Ever wonder about the air quality inside? Cruise cough?

[Wj420]

There's an interesting thread on rccl regarding possible mold in the a/c of a cabin onboard the allure of the sea. One poster wondered if there's a correlation between mold and the cough so many of us seem to get on certain sailings. It did make me wonder how the air quality inside the ship.

[ehfl]

The air filters handler of any large building (or ship) is going to be full of dust and some mold. It's normal, and humans have been living with dust and mold for millions of years. It's really not a huge issue in most cases...in fact, evidence now supports the idea that those that live in a more sterile environment have more respiratory problems, such as asthma, not fewer.

[Cruise Raider]

Mold in the air conditioning unit can lead to a myriad of health issues, especially in those that are immunocompromised, elderly and young children. Some types of mold produce toxic compounds known as mycotoxins which can lead to serious conditions like pneumonia and bleeding in the lungs. When mold is in the air conditioning system, it can be particularly problematic. Microscopic mold spores become airborne when air blows through the ducts and are dispersed throughout the home, where they are easily inhaled.

 

With that being said, I have never really had a problem with these issues on a cruiseship. I now wonder the CDC's VSP inspections look into this. The program does have sections for Equipment and Facilities as well as Environmental Health.

 

Addendum:

Aha...question answered! Ventilation systems System maintenance and System cleaning inspected by the CDC.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Cruise Raider

[Cruise Junky]

Interesting. I had the worst cough I've ever had on our first Celebrity cruise. I associated it with raving AC on a tour but I guess you never know. Never had a cough like it.

[perditax]

Seems more likely the cough going around is an infectious thing, since I've seen it reported on multiple lines.

[cocker2]

My husband contracted 'cabin cough' almost 3 years ago and kept it for 6 weeks. I have a chronic chest condition, had to attend the medical room twice for drugs and was I

L for months after.

A remedy suggested to us was turn the AC in the cabin into the neutral position overnight and you can put a damp cloth over the vent at night to moisten the air a little.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[hillslife]

Just off the Constellation for 28 days....it was daily conversation about the increasing number of coughs each day...hubby and I are battling it now. Between the AC, close quarters, ventilation system, those that don't use hand sanitizer or wash their hands:eek: and port intensive days..it wears your body down....but I'm sure there could be some mold in there somewhere too!

Edited November 26, 2015 by hillslife

[smtcan]

Just off the Constellation for 28 days....it was daily conversation about the increasing number of coughs each day...hubby and I are battling it now. Between the AC, close quarters, ventilation system, those that don't use hand sanitizer or wash their hands:eek: and port intensive days..it wears your body down....but I'm sure there could be some mold in there somewhere too!

 

We were on the same cruises and the day we arrived home I developed a really bad cold and cough. We were very careful about hand washing and sanitizer and hoped we had escaped the bug. I am almost over it and luckily DH doesn't seem to be affected. When we were on Eclipse we saw the filters in the AC being changed on our corridor and the workers told us they were going around the whole ship, so presumably Celebrity has a schedule for doing this.

[nordski]

Perhaps a wild question, but, having just been on a cruise with seemingly lots of bronchial sufferers, I wonder if cruise ships ever decide to institute procedures that are usually reserved for Noro.

 

Certainly the medical officer was aware of some of the cases.

 

Perhaps that approach is totally impractical, but serving ourselves in the buffet became a concern.

[A Sixth?]

Maybe it's time to have an addition to the "hand sanitizer" station. :cool:

 

A breath spray station for eliminating/reducing mouth-borne germs.:p

 

[mafig]

Every morning on the Reflection DH and I would start coughing.

 

I even remarked, because the A/C worked so well, "the air must be really dry in here." No long term effects, though.:)

[CathyCruises]

We were on the constellation TA and several of our group developed cold symptoms. DH in particular got a terrible cough which he still has, disembarked a week ago today. We barely slept the last two nights of the cruise due to severe coughing. No way to tell whether it was related to the ship or just acquired from other passengers. First time we've ever gotten sick on a cruise.

[TeaBag]

Just off Eclipse TA and many were coughing on there too but we were mostly inside because it was a northerly route. We got the cold too and then I got the cough.

[WAVTAM]

As a retired physician with over 100 cruises, the typical cruiser cough is no different than those that get the same issue on long flights. Anytime , you put a mass of people in a confined area with recirculated air, along with inactivity, most will succumb to some sort of upper respiratory condition. Just the nature of the environment.