What Do You Do to Stay Healthy When Cruising ?

Now that we are in our late 70s & more prone to air born virus ,we asked our Geriatric /Internist how they stay healthy after seeing some rather ill patients . The answer is they take a 50 mg tablet of zinc daily .

Over the years & 78 cruises I personally have seen the insides of cruise ships infirmaries more often than /I liked ,not knowing this little pill could keep my immune system at a elevated level .

Not knowing this & traveling in closed or limited access areas like commercial aircraft & cruise ships ,we all can be prone to air born virus .;which has nothing to do with that dreaded Noro virus reported many times on cruise ships to the CDC

So what precautions do you take so not to get ill whether on a cruise ship ,in a commercial aircraft or even at work ?

We hope to learn some new tricks to stay healthy :)

Never touch the handrails on the stairways.

Use a paper towel to grab the door handle on the public bathroom doors.

Nothing earth-shattering:

- Wipe down the room upon arrival, including door knobs and the remote control.

- Use only our own stateroom bathroom during the cruise.

- Wash hands with soap before eating (far superior to hand sanitizer).

- Drink plenty of water, eat plenty of vegetables.

Never touch the handrails on the stairways.

 

Use a paper towel to grab the door handle on the public bathroom doors.

At only 58 with considerable arthritis using the handrails on stairs, which I use heavily is not optional. I frequently use a closed fist to steady myself when needed, and wash my hands afterwards. One thing I tend to forget at home, but always remember on a cruise is keep your hands away from your eyes, mouth, and nose! This does remind me of a funny story (to me) on Freedom. I went into the nearest bathroom near the deck 5 dining room. The sign on the inside door said USE PAPER TOWEL TO OPEN door. The only problem was that bathroom only had hand dryers.

I keep hoping on Royal's newest ships they would re-invent the Windjammer so that there is a place to put serving utensils in every bin so people don't put them on top of food.

To the OP, do you believe at 70 your are more prone to airborne illness? You may be right, but I'm just not sure. I've seen some cold products that are heavy in Zinc and they do seem to help.

Keep it stress free and try not to engage in conversation about how many cruises one has been on

Nothing earth-shattering:

- Wipe down the room upon arrival, including door knobs and the remote control.

- Use only our own stateroom bathroom during the cruise.

- Wash hands with soap before eating (far superior to hand sanitizer).

- Drink plenty of water, eat plenty of vegetables.

Have you been on an Oasis class yet? The deck 14 aft cabins are a long way from the MDR.

If eating in the buffet, it's simply not enough to hand sanitize upon entry. We bring a small portable bottle in with us an use it when we sit down after getting our food, but before touching our silverware. If you think about it, people can (and do) still wipe their noses and mouths with bare hands or cough into their hands after entering into the buffet. Then they touch the serving tongs... ...the same ones you need to use.

Just be aware of your hands before touching anything that is entering your mouth, and before rubbing your eyes, mouth, or nose etc...

It's nice to have a small, pocket sized sanitizer with you most of the time. We use it before eating in the MDR as well, and other eating locations.

Dan

To avoid Noro virus the above 2 posts are correct methods .

what we are looking for here is what people may do to not get ill from air born virus which is very prevalent in commercial aircraft ,due to the recirculated air & on cruise ships because of close quarters with other passengers ,like in the MDR ,theatre ,casino where people are fairly close to one another

Taking a 50 mg zinc table one per day a week before flying & then every day while vacationing on a cruise ship may be the only answer to elevate our immune systems to fight off air born virus attacks . What might other people do is that question ?

We take a major multi-mineral vitamin tablet (includes 11 mg Zinc) and a super B tablet daily; our doctor recommended no more than 40 mg Zinc daily, and not for an extended time. The combination has kept us "safe" while others in our traveling group have come down with sniffles, colds, gastric distress, etc.

We also wash hands often and use towels to protect hands when departing restrooms.

If eating in the buffet, it's simply not enough to hand sanitize upon entry. We bring a small portable bottle in with us an use it when we sit down after getting our food, but before touching our silverware. If you think about it, people can (and do) still wipe their noses and mouths with bare hands or cough into their hands after entering into the buffet. Then they touch the serving tongs... ...the same ones you need to use.

