Want to avoid getting cruise crud on our next cruise

[innlady1]

I've also used the oregano oil. It is terrible tasting, but I have to admit it worked.

 

 

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I get my essential oils from doTerra...will check out oil of oregano.

 

 

 

 

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[janette34]

I swear by echinacea, usually start taking it a week before travel and continue throughout the cruise.

 

 

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[Aquahound]

The most common cause of upper respiratory problems is from the AC lowering the humidity so much that your nasal mucus membranes dry out and this first line of defense against disease is breached. Use of a saline nasal spray is recommended.

 

Bingo. And it does not help that on HAL, the stateroom A/C tends to blow directly on to the bed.

[unclerich]

For those interested in the science of some of these products, the NIH Center for Complementary and Integrative Health is a good source:

 

https://nccih.nih.gov/health/herbsataglance.htm

 

 

Here's a link to a journal article about oregano (expresses caution):

 

http://japsonline.com/admin/php/uploads/575_pdf.pdf

 

 

Good health,

Richard

[janmcn]

The biggest threat of getting the "Cruise Crud" (upper respiratory infection...a virus) is sitting among those who already have it and insist on going to the theater, casino, library, etc. and spreading their germs (airborne!) to the rest of us. Sit where you can leave in the theater, so you can exit if you see coughing around you, etc. It does make a big difference. We were on one cruise that ran out of cough syrup returning from AU to the US. If you feel sick, remember you are going to infect others around you, so please self-quarantine! Washing your hands, handrails, etc. won't stop you much from airborne viruses which this is....staying out of their immediate area will. We get up and leave if someone is coughing in the library for instance.

[Sage]

I agree Airborne is helpful, but the most important thing you can do is wash your hands and use the hand sanitizer. They have small sizes for sale, and I make sure everyone in our group has one. I also take some hand sanitizer on a tissue when I first get to the room and wipe the remote, the phone, the door handles and the safe door. We have done well and not been sick.

[navybankerteacher]

Couldn't agree more, that plane is a breeding ground. My sister swore by Airborne, try it won't hurt.

 

My experience is that the flight rather than the cruise is the problem. I often come down with upper respiratory problem after long flights not involving cruises - and have often cruised without a flight - with no problem.

[belle2]

WASH YOUR HANDS LIKE A CRAZY PERSON!! For a full 20 seconds, with warm water and SCRUB. Every time you eat, enter your cabin, use the restroom, etc. Especially after touching the tongs on the buffet. Use your knuckle to press buttons on the elevator. also take TONS of vitamin C. Google Suzanne Humphries vitamin C protocol for whooping cough. It’s simple and if it can cure whooping cough it will knock out anything else. We also use Cold Calm homeopathic remedy found at most health food stores. We never get sick using these protocols.

 

 

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[Donnamarieisme]

Im surprised to read all this. I’ve been cruising for 14 years as well as about 9 family member fellow cruisers and none us us have every come down with anything during or after crushing. May I ask what cruise line you are frequenting where this is happening? I truly hope that your next cruise is with out health issues.

 

 

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[kdogfister]

For those interested in the science of some of these products, the NIH Center for Complementary and Integrative Health is a good source:

 

https://nccih.nih.gov/health/herbsataglance.htm

 

 

Here's a link to a journal article about oregano (expresses caution):

 

http://japsonline.com/admin/php/uploads/575_pdf.pdf

 

 

Good health,

Richard

 

And of course Airborne settled a $23M lawsuit regarding false claims. It's nothing more than vitamins, which you already get from eating well.

 

What's more each pill contains 50% of the safe dose of vitamin A. They recommend you take three in a day (150% of the safe dose doesn't sound safe).

 

Wash your hands and stay hydrated, about the best option you have.

[unclerich]

And of course Airborne settled a $23M lawsuit regarding false claims. It's nothing more than vitamins, which you already get from eating well.

 

What's more each pill contains 50% of the safe dose of vitamin A. They recommend you take three in a day (150% of the safe dose doesn't sound safe).

 

Wash your hands and stay hydrated, about the best option you have.

Makes the oregano settlement look like chump change:

 

"Oregano Supplement Marketers Agree to Pay $2.5 Million to Settle FTC Charges for False Advertising Claims"...

