The Ultimate Stomach Bug @ Disney Thread

Thanks for the info. No sarcasm necessary though about chemicals as we have allergies/asthma over here with very sensitive skin, so we need to pay attention to these things, so we definitely hate chemicals. :thumbsup2

Thanks for the info - it sounds like a neat lotion, but I am not interested in any products with Triclosan in them at all, especially with young children. We religiously use non-toxic, organic/natural products over here without any fragrances, chemicals, etc. No name brand soaps, detergents, etc as they are all bad for us and the environment for that matter.

Tiger :)


I wasn't being sarcastic, just so ya know. :)

I've got scent intolerances and sensitive skin, too. I use Neutrogena Body Scrub (glycerin and stuff) and before that glycerin bars - can't use anything else or I'll rash up.

I'll rash up with natural stuff more than chemical stuff, though, mostly. And I trust chemicals much more than natural stuff. And I'm not an environmentalist.
 
We stayed at WL 1/14-1/21 and my family of 3 all got this virus. Revisting all of the disgustingly graphic details won't help anyone. I'll just say that this was the single worst stomach virus any of us have suffered through. (My 9 yr. old daughter vomitted 14 times in a ten hour period. We finally took her to a dr. and got medication stop the vomitting)

I had read the "rumors" before we left home, so we were extra cautious and super diligent with hand washing and sanitizing, but still got it.

This was my 9th trip to Disney, and it may very possibly be the last. I don't know if I could ever summon up the strength to go back after what we experienced on the worst vacation ever.
 
Fortunately, we've never had a problem, which I attribute to more luck than planning and preparation, but here's a few observations that I hope will help you cope (and avoid sickness).

1) CS condiments bars. A few places have 'em, and although I've been lucky, I will avoid these places like the (norovirus) plague. They are generally kept clean, but during peak periods, the cast members are too busy bussing tables and serving meals to wipe-down and sanitize. As the CDC fact paper states (http://www.cdc.gov/Ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus-qa.htm), it only takes a few noroviruses to infect. This isn't the Disney Wonder, so there's nobody handing out sanitizing hand wipes before you get in line. Besides, the open tomato/onion/relish bins get to look pretty unappetizing after just a few minutes, and the mess that serves as a condiments bar at the Pirate and Parrot can make you physically ill just looking at it. :scared:

2) Restrooms. Again, people go there to... ahem ... rid themselves of bodily fluids and waste matter, which are vectors for shedding the norovirus. I'd suggest washing hands going in, and again coming out. Try not to touch the push plate or door handle with bare hands -- use a paper towel and/or your feet to open the door. And, no, I don't suggest pulling the door open with your feet, unless you have no hands (which I have actually seen, and I applaud that person for having the wherewithal to tackle an otherwise unfriendly environment). But then I'd want to wash my foot as well.

3) Resort/Park All-Day Mugs. These are great values -- these are also EXCELLENT vectors for harboring/spreading norovirus. How many of you thoroughly wash the mugs with soap and hot water between uses? I hope the answer is ALL OF US. I'll bet, however, it isn't. :crazy2:

4) The bologna-sandwich-in-the-backpack. Raise your hand if you've NEVER sneaked food into the park...ok, now raise your hand if you've never lied about sneaking food into the park. Anyway, how long did that sandwich sit before you ate it? Was it still cold when you bit into it? Did you happen to get ill later that day? Look up "food poisoning" on the Internet and compare those symptoms to what happened to you...

5) Look at what you're eating. It happens all the time -- you order a burger, with tomato, lettuce, cheese and pickles -- and when your food arrives, you just wolf it down. But even the best places will occasionally make a mistake, and maybe the food-service cast member didn't notice that rotten spot in the tomato, or that blue fuzz on the edge of the cheese slice. Maybe they couldn't smell that off-odor from the guacamole. But you owe it to yourself to take a closer look at the food that you get from mass-production food service. And if it doesn't look/smell/taste right, take it back and ask for a replacement. (And be sure to take a double-hard look at the replacement food -- food service workers have been known to resent customers who send food back!) ;)

OK, that's just my 2 cents (more like 20 cents) worth. You can go and enjoy without being paranoid. But it never hurts to be prepared -- pack chewable Pepto-bismol tablets, and immodium, just in case. Yeah, there's argument about whether or not you should stop yourself up with immodium, or just let nature take its course. To my mind, immodium is better than causing a biospill of the worst kind on Mission:Space. You can unplug when you get home.

