How do you stay healthy on a cruise?

[Athankfulheart]

Diffusing thieves oil in our cabin humidifies the dry air as well as boosts our immune systems. The thing I would press most with a kid is hand washing and no eating with hands. While eye rubbing etc can be a problem, I do think that eating with hands is the biggest breach. If you can nab that I think it drastically reduces your risk of belly troubles. Use utensils or a napkin to handle food.

[Cruisin'Christine]

I know there is some kind of preventative medication called dukoral, which helps to prevent traveller's diarrhea. You take it ahead of the cruise at specific intervals. That may help. Other than that, handwashing and hand sanitizing are the most important things. Perhaps using the dining room more than the buffet (where passengers touch the serving spoons, etc) would also help.

[mom says]

I know there is some kind of preventative medication called dukoral' date=' which helps to prevent traveller's diarrhea. You take it ahead of the cruise at specific intervals. That may help. Other than that, handwashing and hand sanitizing are the most important things. Perhaps using the dining room more than the buffet (where passengers touch the serving spoons, etc) would also help.[/quote']

 

Dukoral is an oral vaccine which is more or less effective in preventing diarrhea due to enterotoxigenic E. Coli. It will not prevent GI illnesses due to other bacteria, parasites, or viruses such as NOROVIRUS.

[SweetPea0517]

Yes, we do fly not able to get off work enough to drive.

 

 

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[BeagleOne]

You have what is by far the most important at the bottom of your list: HANDWASHING! Not touching your hands to your face unless right after washing them is job number one.

 

And far more important than not touching handrails, elevator buttons, and buffet utensils is: public restrooms. Don't. Just don't. Go back to your cabin bathroom as often as you can.

 

And save yourself the effort of wiping down your cabin: Clorox wipes kill bacteria, not germs. So a little exposure to said bacteria will keep your immune system alert. Plus don't forget your cabin steward will be traipsing in at least twice a day carrying the detritus of two dozen other cabins on his uniform.

 

Bacteria ARE a form of germ. And Clorox wipes are supposed to kill viruses too. The problem with wet wipes is, they don't keep the surface wet long enough to kill as much as you think they might. Contact time is key; a quick wipe won't do much except maybe pick up some stuff from the surface.

 

Wiping down the cabin won't really achieve anything. The most important thing to do is thorough and frequent hand-washing.

[cruzeluver]

I wash my hands after using the bathroom and before eating, That's it. nothing else. I am certainly not wasting any of my vacation re-cleaning my cabin or using wipes that smell awful and do nothing but make some people feel better mentally.

[delliemd]

Hello all,

 

My teenage daughter was sick for half of our last cruise with norovirus. Needless to say, it was horrible. We have another cruise coming up, and she's nervous about getting sick again. Here are my plans to keep her (and the rest of us) healthy:

 

- Wiping down the cabin with Clorox wipes when we arrive

- No touching of handrails

- Avoiding the buffet as much as possible

- No hot tubs

- Very frequent handwashing and use of hand sanitizer

 

Am I missing anything? I'm really not a germophobe, but I want to do everything I can to avoid a repeat of our last experience.

 

Thanks!

 

Most people pick up the tv remote before wiping down ,it's probably the germiest item in the cabin.I also wipe down my plane seat arms ,tray & seat belt.Also a great tip to stay healthy is to put a few drops of organic oregano oil on a tissue seal in a baggie & inhale periodically it's an anti viral.

[Travelcat2]

In terms of norovirus (or other gastrointestinal illnesses), wiping with a bleach based product will not kill the germs. Hospitals are now using peroxide based products for many types of disinfecting.

 

We are not germophobes (sp?) but do want to take precautions. The OP listed some good things, but in addition to changing to peroxide based wipes, we also:

 

1. Wipe trays, armrests and any other plastic areas around our seats on airplanes (these areas are rarely washed - even if it won't make you sick, it is pretty gross).

 

2. When entering the cabin, wipe down light switches, door handles, the telephone and remote control (you can do this just once - only takes 5 minutes).

 

3. If it is winter and colds (or noro) is going around the ship, watch out for salt and pepper shakers, condiment bottles (ketchup, mustard for instance) - even menus (if they are not paper). Another source of contamination is using the utensils provided to get your food at the buffet. Either use a napkin to pick up the utensils or use your hands and then a wipe before eating. Again, this would not necessarily apply on most cruises - just ones where sickness is going around (now for instance - we were on a cruise in November where everyone seemed to be coughing and sneezing -- they are spreading germs everywhere).