 

"It prohibits them from claiming that their products prevent or treat colds or flu, are clinically tested or scientifically proven to be effective, or have other health or safety benefits, unless the claims are true, not misleading, and based on reliable scientific evidence. In addition, the defendants are banned from misrepresenting the existence, validity, results, or conclusions of any test or study."

and, especially when it comes to Noro...

 

"Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be used in addition to hand washing. But,they should not be used as a substitute for washing with soap and water."

[dogo88]

Beer, it's not just for breakfast anymore!

[esimon]

First of all - never gotten sick on 7 cruises. I do use oils -- defuse in the room as soon as i unpack - use Essential oils for hand sanitizer and the oregano mentioned early on.

[sworksjr]

This thread sounds am awful lot like the threads on sea sickness remedies. Everybody seems to have a favorite, that others claim are worthless. I think there is a placebo effect that probably helps. Maybe if you can just convince yourself that you will not get sick, it would help.

 

I do agree however with get fresh air and wash your hands!

[Heartgrove]

Couldn't agree more, that plane is a breeding ground. My sister swore by Airborne, try it won't hurt.

 

Definitely agree with both of you. Picked up a mild case on the plane ride to Europe but went away before boarding the ship. Picked it up again on the flight back and needed to be treated by my doctor back home. We had seats with the tray that stowed in the armrest which I believe was the source.

[NMLady]

We have often gotten sick on our cruises and come home sick. Takes a long time to get over it. Someone told me to buy Airborne. Has anyone taken that and felt that it helped to avoid becoming ill. Do you begin taking it before the cruise begins? Do not want any Upper Respiratory problems this time. Are their other precautionary meds to take?

 

We use Airborne, the kind you add to water, once a day for three days before a cruise. We take Airborne chewable tablets, two a day, each day of the cruise. It seems to help. I also take extra vitamin C.

[ArtsyCraftsy]

The biggest threat of getting the "Cruise Crud" (upper respiratory infection...a virus) is sitting among those who already have it and insist on going to the theater, casino, library, etc. and spreading their germs (airborne!) to the rest of us. Sit where you can leave in the theater, so you can exit if you see coughing around you, etc. It does make a big difference. We were on one cruise that ran out of cough syrup returning from AU to the US. If you feel sick, remember you are going to infect others around you, so please self-quarantine! Washing your hands, handrails, etc. won't stop you much from airborne viruses which this is....staying out of their immediate area will. We get up and leave if someone is coughing in the library for instance.

 

BINGO! This is precisely what my doc said.

 

I was absolutely religious about hand washing/sanitizing on my Alaska cruise, and still managed to come down with an upper respiratory infection 24 hrs after I got home. Doc said I'd been exposed on the ship (incubation is 3-7 days) and that it was almost certainly airborne, probably from being in close proximity to someone who sneezed or coughed (most likely at dinner or breakfast in the MDR).

 

Apart from wearing a mask (which doc also said wasn't as good a barrier as most folks think), the best way to avoid this is to stay out of the way of folks who are obviously sick. I also have Stage 3 emphysema (proof that a non-smoker can get it), so I try to be as meticulous as possible with hand washing and stay out of the way of crowds as a normal routine since an upper respiratory bug can get really bad really fast (like "rush to the ER" fast).

 

My next cruise will be the 38-day Voyage of the Vikings and I really REALLY do not want to get sick ON the ship. Please, if you have a cold, STAY IN YOUR ROOM or at least stay out of areas where crowds gather, where you'll be in close proximity to others. Thanks!!

[igraf]

I always laugh when homeopathic medications proudly claim "no drug interactions". This is true, of course, since homeopathics don't actually contain anything.

 

The list of ingredients on Cold Calm is gobbledygook. Try running a Google search on an ingredient like "Apis Cepa 3C HPUS". You get no independent results.

 

Vitamin C doesn't really work unless you have a vitamin C deficiency.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

WASH YOUR HANDS LIKE A CRAZY PERSON!! For a full 20 seconds, with warm water and SCRUB. Every time you eat, enter your cabin, use the restroom, etc. Especially after touching the tongs on the buffet. Use your knuckle to press buttons on the elevator. also take TONS of vitamin C. Google Suzanne Humphries vitamin C protocol for whooping cough. It’s simple and if it can cure whooping cough it will knock out anything else. We also use Cold Calm homeopathic remedy found at most health food stores. We never get sick using these protocols.

