noro viirus

[Watson's aunt]

Hi

 

I just saw on the news a out break has his a town in Massachusetts. the hospital in that town has been flooded with sick people. One thing they said after you are feeling better 2-3 days sick you will spread it to ant poor person near you,

 

Marlboro Ma

[sail7seas]

I heard about that outbreak too.

It's so common and is everywhere that people gather in close quarters.

Dormitories, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels, restaurants, cruise ships etc

 

WASH YOUR HANDS.

 

[woody73]

 

WASH YOUR HANDS.

And carry a pocket-size bottle of Purell with you.

 

I don't know why they have Purell dispensers outside the main dining rooms, then hand you a menu that's been handled by others.

 

BYO Purell, and use it right before eating.

 

Woody

[KirkNC]

There many areas of the country currently experiencing noro, it is that time of year.

[GeriatricNurse]

And carry a pocket-size bottle of Purell with you.

 

I don't know why they have Purell dispensers outside the main dining rooms, then hand you a menu that's been handled by others.

 

BYO Purell, and use it right before eating.

 

Woody

 

Yeah, doesn't that make a lot of sense, (unless the menus have, of course, been 'sanitized') before being handed out! :rolleyes: Also, it doesn't make a lot of sense for everyone to be able to use the large spoons, etc. at the 'Continental' breakfast stations in the Lido, every morning! :mad:

[innlady1]

And carry a pocket-size bottle of Purell with you.

 

I don't know why they have Purell dispensers outside the main dining rooms, then hand you a menu that's been handled by others.

 

BYO Purell, and use it right before eating.

 

Woody

 

On our recent cruise, every time we returned to the ship, I wondered why the Purell was at the bottom of the gangway rather than at the top near Security. One has to handle the railing on the way up...negating any benefit of the Purell, IMO.

[innlady1]

And carry a pocket-size bottle of Purell with you.

 

I don't know why they have Purell dispensers outside the main dining rooms, then hand you a menu that's been handled by others.

 

BYO Purell, and use it right before eating.

 

Woody

 

I always carry Purell with me, and try to remember to use it after handling a menu. Just as I do in a restaurant on land.

[fuzzywuzzy]

Yeah, doesn't that make a lot of sense, (unless the menus have, of course, been 'sanitized') before being handed out! :rolleyes: Also, it doesn't make a lot of sense for everyone to be able to use the large spoons, etc. at the 'Continental' breakfast stations in the Lido, every morning! :mad:

 

Well, I would say that if everyone's hands are sterlized BEFORE entering the diningroom then there is less risk of contaminating the menus, right? The more people use the sanitizer the better as far as I'm concerned. And you are supposed to use the sanitizer on the way out as well. We always use our own little bottle of sanitizer too after we handle the menus.

[sail7seas]

On another cc forum, I asked Bruce Muzz, well known to many of us who post here as having worked on cruise ships/various cruise lines for years, about the effectiveness of Purell in killing the noro virus like germs. I asked if it was just effective against cold/flu virus germs or also against Noro like virus.

 

Here is the answer he provided:

 

Not an easy answer to give.

Some Purell products do contain specific chemical agents that kill viruses; some do not.

For reasons that nobody can explain to me, the Purell product containing a lethal viral agent is not legally available in the USA. Crusie ships that sail outside the USA, or provision outside the USA do have the opportunity to purchase it.

 

The Purell product with alcohol only has been proven to kill a high percentage or virus spores - but there is a caveat. In Microbiology, there is something known as "dwell time". This is the time that an active ingredient must be in contact with a virus in order to kill it.

If you put something like Purell (with alcohol only) on your hands, you must first ensure that it contains more than 50% alcohol. The older the product, the more alcohol has evaporated from the container. Many of those Purell packets have been stored onboard the ship for months - or years.

If the product still contains more than 50% alcohol, that alcohol must remain in a liquid state and in contact with the virus for over 1 minute in order to kill more than 80+% or the viral spores.

 

How often can you remember squirting one of those cleansers on your hands and having the liquid remain a liquid for more than one minute? It just doesn't happen. Everyone wipes their hands immediately after squirting the gel on them. The alcohol evaporates very quickly, leaving many live viral spores behind.

 

For best effect, put two or three squirts on your hands, wipe it around, and let it sit there for more than one minute. Then wipe your hands and let the liquid evaporate. You will stand a much better chance of killing off most of the virus that way.

 

 

 

Do all of you who carry your personal bottles of Purell use it in this way? Are you getting the protection you seek?

 

[BruceMuzz]

And carry a pocket-size bottle of Purell with you.

 

I don't know why they have Purell dispensers outside the main dining rooms, then hand you a menu that's been handled by others.

 

BYO Purell, and use it right before eating.

 

Woody

 

Those menus that have been handled by others are wiped down with Virox periodically before being re-used by the next diners.

 

You should be asking why people pick up their bottle of Purell with contaminated hands, disinfect their hands with the Purell, then handle the contaminated bottle (thereby re-contaminating their hands) to put it away in a pocket or purse.

[woody73]

BruceMuzz: Thank you for sharing your expertise. Are you familiar with a product available in the U.K. called "Mentholatum Response Beta, Anti-viral Hand Sanitizer"? ResponseBeta_Alcohol_Free_Hand_Sanitizer

 

Is it more effective than Purell? We buy it at the Boots drug store and use it when traveling and while onboard.

 

Woody

[kayhold]

Those menus that have been handled by others are wiped down with Virox periodically before being re-used by the next diners.

 

You should be asking why people pick up their bottle of Purell with contaminated hands, disinfect their hands with the Purell, then handle the contaminated bottle (thereby re-contaminating their hands) to put it away in a pocket or purse.