 

Just be aware of your hands before touching anything that is entering your mouth, and before rubbing your eyes, mouth, or nose etc...

 

It's nice to have a small, pocket sized sanitizer with you most of the time. We use it before eating in the MDR as well, and other eating locations.

 

Dan

Dan you & others who have posted above are absolutely correct & all those ideas we have done personally many times However ,those precautions won't help if ones immune system is low (people who are diabetic ,heart problems ie ) from getting ill from a" air born virus "

I don't do anything different than I would do at work ( I work in a special education school). As far as Noro virus the hand sanitizer does nothing. My sister's best friend ( she is a doctor with her own practice) sent me an e-mail with a link from the CDC stateing that the noro virus is not killed by alcohol based hand gels. Good old fashion soap and water. And for hard surfaces Bleach!!

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I think staying hydrated is a good idea. It's very easy to forget to drink (water, that is - I never forget beer!) My allergies play up if I haven't had enough of the old H2O. Lots of people rave about stuff called Echinecha (sp?) or maybe Vitamin C?

Hydrogen Peroxide Wipes....

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Dan you & others who have posted above are absolutely correct & all those ideas we have done personally many times However ,those precautions won't help if ones immune system is low (people who are diabetic ,heart problems ie ) from getting ill from a" air born virus "

Ah, I didn't read the original post close enough. You're right. I never thought so much about air-borne illnesses while cruising to be honest, but I might check out the zinc option, even if I am still in my 40's and healthy. (well, physically at least :')) We do take a multivitamin while cruising every day, (same as at home), but never checked the zinc level I'm getting with them.

The closest I come to thinking about air-borne virus is when I see someone walking towards, or just in front of me, me that just coughed. I tend to hold my breath until I'm well past the imaginary "cough cloud". :) :D

Kindly,

Dan

How about this one.... Learn a new skill and only operate your stateroom remote control with your feet? :eek:

Dan

Wash your hands frequently, try to avoid touching handrails and elevator buttons.

Drink a lot of alcohol:halo:

Along with everything else posted above I use my knuckle to touch the elevator button. Small thing, but I like to think it helps.

Drink a lot of alcohol:halo:

I wasn't going to say it, but since you did, I will agree with it.

As long as I can still climb stairs, the elevators are OUT for me. A couple of times when I have been talked into taking the elevator, people have been coughing and guess who comes down with a cold a couple of days later? Now I flat out refuse and will meet my party.

Also wash your hands! Soap and water and even the hand sanitizers help.

Paper towel to open the doors too.

Teri

It all ways amazes us that there are off shoot flamers . When a topic is important they still flame or just for no reason at all . Well imo they need to get a life & we hope they do lol

My wife and I take an Airboune every night before going to sleep and hand sanitize after getting our food from the windjammer.

As long as I can still climb stairs, the elevators are OUT for me. A couple of times when I have been talked into taking the elevator, people have been coughing and guess who comes down with a cold a couple of days later? Now I flat out refuse and will meet my party.

 

Also wash your hands! Soap and water and even the hand sanitizers help.

 

Paper towel to open the doors too.

 

Teri

Agree....take the stairs if able.

Elevators are the most infected places on the boat. Yuck!

Second thought....

Maybe the "hot tubs" come in first??? Or those solarium beds on Oasis class??

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Just as a word, zinc, while perhaps shortening a duration of a cold by a day or 2, does little if anything against influenza and zippo to noro.

Hygiene is the best defense against and there are antiviral drugs for those two. Antibiotics will not help.

Nothing different then I do every day, other then possibly washing my hands more frequently. I avoid the use of hand sanitizers. I always use the handrails while going up and down the stairs. Would not want to fall and break something. I don't worry about elevator buttons, or not touching my face. Never clean the stateroom, or worry about touching things in the Windjammer. I just use basic common sense and good manners. My immune system is top notch - at 65 years of age, I have never had the flu. I do pick up a stomach virus now and again. I have had 2 in the last 15 years. Not bad for an old lady. Oh, I work in a public school - exposed to all kinds of things. DH, can claim the same illness free life. We both have great immune systems.