What do you do to ensure kids health before trip to wdw?

[disneydreamerinny]

We are going in May and I have started giving my kids flintstone vitamins again with vitamin c.
Is there anything else that I should be doing?
Any more tips?
My DD's are 11 & 8. The eleven year old is having a fit, hates the taste of the flintstones...
But you do what you gotta do..

 

[beattyfamily]

I was paranoid about my DD's (5 and 2) getting sick for our last 2 trips. We went in December!

In 2000, my older DD was only in Pre-school so I kept her out the week before our vaca too! I was so afraid she'd get sick! In 2001 I couldn't and wouldn't do that in Kindergarten so I just reminded her to be careful around sick kids in her class.

We also avoid sick people for a couple weeks before if possible and we avoid kid's parties if we can.

I never used to be like this but you pay big bucks for your WDW vacation, so you don't want the kids sick.

I remind my DD's about covering their mouths when they cough and to make sure no one sick coughs on them and to frequently wash their hands.

I'm only this bad around vacation time, not year round! And sometimes I just throw caution to the wind. The week before our last WDW vacation (2001) we went to Santa's Village for the day in NH and it was FREEZING! But it was great fun. Happy to report no one was sick for this past WDW vacation!

I know I sound crazy but you asked!

 

[disneydreamerinny]

Good ideas! For a couple of weeks before we will severely limit our public outings.
They can stay outside and get fresh air instead of shopping trips...
Besides handwashing, I will send a bottle of antibacterial gel to school with each of them..
This will help also I'm sure...

 

[RaiseAStar]

I do much of what was already posted---and, I continue once we arrive at WDW. I'm constantly reminding my kids not to hang on to the handrails while in line for attractions (can't tell you how many times I've seen kids put their mouths on the railings, yuck!). We wash hands, or use Purell, frequently while in the parks, especially after being on attractions we have to hold onto safety bars. We drink lots of water to ensure they stay hydrated. The hardest part for me, in fact almost impossible with a three year old, is making sure little hands don't go in the mouth, rub the eyes, etc.
Stay healthy!

 

[Jackie824]

This was an interesting question. It seems that everytime we go(well may a short time before)my son gets sick, nothing serious, but it just works out this way. He is in 2nd grade so its hard to prevent him from bring around other people. 2 weeks ago he had Strept throat again(hes prone to this)We are leaving March 16th.Well he just got done finishing his 10 days of medicine. One yr he had strept throat right before we left, like 3 days prior and I had to take the medicine with us, I took a soft sided insulated lunch type bag and an icepack and carreid the medicine with us. It was kind of a pain, but it worked. Sometimes kids will get sick no matter what. I dont know the answer to the question except do alot of praying your kids wont get sick, haha.Right now we are leaving in 11 days for Disney and we are all healthy(Im knocking on wood now LOL). Hopefully we will all stay that way.

 

[Jackie824]

This was an interesting question. It seems that everytime we go(well maybe a short time before)my son gets sick, nothing serious, but it just works out this way. He is in 2nd grade so its hard to prevent him from bring around other people. 2 weeks ago he had Strept throat again(hes prone to this)We are leaving March 16th.Well he just got done finishing his 10 days of medicine. One yr he had strept throat right before we left, like 3 days prior and I had to take the medicine with us, I took a soft sided insulated lunch type bag and an icepack and carried the medicine with us. It was kind of a pain, but it worked. Sometimes kids will get sick no matter what. I dont know the answer to the question except do alot of praying your kids wont get sick, haha.Right now we are leaving in 11 days for Disney and we are all healthy(Im knocking on wood now LOL). Hopefully we will all stay that way.

 

[welovemickey]

I guess I must be in the minority here . . . I've never really ever given a thought to "keeping my kids healthy" above and beyond what I normally do. I truly believe germs spread no matter what we do to prevent it. Of course my kids will probably all get extremely sick before we go in April (I probably jinxed myself ).

 

[CDisney]

I just plan a longer vacation, knowing that my kids are going to be sick at least two of the days that we're at Disney World. It's inevitable. Every time we go, my sons pick up a stomach virus, confining us to the room for at least 48 hours.

I'm hoping one of these days, they'll build up a resistance to these nasty bugs.

 

[VickiVM]

The first time my husband and I went to WDW I was up all night the second night in the bathroom...not really a virus, just over indulgence.

