Anybody else ever fall ill after a cruise?

[amc80]

Yes. Tip- don't eat street tacos in Roatan.

[Davyjonesrugrat]

I went to my doctor's and was given two course of antibiotics but these didn't work for me so i've just had wait for it to pass but im now being sent up to see an ENT specialist to try and get everything sorted out as my voice is still scratchy and i have a cough!

Could it be related to too much kareoke and amber nectar? lol

[louhun88]

Could it be related to too much kareoke and amber nectar? lol

 

kareoke = no, cocktails = well who knows :rolleyes:

[bbbearden]

We have been on 19 cruises now, andI can tell you that after every one of them, we have been very sick.

 

Our problem was diagosed as PCDS - Post Cruise Depression Syndrome. I have been told that the only cure is to book another cuise! :p

 

I have suffered from Post Cruise Depression Syndrome also. Another factor that really complicates this illness is something called WORK.

[MichelleChell]

YES I lost my voice on day 4 of our 7 day. Then when I got home I had a bad respritory infection.

 

The girl at the coffee counter on the ship told me that I was 1 of a few people she saw that had no voice.

[Julesben]

Who knows?

 

54 people have read your thread and only one has responded affirmatively. Simple chance is a strong possibility for your illness. Hope you feel better soon!

 

Nothing else to do then.

[arewethereyet]

We sailed on Carnival Victory out of San Juan last fall. The ship was packed (they had a last minute sale literally at the pier to sell off empty cabins) so I wasn't entirely surprised when I came down with a nasty cold about four days into our trip. All week I had noticed a lot of people coughing and sneezing without covering their faces so I tried to take extra precautions (extra diligent with handwashing, not touching stair railings, etc) but I still got sick. By the time we flew home, I was so congested that I could barely hear. Now I now why they say not to fly with a cold...it took forever for my ears to pop (terribly painful!) and I literally could not hear for three days after we got back. It also took me longer to get my "land legs" back because my equilibrium was so messed up from the cold. That won't put me off from cruising again (we've been on one since and have one coming up in Sept) but I absolutely will never travel without a small box of cold meds in my bag again!

I've been sick after 4 or 5 cruises. All of them required flying to get to the embarkation port. I've also gone on several cruises where I didn't have to fly, and I have never gotten sick on any of those. I suspect being cooped up in an airplane with 300 people for 5 to 10 hours is about as good a way to catch something as I can think of.

 

I can empathize on the ear pain. I've had three very bad episodes from flying when sick (all coming home - you do have to come home). The pain is unreal, and it took almost a month on one occasion to get my hearing back to normal (not fun). In any case, you can certainly catch something aboard ship. But, airline flights are my prime suspect.

[pcur]

Just so happens I was comparing notes with a fellow CruiseCritic buddy over lunch about 10 days ago, and asked if she and her husband are experiencing respiratory infections while on or after cruises. She said yes, and they call it "lung rot". It's happened to them several times, and they had a really bad case on their TA to Europe last Fall, and again on their Caribbean cruise last month.

 

My DH and I have developed respiratory infections during and/or after our last several cruises. He's still got sinus problems, and we got back on 5/22.

 

I took Zicam with me this time since we got sick last October on our b2b cruises, and it helped a lot this time around.

[BrytEydBelle]

I took my second cruise last month, and for the second time, I was sick as a dog afterwards. Both times, I didn't feel like death until the day I got off the ship (and it was more than depression, lol) This time I lost my voice for about a week on top of a constant hacking cough, sore through, and general yuckiness. My first cruise, I was so sick the day of disembarkation, we had to cancel our planned day at Disney while I layed in hotel bed whimpering.

 

The only connection I can think of is on both cruises, I spent an extended amount of time in the hot tub the day before I got off the ship. Next cruise I plan to take airborn every day and avoid the hot tubs :(. Better that than getting the plague.

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

I often get sick on a land trip or cruise that involves a flight, something that usually starts with a sore throat.