Regards!
 
We just returned from AKL, 1/25-1/29. There were 9 of us and none of us got sick. I was a little worried after hearing about all of this before we left. But, we just stuck to good old fashioned hand washing and we were fine. I think my in-laws would have thought I was nuts if I brought out a can of lysol...not that I didn't think about it!!
I think the number one thing you can do is wash your hands!! A lot!!
 

Oh no! I am heading down in a few days for my first solo trip. I would hate to be sick and alone! Has anyone said what they think the problem was? I agree with a pp about the condiment bar, yuck I always avoid those. Maybe it was related to the peanut butter salmonella outbreak :confused3 :crazy2:
 
We just got back. We were at WDW from the 23rd to the 29th. We stood at the AKV, and the BCV. We visited DHS, Epcot and MK. It was DH, myself and our 2 kids. None of us got sick!!!!

This is how I kept the virus away:
When we entered our room no one was allowed to touch anything. DH and I went around with clorox wipes and wiped every handle, phone and remote control. Then I sprayed lysol all over!LOL I had antibacterial fabreze and used that for the couch, rug, curtains. It may be extreme but there was no way we would get this virus if I can help it. When at the parks I would tell the kids not to touch any handrails. We carried antibacterial wipes and used them after every ride. We washed our hands after every bathroom visit and before we ate. The kids were great about it and it was easy to do. My cousin was there 2 weeks prior and her whole family got this nasty virus. They were all so sick and it ruined there trip. Even there 2 year old and 9 month old got it! I was not gonna let that happen to us.

I am so sorry to those who have gotten sick. I really think what we did helped a little, but I also think we just got lucky.
 
We arrive at POR one week from today and I plan on doing similar things that you posted. I actually already bought a travel Lysol and many antibacterial wipes. :thumbsup2 With a 5 year old and a 9 month old I don't know how easy it will be to keep them from touching things and then touching their face though. :rolleyes:
 
Just back from Pop last night with our group of 8. :( DH had a slight tummy issue his last day(just cramping and fatigue) and I have a cold, but no one else caught anything. It was actually our only trip in the last 4 years where no one was throwing up! We wiped down our rooms with Clorox Germicidal(bleach based cleaner) and washed washed washed our hands like crazy. We cleaned our own rooms for the duration of the trip as well and used wet ones wipes and a 70% alcohol based hand gel. It was really the best trip we've had in 4 years! I hope this gives some encouragement to ya'll who are traveling in the near future. :)
 
Just got back... a group of 8 of us and unfortunately I got sick. Luckily it was on our second last night.
 
Just back. Evidence of sickness at parks. Vomit being cleaned, etc. None of us got sick. We didn't touch our face, were careful not to touch anything in the bathroom without a paper towel, and didn't eat at buffets or food bars. We scrubbed before we ate anything and it was ok. I almost took Clorox wipes but it sounded like too much work.
 
We were there from Jan 25- feb 3. None of us got sick or saw any signs of anyone else being sick with stomach issues.
I wiped the handles, sink, toilet, remote, phone...etc. with clorox wipes when we got to the room and we washed our hands & used hand sanitizer throughout the days. We had a great time!!! I was really worried about any of us getting sick so I prayed a lot too! :) It worked!
 
Oh man, Ive been watching this thread -- we go 3/1-3/8 and DS10 is actually going 2/15-2/21. DS10 and I just had this two nights ago and it was awful. Thankfully it just lasted the night and no more. I would hate if DH and I got it on our only trip together!

Thanks for all the tips everyone -- lysol and clorox wipes it is! I also picked up a container of Airborne to fill with my quarter-quarter-penny collection and I plan on taking it 5days prior to going. I dont think this will help with the stomach bug but it might help me and DH stay healthy otherwise!
 