The third time my son was with us (who was 22 months at the time) and he had the "poopies" for a couple of days.

I think a lot of the stomach irritations are largely due to how our diet changes when traveling.
We often eat at odd times, or too late in the evening.
We eat fast foods, convenience foods, prepared foods and less fresh fruits and veggies. We get to our PS's and oh boy!!!

So before we go this next fall I think my children and I will dine out at McD's all week, eat food from the convenience store like hot dogs that have been in that heat thingy for hours, and soda just to condition our digestive tract and we should sail through our 5 days at WDW with no problem, right???

Seriously, we don't even like McD's that much.

I think the idea of using Purell often and constant hand washing is a great idea...at all times. And I am going to stop at the grocery store when we get to Orlando to stock up on fresh veggies we can munch on, fruits with fiber...and Metamucil and Immodium just in case!

 

[pjacobi]

Let them eat dirt! It's good for 'em!

Seriously, too much anti-bacterial soap has been shown only to cull the bacteria heard, leaving only the strongest germs behind. There is also a theory that being over-protective of small children may cause allergies later in life. I practically lived on peanut butter as a kid and now peanuts are banned from airlines as a toxic substance.

I do believe in reasonable precautions such as washing hands before meals. I certainly wouldn’t wash my DD hands after every ride.

Vitamins are good, but don’t start taking them just because of an upcoming trip to Disney. Take them daily for both adults and kids. You might try “Gummy Vites” for the kids. They a vitamins supplement in the form of gummy bears.

Remember that some amount of bacteria is good for you can you probably could not live without it, especially in the digestive track.

I hope your family is in good health, regardless of your travel plans.


-Paul

 

[Dr. Happy]

I hate to admit this, but the week before we went to WDW about 3 years ago, my oldest daughter began to show symptoms of a sinus infection. I hate to admit it now, but in a panic I telephoned her pediatrician and "emphasized" (aka "exaggerated") her symptoms so that he would prescribe her an antibiotic. Well, it worked, and she was given one post-haste. She was, however, completely "cured" by the time we left the week after...

 

[ahutton]

Before our last visit we did some "early intervention" with our DD. She had a bit of something starting about 5 days before we left. Since she has had pneumonia in the past we are very sensitive to her getting chest congestion. We took her to the doctor a couple days into her sniffles to get checked. Our family doctor actually went ahead and wrote a prescription in the event she got worse or a fever started we would have something to give her. She also gave us samples of a congestion breaker cough syrup in prescription strength. That worked for us, she was healthy and happy, and we never did need to fill the antibiotic.

 

[hallie]

My kids just got over being sick, I was so relieved! lol. They both had this weird virus that made them really tired and they wouldn't eat for days because their throats were so sore. It was strange, seemed like strep but it wasn't.

Anyway, my DD is in Preschool and she's taking these echinecia-sp? gummy bears and my 1 year old is taking his vitimans daily. I'm just so glad they got sick now instead of on vacation.

 

[RumpleMom]

I always plan to be completely packed 1 day early because someone always needs a last minute doctor appointment. Doctor has written prescription for just in case the cold developed into an ear infection, since that is our usual course during a cold, but fortunately we didn't need to fill that one.

Also the week before vacation the car has quit-two times, different cars, washing machine broke-yikes!, broke a tooth. Every year something expensive happens the week before vacation. Nothing happened last year. I commented as we left home, "I wonder why nothing happpened this year?" We had a car accident 6 hours into our vacation, terrible rain storm. However, we were thankful to be fine, although car was very damaged. We were not part of the 9 car accident further down the highway.

 

[Sandra]

I don't do much more than the normal either - wash hands, try to stay away from sick friends/relatives, vitamins, etc. Our problem hasn't been getting sick before, but getting sick while there! What do you do about that?! Last fall we all got sick with colds and my DD and I were both sick with the stomach thing. We ended up spending almost $100 on cold medications, etc. at the ASMR gift shop - not exactly budgeted for! Next time I will remember to pack cold medications, extra kids tylenol, etc.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

That is a great idea Sandra! Thanks!! We'll be making our first trip To WDW in June and I plan on taking the kids in for their yearly checkup in May before we go and now I will definately bring the childrens tylenol and sudafed and stuff. Never fails one of us always gets something while on vacation. I think it is best to be prepared. Thanks to everyone for all the great ideas here