This last episode started on May 28 & my head & especially my ear is still cloggy, so I'm on antibiotics since I have to fly again in 6 more days! The flight back from Europe (8 hours) was pretty uncomfortable when descending.

 

I imagine everyone suffers from PCD.;)

Ciao

~ Jo ~ :)

[emdia43]

I went on my first cruise last month and 1 week after coming home I was diagnosed with a respiratory infection which I'm still suffering with a month later :(

 

I'm just wondering if this has happened to other people after a cruise, Im thinking it was maybe caused by the air con as the ship was pretty cold most of the time :confused:

 

Louise x

 

Yes, I get it and I call it cabin cough.

It is very common to get respiratory illness aboard cruise ships.

http://www.cnn.org/2011/HEALTH/expert.q.a/01/31/travel.illness.shu/index.html

there are many references to it on the CDC site.

I don't think being cold has any bearing, but those large air conditioning systems which may or may not be cleaned as often as needed,do.

Remember Legionnaire's disease. It is still around..

[tnt10]

Interesting how so many of you seem to have been prescribed antibiotics, with no relief. Perhaps not infections at all? Perhaps allergies, (yes, new ones can develop at any age, existing ones can be exagerated by rapid temp and humidy changes), or colds, (similar symptoms) are to blame.

Stress could be another cause, and yes, believe it or not, some vacations can have some very stressful moments.

So before we all start thinking it's some mysterious cruise illness we all are getting, let's start thinking about what we have just put our bodies through, (change in sleep/rest patterns, excessive food/drink, lack of sleep, etc.), and what we can do in the future to keep ourselves healthy.

Happy Cruising,

TnT

[RADICALBURN]

Yes,after our December cruise on the Allure. Our son came down with flew like resp infection and fever. Treatment with antibiotics didn't help at all. Getting worse the doctor went to the strongest medicine available, killing all bacteria both good and bad. He recovered after about a week. Doctor blamed it on a virus form overseas making its rounds.

[cruise52]

I have been on several cruises. I don't recall getting sick after coming home. However, On my last cruise, last year in Alaska, I picked up Norovirus while on the cruise. My husband and son became ill after returning home. I believe it was the same norovirus i had on the cruise and they may have got it from me, but who knows. Last month I attended a business seminar with several hundred people in Southern California followed by a visit to Disneyland. The day I returned home I came down with a bad respiratory illness followed by a sinus infection that took nearly a month to get over. My point is, who knows when and where you were exposed. It could have been on the cruise or in the airport. Anytime you are in an environment with large numbers of people you are more likely to come in contact with viruses or bacteria.

[BND]

Several people I work with have a respiratory infection currently and none of them have been on a cruise. It's just something that's going around.

 

This question might as well be "Anyone else fall ill after coming home from the mall/work/life?"

 

It's very common to get sick when you are exposed to new viruses.

 

DH and I have been on 8 cruises and have never gotten sick after one.

[Gone Fishing]

Seems like we do the opposite. A day or two before we leave home someone in the family gets sick (but never anything too serious.)

It happened to my oldest daughter twice and me once.

 

There is nothing like sitting through a show with watery eyes and a hanky to your face. I was hoping people assumed that I was just very moved by the performance. :o

 

On board use hand sanitizer excessively. It works, it really does. Besides you never know when my family might be cruising with you. :)

[linedancer]

I have gotten sick twice. We live close to the port, so we didn't have to fly. I know I have a problem with cigarette smoke. My DH likes to gamble. So if I go and hang out with him there the smoke starts to irritate my sinuses, and sooner or later I will get sick. My fault. I need to stay out of the casino. But I like to gamble too. I have the same problem at home. We have the casinos in Florida. The ones operated by the Indians allow smoking. Every once in awhile I go with our friends and sooner or later I get sick. I NEED TO GIVE UP THE GAMBLING.:eek:

 

IRENE