We are planning our vacation 2/23-3/2 at WL. Both my husband and my 4 yr old son are type 2 diabetic and a stomach illness almost always means an emergency room visit for diabetics....We have had such a horrible 4 months with my sons recent diagnosis, job loss, death etc that it would be just devasting for this vacation to be ruined...:sick:

Please tell me this is exaggerated and not as rampant as this thread makes it sound.

Hey, how about the neosporin in the nose thing for the plane? Think it works?
 
We went over NYE's and DW got sick the last day of 4 days. She got over it quickly.

Went again 3 weeks later for friend's b'day weekend trip. My DD13 got sick 3 days after our return (Wednesday) and then passed it along to DS4 on Sunday, DD11 on Monday, Me on Thursday and DW again on Friday/Saturday.

We've had some fun with this one!

We'll still be back next weekend with Lysol in hand.
 
andrea2639 We are planning our vacation 2/23-3/2 at WL. Both my husband and my 4 yr old son are type 2 diabetic and a stomach illness almost always means an emergency room visit for diabetics....We have had such a horrible 4 months with my sons recent diagnosis, job loss, death etc that it would be just devasting for this vacation to be ruined...

Please tell me this is exaggerated and not as rampant as this thread makes it sound.

Hey, how about the neosporin in the nose thing for the plane? Think it works?

I know exactly how you feel. My DD has a metabolic disease that also would mean a trip to the ER and a few days in the hospital if she got any type of stomach illness. Our trip was in January and I worried so much about this. Luckily we escaped any illnesses, but I did wipe down surfaces in the hotel and used a ton of hand sanitizer. We also didn't do any buffet's this time. You might want to talk to your doctors and see if they can give you some medication for upset stomach. DD's Doc gives her a prescription for Zofran and that really does help.

Melinda
 
I kept an eye on this thread before leaving and was getting a little paranoid about getting sick while there. I can have a sensitive stomach at times, especially when stressed and the last thing I need on vacation is to come into contact with a stomach virus and having it ruin our trip! I tried to ease my fears by telling myself that maybe this was just happening during a time that the SE portion of the US was going through their flu outbreak and that it would be over with by the time we got there.

DS & I were there from 1/23 - 1/30 and I'm happy to report that neither one of us got sick while there (or when we got home, for that matter)! I don't know if it was because we stayed off property (Bonnet Creek Resort) or if we were just diligent enough to do all we could to avoid contact with it or, if in fact, they were through with the worst of their cold/flu season.

I did carry around antibacterial cleansing lotion from Bath & Body Works and found myself and DS using it often throughout the day. I also took the time to smell my food for any weird odors and made it a point to stay away from any salads (these can be a real problem for me - I have to eat somewhere that I've had salads before to know how I will react to them and I've never been brave enough to try any of them at Disney).

If you take sensible preventive measures, you should be ok. Don't let it get you too stressed out!
 
I was there in the last week of Jan. and my parents were all over that stomach bug. Hand sanitizer after most rides, don't touch the hand rails, and we were healthy! (Unless we stuff ourselves with Le Cellier, of course.) :rotfl:
 
I was there from feb 2-8 staying at WLV and got it. I felt fine leading up to it, spending the day of 4th at the Kennedy space center. The only thing I ate the whole day(which is normal for me) was the skillet meal at whispering canyon when I returned early evening. Went to bed at 11:30pm feeling fine but Starting at 1:00 am the next day(5th) to 10:00am I was up about every three hours to vommit. I Felt quessy, hardly leaving my room and didnt eat the rest of the day but was fine by next morning. Unfortunatetly, I left with 3 ts credits left on my dining plan and a lost day in the parks. I heard it was very cold that day though.

It was a case of you read about it, but never thought it would ever happen to you. FYI a 4oz bottle of Pepto will set you back $4.20 at the gift shops!
 
We just returned from Beach Club, no problems at WDW. We did have some problems from our last stop before WDW and the first aid center at Epcot had some very kind nurses who gave us some pills requested that did the trick.

We used hand sanitizer. Almost all the restrooms at WDW did not have hot water! We ate mostly table service but did do the Tusker House buffet which was constantly being refilled.
 


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