One week to go... and here comes the sick

[ma23peas]

Step one: no antibiotics 90-99% of these things are viral, not bacterial

Step two: 12 hour Guaifenesin 2x a day, Zicam 3-4x a day

Step three: Rest and hydrate

If you develop a cough, bring throat losenges, and take the Mucinex (guaifenisin) until it passes.

It’s likely to be fine, but your energy levels will tank a bit, enjoy the lounge chairs 😁😁

[Trainer]

You need not wait until Monday if you have Urgent care facilities near by. They are mostly open 7 days and can provide you with any prescription or shots you need. I use our hospital-affiliated urgent care center for lots of stuff and they always fix my problem!

[firstcarib]

I have been in my body more than 50 years .The last time I had a cold was March ,2015 .

 

If you exercise ,eat healthy ,do not drink or smoke you will not have to worry about getting colds.

 

 

 

It's just the germs from all the other passengers you need to avoid!

My thoughts are that alcohol is used to kill germs so I am gonna make full use of my drinks package, just to be on the safe side![emoji12]

 

 

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[wolfcathorse]

most recently (my August and September cruises on Mariner) the check in agent only asked if I was feeling well, no paperwork was filled out. So it's up to you if you're going to stay home or board. Given that you have insurance it's going to come down to how much fun do you anticipate being able to have while fighting the common cold. And how much fun are you going to be for your travel partner.

[zanydoc]

I prescribe for you....the Royal Caribbean Ultimate Drink package :D! Plenty of alchohol to kill any virus or bacteria plus lots of vitamin C in that fresh squeezed OJ to boost your immune system!

[bighairtexan]

re: the flu shot. I have a cruise coming up in 2 weeks so decided to get my shot yesterday so my arm won't be so sore.

Two things. First you're not going to "get the flu" from a flu shot. And second: this flu shot is different from most which take 2 weeks to take full effect. The pharmacist administering it to me said that this one is fully effective w/in 5 days. So it starts working almost right away. My arm was SUPER sore the first day but 24 hours later it's not sore at all.

[MrsPete]

Given you've spent bucks to pay for a cruise, I would hit a medical professional now for diagnosis and treatment. Respiratory, strep, sinus, viral, bacterial... get the pro's opinion.

Yep, that's exactly what I was going to say. Upper-resp stuff can just be a simple cold ... or it can turn nasty and stay with you for weeks and become something worse.

 

At any normal time, I'd tend to wait a couple days and see which direction it's going ... but if I had a cruise scheduled only days away, I'd get to the doctor ASAP. Even though I am usually in the camp of "don't over-use antibiotics", I'd ask the doctor for an antibiotic ... just in case it's something like Strep or Bronchitus in the making.

 

And don't neglect the obvious stuff:

This week, get plenty of sleep, eat healthy, drink plenty of healthy liquids.

Pack plenty of OTC meds.

[marci22]

I was surprised that we didn't have to fill out that health form on our last cruise out of Bayonne.

[#1cruiseaholic]

re: the flu shot. I have a cruise coming up in 2 weeks so decided to get my shot yesterday so my arm won't be so sore.

Two things. First you're not going to "get the flu" from a flu shot. And second: this flu shot is different from most which take 2 weeks to take full effect. The pharmacist administering it to me said that this one is fully effective w/in 5 days. So it starts working almost right away. My arm was SUPER sore the first day but 24 hours later it's not sore at all.

I second that sentiment. DH and I got our flu shot Wednesday. We are headed to Freedom next Saturday and wanted to make sure it would be in effect. Thanks for letting me know it only takes five days.

We are doing everything we can to stay healthy.

What cruise are you going on? I remember cruising with you years ago either on Grandeur or Enchantment. Went to a wine tasting and the sommelier was showing how to uncork wine with a special implement and broke the bottle.

[Laurie997]

Wow feel better!!! Are you on our oasis ship?

[julie3fan]

I got my flu shot yesterday, and I was told it will take 2 weeks to be fully effective. I wonder why we're getting different time frames?

[the mistral wind]

Let's see if anyone has experience in this:

 

We board a week from Sunday. Having been in this body for 50 or so years I recognize the signs of an upper-respiratory "thing" starting to manifest itself. Great timing :rolleyes: !

 

I definitely don't want to be one of those people barred from boarding because of a runny nose and coughing at the port.

 

By next week this all may have blown over and I'd be fine, but I'd rather check my alternatives at this point and avoid a Dallas-to-Galveston-and back drive and on-the-hook for the price of the trip. Especially if part of that involved "you should've said something at the first sign of trouble."

 

And it will be asked, YES we have Travel Insurance. The TA's back in the office Monday to comb thru the details. The last policy I had noted a refund in case of an illness "so disabling as to cause a reasonable person to cancel their trip." I wouldn't call an upper-respiratory thing "disabling" but my guess is the folks at the port have serious issues letting me aboard to be confined closely with 3500 or so others.

 

Any advice from the collective wisdom of the group?

Michael this time go straight to the Dr.

He can determine if it is bacterial or viral and can order something for you either way. Since you are traveling next week, Stress that to your Dr. He would be reluctant to order anything for you if he didn't know the facts. Usually they just let this run its course. But in your case he may order meds to speed up the process.

[famfam]

Last cruise I got several prescriptions from my internist to take with me, just in case. I never had to use them, but felt better having them with me. I always take out travel insurance, but felt I would rather have take my own meds instead of having to "wait" to see the ship's doctor. I also got my flu shot last week. I'm on a cruise Thanksgiving week, so I wanted to get it early. There are also disinfectant sprays you can use when you first arrive in your cabin to help cleanse your room of germs, both in the air and on door handles, etc.. I don't know if it really helps, but I felt better on my last cruise having used it. I'm taking disinfectant wipes and the spray on my upcoming cruise. Never hurts to be proactive.

[Robinhill]

Let's see if anyone has experience in this:

 

We board a week from Sunday. Having been in this body for 50 or so years I recognize the signs of an upper-respiratory "thing" starting to manifest itself. Great timing :rolleyes: !

 

I definitely don't want to be one of those people barred from boarding because of a runny nose and coughing at the port.

 

By next week this all may have blown over and I'd be fine, but I'd rather check my alternatives at this point and avoid a Dallas-to-Galveston-and back drive and on-the-hook for the price of the trip. Especially if part of that involved "you should've said something at the first sign of trouble."

 

And it will be asked, YES we have Travel Insurance. The TA's back in the office Monday to comb thru the details. The last policy I had noted a refund in case of an illness "so disabling as to cause a reasonable person to cancel their trip." I wouldn't call an upper-respiratory thing "disabling" but my guess is the folks at the port have serious issues letting me aboard to be confined closely with 3500 or so others.

 

Any advice from the collective wisdom of the group?

 

 

They don't do the health forms anymore. They just ask you at checkin if you are sick. in one week your cold should just about be gone so no would be a safe answer