 

Anyone with any sense puts it on one hand, and then drops the bottle in the bag with the other hand BEFORE rubbing it both hands.

 

The same way people with any sense use a paper towel to turn of the sink water or open the bathroom door in public bathrooms.

[Watson's aunt]

Hi

 

My last cruise the stand was there at entrance also the had waiters holding a bottle. buts opps I asked for menu's every day

 

 

Mary

[sail7seas]

Hi

 

My last cruise the stand was there at entrance also the had waiters holding a bottle. buts opps I asked for menu's every day

 

 

Mary

 

 

 

Please humor me and my apologies but........

 

I cannot figure out what "buts opps I asked for a menu's every day" means.

 

 

It's bugging me to not be able to get it. :o

 

Thanks.

 

[Robin7]

Those menus that have been handled by others are wiped down with Virox periodically before being re-used by the next diners.

 

You should be asking why people pick up their bottle of Purell with contaminated hands, disinfect their hands with the Purell, then handle the contaminated bottle (thereby re-contaminating their hands) to put it away in a pocket or purse.

 

I've always wondered about the menus. Thank you. But they don't wipe them EVERY time, do they? Just wondering.

 

I can make myself INSANE thinking about this. You use the Purell (assuming you use it correctly) sit down at the table, and your chair isn't just right even though the steward has attempted to make it so. So you put your hands UNDER THE SEAT and schooch yourself forward or back. ARGH! Or rest your hands on the arms. Or touch the salt and pepper shakers! Or....

 

I just do my best and pray. Otherwise I could end up just like Monk. :D

 

Robin

[Watson's aunt]

sorry I think I meant to say but opps meaning I asked for a menu every night

[SwissMyst]

And carry a pocket-size bottle of Purell with you.

 

I don't know why they have Purell dispensers outside the main dining rooms, then hand you a menu that's been handled by others.

 

BYO Purell, and use it right before eating.

 

Woody

 

A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing - questions about effectiveness of hand sanitizers:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/archive/index.php/t-994922.html

[SwissMyst]

Eat everything with a fork or spoon and you have no worries about menu bugs getting from your hands into your mouth.

 

Just "touching" bugs does not make you sick. Touching bugs and the putting them in your mouth, eyes or nose will possibly make you sick, but not always.

 

Only you can stop the chain of contact and it does not stop after you squirt some stuff on your hands of dubious value.

 

Better you don't eat anything you have to handle with your hands, which seems to be mainly the bread rolls. Everything else you tend to eat with utensils so there is little possibility your "dirty" hands will contact anything you put in your mouth. And I missing something here?:confused:

[bphman]

Nothing beats soap and water. Purell doesn't work for Noro but is better than nothing. I can't believe the number of people who don't wash their hands after using the rest room. They should wear a sign around their necks labeling them as dirty. Just returned from Oceania Marina and loved that they served you in the lido buffet. They did the same the first time we cruised the Maasdam but not the second. I find it a health hazard to have all the guests handle to utensils. This is why we generally eat in the MDR.

[bphman]

I just saw that Princess has 2 delayed sailings from Fort Lauderdale due to Norovirus.

[sail7seas]

Ruby and Crown Princess

 

I heard it on CNN or Fox

 

[kayhold]

Also, to kill Norovirus, you want a sanitizer that contains benzalkonium chloride. Germ-X contains it, not sure about purell.

[sail7seas]

Can someone explain to me why HAL removed bars of soap from cabins when there is such a need to wash, wash, wash our hands ?!????! Are we to lean over the tubs to reach the far wall and get bath gel with which to wash our hands? :confused:

 

Defies logic IMO

What does the soap cost vs the cost of deep cleaning the ship, the huge amount of work from a Noro outbreak, and

bad PR? Of all things to cut back on........ Bars of SOAP?

[SwissMyst]

Also, to kill Norovirus, you want a sanitizer that contains benzalkonium chloride. Germ-X contains it, not sure about purell.

 

Needs to be repeated: contact time with any sanitizer is what makes it "work". Know how long you have to keep your hands in contact with any particular ingredient for it to be effective. Thorough soap and water washing is effective because it physically removes quantities of "bugs".

 

Substituting thorough hand washing with any sort of contact substance is simply not the same thing - there has to be sufficient chemical contact with the "bugs" for it to work and according to studies even then is still not at good as thorough hand washing.

 

This point is belabored because to do "something" that is basically ineffective is the same thing as doing nothing at all. Watch those hand to mouth/eyes/nose transmission routes and always assume you remain contaminated regardless of what you did last. And remember just touching a "bug" does not make you sick. It has to be put inside your body by your own contaminated hand.

 

Become hyperaware of where your hands are at all time. Fascinating studies also show how often people touch their faces - several times an hour without even being aware they are doing this.

 

Plus noro can be a food borne disease as well and scrubbing your hands with anything, even soap and water does nothing for that transmission route either.

[Robin7]

Can someone explain to me why HAL removed bars of soap from cabins when there is such a need to wash, wash, wash our hands ?!????! Are we to lean over the tubs to reach the far wall and get bath gel with which to wash our hands? :confused:

 

Defies logic IMO

What does the soap cost vs the cost of deep cleaning the ship, the huge amount of work from a Noro outbreak, and

bad PR? Of all things to cut back on........ Bars of SOAP?

 

They removed the bars of soap from the cabins??? Wow! Am I behind the times!!!! That's CRAZY! When did they do that? Are all of the toiletries gone? (We haven't been on a HAL ship in 3.5 years.)

 

Have you all watched "Contagion"? I wanted to hibernate after seeing that!

 

Robin