Swine Flu - General Discussion and how it affects Disney

[hockeymomNS]

Who's to say that there are not some sick right now. If one town got 100 new cases overnight then you never know how many CM could fall ill tomorrow or any of the days after.

Thankfully I do not leave for a month so I have time to sit and see where this all goes. If it is still spreading at the rate it is now Dh and I have agreed that we will cancel our trip. I think that it is unfair and quite rude to say that those that decide that they do not want to take the risk are not living their lives, have a better chance of getting hit by a drunk driver, locking themself in the house when they could get it at school, the mall, whatever. A large majority of the people that are having a watch and wait attitude seem to be stating facts, posting links, living with the actual illness all around them and in positions that they do know more then what the general public knows. Those that are still going are not posting facts of how safe it is to still go, links that show you can not get it while confined in an airplane, etc.. The majority (not all) that are going are just stating that the CDC said if you are healthy to not cancel your travel plans. Yes, they are saying that you can go on your trip if your healthy but not one word or suggested statement that you have a good chance of coming home healthy. Everyone keeps talking about washing their hands, not touching their face, etc... Well I find it VERY HARD to believe that all the hundreds that are sick right now are filthy handed people that could not stop licking their fingers and picking their noses. So wash your hands all you want b/c yes it will not only help you not get the flu if you touched something that was just coughed on but it will also help reduce your risk of getting other sicknesses. Now I have a question that maybe one of you that are going can help me out with. So I just wash my hands and sing the ABC's 3 times, 1 extra time just to be sure there clean and then go and say what the heck let me use some purrell to. So my hands are CLEAN. I fold my arms as I get in line for ToT to be sure not to touch the railings. When all of a sudden the person infront of me coughs. Now since the flu can be spread through inhaling the "infection of an infected person" am I now supposed to stand there and hold my breath until I think the air is "clean" again? What if the person behind me sneezes? If this goes on long enough between the one infront and the one behind me I will probably pass out from holding my breath. So I am not sure how to handle the infection when it is being coughed/sneezed into the air around me. BUT, my hands are clean. If it was only that easy. I have also read that you should not shake hands, touch objects, etc... Well I am going to seem like the friendliest Disney guest when the concierge CM goes to shake my hand and I pull away. When he walks us to our room and before I let DH touch the door handle I tell everyone to step back so I can lysol the handle. When we go to tip the bellman we will have to be careful not to touch hands as we pass the money. Forget about being in the bus and I have to stand. I guess I should not hold on to the bar. Now this is just me but lysoling my room everytime I return, CONSTANTLY telling my kids not to touch ANYTHING, trying to figure out a way to scratch my noses if it starts to itch, seeing someone at the pool or in the line at a ride that looks and sounds sick turning my family around and saying we have to go somewhere else, getting on the airplane and during the flight the person infront of me tells the flight attendant that they are not feeling well and come to find out their neighbor had been sick with the flu and then having to spend my vacation worrying that my children have without a doubt now been exposed does NOT sound like a very relaxing vacation to me. But that is just me. I wonder if some of you are aware how many times you touch your face without realizing it. So to have to walk around the whole trip chanting in my head "wash my hands, don't touch my face, wash my hands don't touch my face" again is not a relaxing vacation for me. Plus IF we do cancel our trip it is also b/c it could be the biggest waste of $6,000+ . By that I mean if one or some of us got sick, lets say the 3rd day there, and we are stuck in the room for the remainder of the trip and then we are still ill on the day we are supposed to return home but since we are sick the airlines will not let us on the flight so we need to try and re-book something for a later date to get home which means we now need to rent another hotel somewhere else for us to stay until we are better which inturns means we need to add more days to our car rental. My kids will be devestated if we have to cancel our trip but we will re-book it. If we go and get ill there and the scenerio plays out that way then we would not re-book b/c the money for the vacation would already have been spent. So I do not call any of you crazy for going and I fully understand that I could die by a drunk driver but if I knew that there was a highway that had a bunch of drunk drivers on it and I was told by the highway patrol that yes, the highway I want to go on is filled with drunk drivers but as long as I really pay attention and am ready to swerve at a minutes notice I should be fine. I can guarentee you I would not buckle me and my children in the car and hope for the best. If I didn't know about the drunk drivers that is one thing. But if I know about them and decide to throw caution to the wind that is another.

,

Very, very well said.

 

[JLTraveling]

Who's to say that there are not some sick right now. If one town got 100 new cases overnight then you never know how many CM could fall ill tomorrow or any of the days after.