 

 

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[Hlitner]

We have been cruising for forty years and had more then our share of URIs. The bottom line is that these are generally viral (according to our physician who has run tests) and can be nasty. About 3 years ago we decided to take some basic steps (we are not germophobes and do not get carried away) which are quite simple. Germs/viruses generally get into your system through the air (spread by coughing and sneezing) and by touch (usually touching parts of your face with your hands. So we increased our hand washing (with hot soap and water) but this does little to avoid coughing and sneezing. So we decided to minimize our use of elevators (they are a closed chamber,,,,,where you cannot escape a cough or sneeze) and made a conscious effort to stay away from folks who are obviously ailing (with coughs and sneezes) Perhaps its coincidence, but we have managed to avoid any major URIs for our past 8 or 9 cruises (about 200 days) with these simple precautions.

 

And avoiding elevators (not always practical) has many other positive elements. We know longer spend time waiting around for the elevators, having to deal with rude folks shoving their way in (before others can exit) and we get a little exercise. We are not fanatical about this and will still use an elevator from time to time...but we really make an effort to avoid them as much as possible.

 

Our other major effort is to carefully avoid touching our faces....unless we have just washed our hands. This is hard (many of us will scratch, run an eye, etc...without even thinking) but we make the effort. Our result (totally anecdotal) has served us well. Off on another cruise in a few days....and more in a few weeks. We shall see.

 

Hank

[Losnab]

We usually get a cold on most every cruise. Before last spring's 40 day cruise to a cold and wet Northern Europe I asked a friend what we could do to avoid tpgetting sick. Oil of Oregano is what she suggested I get. Trying to win over a skeptical husband took some time but he is convinced. Two sneezes and we reach for the OOO - liquid, not capsules. 4 drops in a small amount of warm water (mouthful) and a gargle in the mouth - and swallow!. It is not the nicest tasting and you smell like a salad afterwards, but it does work - we are cold free for 10 months!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I too, get a cold on almost every cruise. Every time I say no more cruiseship vacations....then I plan my next cruise.

 

This thread is the first I heard of oregano oil and will pick sone up. I have tons of oregano in my herb garden this year, wish I could extract that oil (organic and fresh lol)

[Losnab]

We had a small travel mouth spray that was a preventative and did a good job at keeping my dh’s throat moist (he’s part of the cough drop club). When I could not find that spray I went to my local drug store and we found that the same main ingredient is also found in cepecol. I make sure to have a bottle of cepecol for my cabin and rinse and hand wash upon entering.

 

 

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[summersigh]

But what caught my eye is "crud". I have seen that used here before but it must be some colloquialism as crud to me is perhaps something on the bottom of my shoe or filth in general (i.e the hull was coated with crud).

Nasty = ".... filth in general"

Crud is nasty stuff that coats your lungs and windpipe and is coughed up with the nasty respiratory illness causing it. It's nasty stuff also lingers, often for weeks.:fever:

[igraf]

I second that with regard to elevators. If I am on an elevator and either a sick person gets on board or it just gets too crowded, I will quickly exit.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

.. So we decided to minimize our use of elevators (they are a closed chamber,,,,,where you cannot escape a cough or sneeze) and made a conscious effort to stay away from folks who are obviously ailing (with coughs and sneezes) Perhaps its coincidence, but we have managed to avoid any major URIs for our past 8 or 9 cruises (about 200 days) with these simple precautions.

 

And avoiding elevators (not always practical) has many other positive elements. We know longer spend time waiting around for the elevators, having to deal with rude folks shoving their way in (before others can exit) and we get a little exercise. We are not fanatical about this and will still use an elevator from time to time...but we really make an effort to avoid them as much as possible.

 

...Hank

[Losnab]

I second that with regard to elevators. If I am on an elevator and either a sick person gets on board or it just gets too crowded, I will quickly exit.

 

 

 

igraf

 

 

 

And if you do ride an elevator use your knuckle to press the buttons. Got into that habit a number of years ago.

 

 

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[Sacto Rick]

And if you do ride an elevator use your knuckle to press the buttons. Got into that habit a number of years ago.

 

 

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Right. It's funny though, I used to try to activate the elevator buttons with my shirt over my finger so I didn't come in direct contact. It won't work, you have to touch the button with bare skin. Wierd huh? I can use the shirt over the finger method in elevators in land based buildings.

 

Maybe somebody here knows why that is.:confused: