throws up in the classroom and lays sick in the clinic waiting to go home where they should have been kept in the first place.

I totally agree with that. I used to work with children before my child & I had parents bring their sick child to me, claiming it is just a 'cold'. Then about an hour later they are throwing up. The child tells me "I threw up in my bed this morning too"

My son is in preschool & yes he has missed some preschool when he was sick. There was one time I sent him to preschool, he was acting fine. I receive a call about 1.5 hours later saying he is just laying around & doesn't look well. I picked him up & was surprised to see him looking so sick. I later took him to the dr and found out he had strep thoart. I was shocked that it came on so sudden. That morning before I sent him to school, he ate breakfast & was playing like normal.
I felt bad that he got sick in school & could have got the other kids sick but I really had no idea he was coming down with something. Even his teacher said he was fine one minute & then just wanted to lay down the next.

 

[cheeringmom]

Your kids probably go to the same school my kids attended while we lived near Dayton! I used to volunteer in the clinic and couldn't believe that we were packed by 8:05 (school started at 8). Parents sent their kids to school even though they KNEW their kids were ill. They threw up just that morning, went to doc day before and have flu etc. I heard it all.

 

[Lesley]

I'm usually the one to get sick at WDW...I've always been one to catch pretty much everything. The worst was when I was pregnant and couldn't really take anything to help.

But both my kids have also gotten sick...and once we all got sick! It was January and we all got the flu. Thank goodness I had found out where the natural foods store close to WDW is and I was able to get ahold of oscillococcinum....and we were all feeling better within a day. (Amazing homeopathic flu remedy...I now always keep it handy during flu season) Dd was not quite 2yo and did spend one partial day sleeping in the stroller while we went to the parks (we were switching resorts that day....so didn't have a room to stay in or I would have stayed in with her). She was in the recovery stage where she just needed sleep...and slept peacefully most of the day in her reclining, canopied stroller, until we got our room in the afternoon.

Dd also got sick at the end of trip last December....and we spent our last full day just hanging out in our OKW 1br villa...what a place to be. Much better than a regular resort room since she was able to sleep soundly in the bedroom while ds and I played some games in the living room...and I could make us meals. Unfortunately she was still feeling bad when we left and the drive home was a bit difficult...mainly for dh because dd insisted that I be sitting next to her the whole trip and he drove all but a couple of the 17 hours back to PA where we lived at the time. We did stay at a hotel one night on the way home.

We also take echinacea before our trips....and during longer trips take it during our trips to ward off illness. I don't really think its the best approach (echinacea generally should be treated like an antibiotic....) but there are just so many things going around at WDW and we tend to catch them. We also just try to keep our diets healthy with little sugar before our vacations...to keep our immune systems running good and strong. I've gotten sick right before a trip from stress as well....you know, mom does all the planning and packing!

We seem more likely to get sick on longer visits....and now that we live closer we are taking shorter trips more often...so hopefully being sick at WDW is a thing of the past!