Thankfully I do not leave for a month so I have time to sit and see where this all goes. If it is still spreading at the rate it is now Dh and I have agreed that we will cancel our trip. I think that it is unfair and quite rude to say that those that decide that they do not want to take the risk are not living their lives, have a better chance of getting hit by a drunk driver, locking themself in the house when they could get it at school, the mall, whatever. A large majority of the people that are having a watch and wait attitude seem to be stating facts, posting links, living with the actual illness all around them and in positions that they do know more then what the general public knows. Those that are still going are not posting facts of how safe it is to still go, links that show you can not get it while confined in an airplane, etc.. The majority (not all) that are going are just stating that the CDC said if you are healthy to not cancel your travel plans. Yes, they are saying that you can go on your trip if your healthy but not one word or suggested statement that you have a good chance of coming home healthy. Everyone keeps talking about washing their hands, not touching their face, etc... Well I find it VERY HARD to believe that all the hundreds that are sick right now are filthy handed people that could not stop licking their fingers and picking their noses. So wash your hands all you want b/c yes it will not only help you not get the flu if you touched something that was just coughed on but it will also help reduce your risk of getting other sicknesses. Now I have a question that maybe one of you that are going can help me out with. So I just wash my hands and sing the ABC's 3 times, 1 extra time just to be sure there clean and then go and say what the heck let me use some purrell to. So my hands are CLEAN. I fold my arms as I get in line for ToT to be sure not to touch the railings. When all of a sudden the person infront of me coughs. Now since the flu can be spread through inhaling the "infection of an infected person" am I now supposed to stand there and hold my breath until I think the air is "clean" again? What if the person behind me sneezes? If this goes on long enough between the one infront and the one behind me I will probably pass out from holding my breath. So I am not sure how to handle the infection when it is being coughed/sneezed into the air around me. BUT, my hands are clean. If it was only that easy. I have also read that you should not shake hands, touch objects, etc... Well I am going to seem like the friendliest Disney guest when the concierge CM goes to shake my hand and I pull away. When he walks us to our room and before I let DH touch the door handle I tell everyone to step back so I can lysol the handle. When we go to tip the bellman we will have to be careful not to touch hands as we pass the money. Forget about being in the bus and I have to stand. I guess I should not hold on to the bar. Now this is just me but lysoling my room everytime I return, CONSTANTLY telling my kids not to touch ANYTHING, trying to figure out a way to scratch my noses if it starts to itch, seeing someone at the pool or in the line at a ride that looks and sounds sick turning my family around and saying we have to go somewhere else, getting on the airplane and during the flight the person infront of me tells the flight attendant that they are not feeling well and come to find out their neighbor had been sick with the flu and then having to spend my vacation worrying that my children have without a doubt now been exposed does NOT sound like a very relaxing vacation to me. But that is just me. I wonder if some of you are aware how many times you touch your face without realizing it. So to have to walk around the whole trip chanting in my head "wash my hands, don't touch my face, wash my hands don't touch my face" again is not a relaxing vacation for me. Plus IF we do cancel our trip it is also b/c it could be the biggest waste of $6,000+ . By that I mean if one or some of us got sick, lets say the 3rd day there, and we are stuck in the room for the remainder of the trip and then we are still ill on the day we are supposed to return home but since we are sick the airlines will not let us on the flight so we need to try and re-book something for a later date to get home which means we now need to rent another hotel somewhere else for us to stay until we are better which inturns means we need to add more days to our car rental. My kids will be devestated if we have to cancel our trip but we will re-book it. If we go and get ill there and the scenerio plays out that way then we would not re-book b/c the money for the vacation would already have been spent. So I do not call any of you crazy for going and I fully understand that I could die by a drunk driver but if I knew that there was a highway that had a bunch of drunk drivers on it and I was told by the highway patrol that yes, the highway I want to go on is filled with drunk drivers but as long as I really pay attention and am ready to swerve at a minutes notice I should be fine. I can guarentee you I would not buckle me and my children in the car and hope for the best. If I didn't know about the drunk drivers that is one thing. But if I know about them and decide to throw caution to the wind that is another.

You seriously owe me a new keyboard!! In all honesty, that was the best summary I have read yet of the possible risks. Thank you for posting this, you have a wonderful way with words!

 

[GraceLuvsWDW]

We were at the doctor this morning. She was glad that we aren't flying but said to go and enjoy our trip.

We are driving down and staying off site in a condo. I think if we were flying we'd be more inclined to cancel but as it stands we'll be in a large comfortable condo if we do happen to contract this.

Are you going to have internet access? If so, please post and let us know the "conditions" there. Good luck and have a fabulous trip!

 

[GraceLuvsWDW]

I have a question, although not sure anyone can answer it for me.

We keep hearing that most everyone in the states with confirmed H1N1 have had mild cases. Do we know if these people received Tamiflu?? I'm just wondering if the average person is getting H1N1 and not receiving any special care and doing just fine or if the reason most are having mild cases is because of treatment.

I have heard exactly what you are portraying here-that we as Americans have better access to antivirals. And also, for the more extreme cases in the US, we also have better access to ventilators and respiratory therapy.

 

[maroo]

lovemyguys - perfectly stated!!

 

[chicagoshannon]

Are you going to have internet access? If so, please post and let us know the "conditions" there. Good luck and have a fabulous trip!

I do have internet access at the condo. I will try to remember to give the updates while there.

I also want to add that this might not be the best time to be commando at the parks. One's immunity gets lowered with lack of sleep. Just something to think about.

 

[locolala]

Update on me, if you remember me lol. I got sick on my honeymoon last week. The strain I have is thankfully NOT swine flu. It is a rarer, more potent (if that word works here) strain that seems to affect those with asthma (like me) more seriously (normal for flu). I've been told that if my croup keeps up and my wheezing doesn't go away by tomorrow I need to take myself down the to ER. This is apparently not a common strain here in the US, it's more common in less developed countries. It figures I'd get sick from some crazy strain.. I have a horrible immune system!

 

[maroo]

I have a question, although not sure anyone can answer it for me.

We keep hearing that most everyone in the states with confirmed H1N1 have had mild cases. Do we know if these people received Tamiflu?? I'm just wondering if the average person is getting H1N1 and not receiving any special care and doing just fine or if the reason most are having mild cases is because of treatment.

IMO - it is a mixture of things. We are treating it when we see it here in the US. Not all cases are mild...some are quite serious (but it is that way with all flu outbreaks). I think a lot of the people in Mexico that actually got sick were not counted...so in that large country, there were many that got real sick and they were counted...but the mild illnesses just stayed home and got better?

I don't think they really know at this point.

 

[dawgsgirl]

There is one confirmed case in GA. The woman had travelled to Cancun, then back to Kentucty. She then came to LaGrange, southwest of ATlanta for a wedding and spent several days going back and forth to Atlanta to shop. She finally went to the hospital on Sunday or Monday. She is VERY sick and in intensive care. She is 30 years old. I'm not so sure you can always say this is a mild flu.

 

[livie1205]

I have a question for you. Do you know if we change the date of our trip do we lose whatever deal we may have? By that I mean we are doing the 4/3 deal. If we change our dates to say, September do we still get the same price and package that we have now? Thanks for any info you can give me. Thankfully we have a little over 3 weeks to have to make up our minds of what to do.

I am sorry but I didnt ask that.....I didnt use that deal so I didnt think to ask.I think they move it to another date based on what is open...I used a passholder dining package so I think I would just have to change it to a "like season" as in reg season to reg season or value season to value season...I would think you couldnt pay for value and change to high season.I wish I could be more help.They did say even without travel ins. they would not charge the fee to change dates.I think if this spreads they wouldnt want to look that bad by taking everyones money for trips they cant take.

 

[carissanboys]

IMO - it is a mixture of things. We are treating it when we see it here in the US. Not all cases are mild...some are quite serious (but it is that way with all flu outbreaks). I think a lot of the people in Mexico that actually got sick were not counted...so in that large country, there were many that got real sick and they were counted...but the mild illnesses just stayed home and got better?

I don't think they really know at this point.

That's pretty much what I figured.

There are 8 people here in Maryland that have "probable" H1N1. Still waiting for it to be confirmed. One student is in our county. I think they believe that student may be related to Obama's aide that traveled to Mexico and came down with it.

 

[MEK]

Now I have a question that maybe one of you that are going can help me out with. So I just wash my hands and sing the ABC's 3 times, 1 extra time just to be sure there clean and then go and say what the heck let me use some purrell to. So my hands are CLEAN. I fold my arms as I get in line for ToT to be sure not to touch the railings. When all of a sudden the person infront of me coughs. Now since the flu can be spread through inhaling the "infection of an infected person" am I now supposed to stand there and hold my breath until I think the air is "clean" again? What if the person behind me sneezes? If this goes on long enough between the one infront and the one behind me I will probably pass out from holding my breath. So I am not sure how to handle the infection when it is being coughed/sneezed into the air around me. BUT, my hands are clean. If it was only that easy. I have also read that you should not shake hands, touch objects, etc... Well I am going to seem like the friendliest Disney guest when the concierge CM goes to shake my hand and I pull away. When he walks us to our room and before I let DH touch the door handle I tell everyone to step back so I can lysol the handle. When we go to tip the bellman we will have to be careful not to touch hands as we pass the money. Forget about being in the bus and I have to stand. I guess I should not hold on to the bar. Now this is just me but lysoling my room everytime I return, CONSTANTLY telling my kids not to touch ANYTHING, trying to figure out a way to scratch my noses if it starts to itch, seeing someone at the pool or in the line at a ride that looks and sounds sick turning my family around and saying we have to go somewhere else, getting on the airplane and during the flight the person infront of me tells the flight attendant that they are not feeling well and come to find out their neighbor had been sick with the flu and then having to spend my vacation worrying that my children have without a doubt now been exposed does NOT sound like a very relaxing vacation to me. But that is just me. I wonder if some of you are aware how many times you touch your face without realizing it. So to have to walk around the whole trip chanting in my head "wash my hands, don't touch my face, wash my hands don't touch my face" again is not a relaxing vacation for me. .

This is a perfect example of how the Swine flu is unmasking cases of previously undiagnosed OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). No disrespect, and I am certainly not judging you, but this is TEXTBOOK OCD behavior. Trust me - I have had first hand experience with it. Seriously, I reread this and I almost thought it was a bad joke, because that's how exactly how the OCD mind ruminates. I think you should cancel your trip, because if you really feel this way, you will be miserable until this whole thing blows over.

 

[maroo]

That's pretty much what I figured.

There are 8 people here in Maryland that have "probable" H1N1. Still waiting for it to be confirmed. One student is in our county. I think they believe that student may be related to Obama's aide that traveled to Mexico and came down with it.

I heard that...what a mess! I saw that on CNN and would hate my case to be publicized like that!

 

[GraceLuvsWDW]

Do we need to rename this thread???

WHO to stop using term 'swine flu' to protect pigs
By FRANK JORDANS – 42 minutes ago

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization announced Thursday it will would stop using the term "swine flu" to avoid confusion over the danger posed by pigs. The policy shift came a day after Egypt began slaughtering thousands of pigs in a misguided effort to prevent swine flu.

WHO spokesman Dick Thompson said the agriculture industry and the U.N. food agency had expressed concerns that the term "swine flu" was misleading consumers and needlessly causing countries to ban pork products and order the slaughter of pigs.

"Rather than calling this swine flu ... we're going to stick with the technical scientific name H1N1 influenza A," Thompson said.

 

[carissanboys]

I heard that...what a mess! I saw that on CNN and would hate my case to be publicized like that!

The interesting thing is the school that the student attends stayed open. I'm not saying they should have closed - just surprised since Obama suggested schools close if they had a confirmed or probable case. It will be interesting to see what happens once it is confirmed (as I'm sure it will be).

 

[maroo]

The interesting thing is the school that the student attends stayed open. I'm not saying they should have closed - just surprised since Obama suggested schools close if they had a confirmed or probable case. It will be interesting to see what happens once it is confirmed (as I'm sure it will be).

That is strange? Was the student sick when he was at the school? That is odd...

 

[JLTraveling]

This is a perfect example of how the Swine flu is unmasking cases of previously undiagnosed OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). No disrespect, and I am certainly not judging you, but this is TEXTBOOK OCD behavior. Trust me - I have had first hand experience with it. Seriously, I reread this and I almost thought it was a bad joke, because that's how exactly how the OCD mind ruminates. I think you should cancel your trip, because if you really feel this way, you will be miserable until this whole thing blows over.

I may be entirely off base altogether, but I read this differently. I thought this was a well-written commentary on the reality of the "precautions" that posters plan to take. If you follow the planned precautions through to their logical extreme, this is where you get to. If you're not planning to be that extreme with the precautions, then how are you possibly mitigating your risks? And that seems like a heck of a bad way to spend a vacation.

Of course, I might be entirely wrong, and this might be a completely serious response, in which case I totally agree, the OP would be miserable right now.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

I am so bummed, I just want to cry
I have a little countdown calendar on my fridge and this morning I was not at all motivated to remove the number 15 from it....I actually got a little sad thinking to myself "if this trip even happens" THEN I hear Biden saying he would not have his familu get on a plane...I am thinking about rescheduling but if I did not it would probably just be til the 2nd week of June and I would be taking summer classes and I don't know if fiance would be able to get off from work....
This just stinks, since January I have been looking forward to this vacation and I am just planning for the worst since I think this stupid flu is taking a turn for the worse

 

[gribbanies2]

I've been following both sides of the debate. For me, I've decided to err on the side of caution. For you who've decided to ignore the warnings...

Be my guest, be my guest,
Put your idiocies to the test,
Tie a mask around your face, cheri'
The flu will do the rest..

Feel free to add verses as ya'll see fit...

 

[JLTraveling]

I've been following both sides of the debate. For me, I've decided to err on the side of caution. For you who've decided to ignore the warnings...

Be my guest, be my guest,
Put your idiocies to the test,
Tie a mask around your face, cheri'
The flu will do the rest..

Feel free to add verses as ya'll see fit...

Haha...love it!! Prepare to be slammed by the knee-jerk responders, but I think it's a dose of much-needed humor around here