Calming The Fear Of Norovirus

Not too long ago school children from our area returning from a Washington DC trip became ill with what was later declared to be Norovirus. It is not confined to cruise ships. You often hear more about it on cruise ships only because they are required to report an uptick in illnesses on a ship. Hotels, restaurants, and other places where people may cluster together are not required to report the outbreaks.

So, before you decide not to cruise or travel take some time to investigate and find out the facts about Norovirus. Here are a few.

Yes, it is contagious. It is transmitted by contact with someone who is ill. There is a reason you are required to fill out a health form before boarding a cruise ship. Unfortunately, there will be those who will not be honest and will board the ship anyway. So what do you do?

Wash your hands! Over and over and over again. Each time you've used the handrails, pushed the buttons on the elevator with a finger instead of a knuckle, played the casino slots, or just about anything else where you've touched another public surface. Wash your hands especially before it's time to eat. And if you're going through the buffet and serving yourself, use some hand sanitizer when you sit down to eat at your table.

Understand that the cleanliness of a cruise ship is just about impeccable. Again, it is someone coming on board who is sick that causes the problem.

If you should feel ill, go to the ship's doctor. You may be asked to remain in your cabin for a a couple of days if it is the Norovirus. I was surprised to find that many ships now have a way to test for it right on board if someone is ill. The virus effects last for 24 to 48 hours but some people can still be contagious for a time afterward.

Chances are very slim that you will contract the virus as long as you remember to wash your hands and be careful in your contact with others. There's a reason that shaking hands at the captain's reception has been discontinued. Just be diligent in your own hygiene--not paranoid, just diligent. The message is beginning to get around and people are taking it to heart and being more proactive. Less and less cases of Norovirus on ships are occurring. Keep up the good work!

Here are a couple of links if you'd like to learn more:
Norovirus--What you need to know
Demystifying the myths of Norovirus

Recipe For A Good Vacation --Add Water

No, I don't mean just go to the beach or on a cruise. The water I'm talking about is drinking water. I am always carrying a water bottle when we travel, even if we are only going a short distance. I'm a water baby. I drink a lot of water whether it's hot or cold, whether I'm exercising or not. My husband on the other hand does not. It's a constant battle.

Me: Drink some water.

Bob: I'm not thirsty.

Me: If you're thirsty, you're already not drinking enough. I'm not picking you up off the sidewalk.

Bob: *sigh* Okay.

Looking for a little ammunition for the next water battle, I did some research. There are some medical reasons why you could dehydrate quickly but unless you are experiencing any of those it would be ridiculous to dehydrate just because you didn't drink enough water.

And why should we worry about dehydration? It can result in confusion, weakness, dizziness, fainting, vomiting--I could go on. What a way to ruin a travel adventure, right? 

Get truly concerned however if you or your companion is running a fever, fainting, confused, has a headache or seizures, difficultly breathing. That's when it's time to seek medical treatment. Best to avoid all of that and just be sure to drink enough water. How much?

You've heard of the 8X8 rule: eight eight ounce glasses of water per day. Actually you need a little more than that but it's still a good rule and any fluids can be counted toward that. Just remember that all fluids are not created equal. Caffeinated drinks like coffee will help to drain fluids from your body and alcohol is not your friend on a hot day. It will also drain fluids and impair judgement if you are near dehydration. 

There are other ways to get fluids besides drinking water. You can eat watermelon or spinach which contains a lot of fluids. Suck on some popsicles or frozen sports drinks you could make yourself. Still, the best source for your fluid intake is good old water. No calories. And thanks to the novel idea of bottled water, you can usually find good safe drinking water anywhere these days. 

Don't ruin your trip. Hydrate. Drink up. Stay healthy.

Montezuma's Revenge?

Ever wonder about the origins of colloquialisms? I happened to be reading something about staying healthy as you travel and it mentioned Montezuma's Revenge. Now everyone knows what that means and it isn't pretty. But who was Montezuma and what revenge is he taking on innocent travelers?

The more correct term for Montezuma's Revenge is traveler's diarrhea. It usually comes from ingesting the local water. The best prevention is sticking to bottled water and soda and making sure there is no ice made from local water in your drink. It's caused by an e coli bacterial strain and is usually not serious but certainly uncomfortable.

Montezuma II was the leader of the Aztec civilization in the early 1500s when Cortes invaded and conquered the land. Montezuma was slaughtered by Cortes but whenever a white person visited Mexico and took ill, it was said to be Montezuma's revenge.

An interesting article I found on a British site said that there are lots of names associated with traveler's diarrhea depending upon where the traveler is visiting. You might hear it referred to as Ghandi's Revenge, Delhi Belly, The Cairo Two-step, or the Rangoon Runs to name a few. One of the more recent is Teheran Tummy which I assume came from troops stationed there.

So stick to bottled water. Don't eat fresh fruits or vegetables that do not get peeled. Stay away from salad greens that are washed in local water. And when you get that bottled water be sure to check that the lid was sealed (some places have been known to sell refilled bottles) and wipe the outside of the bottle if it's been sitting in ice water. Revenge is never pretty.

Staying Healthy And Active While Traveling

We joke about the freshman ten pounds when our kids go off to college but what about the vacation ten pounds that looms up as we kick back to enjoy some time exploring this great world of ours? Here are some tips for getting around that and maybe staying a little healthier while we're at it.

Road trip? Either pack a cooler or  buy a soft sided cooler bag at the local grocery when you arrive at your starting point. A few zip lock plastic bags for ice which can be had at hotel ice machines will keep items fresh for you during the day's journey. Stop at a local grocery for finger food like carrots, celery sticks, cheese bits, fruit and nuts. Eating light by snacking on these will keep you more comfortable on the road. Often times there are healthy choice sandwiches you can pack along as well for lunch and avoid the burgers and fries with all the salt and grease.

Be sure to make a stop midday that allows some time to get out and walk for twenty to thirty minutes even if it's just around a parking lot. A little research ahead of time usually yields some good spots to stop along the way.

Plane ride? A short plane ride as well as a long one can be even more uncomfortable if you grab greasy fast food to eat on the way or before you board. Avoid carbonated beverages as well unless you enjoy feeling like a giant balloon. Water is preferred over alcoholic drinks but I know some people feel they need a drink to get through their flight. I've read that fasting 16 hours before a flight helps with jet lag but I'm not a "faster" so I'll leave you to decide that.

If you can't get out of your seat to walk a bit, be sure to do a little exercise by flexing your feet at the ankles. Try to flex the calf muscles several times and if you are able maybe even draw your knee up a few times just to keep blood circulating. The plane's magazine usually has some exercises outlined in it.

Cruising? Ah, now here's where the rubber meets the road. Not a good metaphor but you get my meaning. Oh, those food opportunities. The key here is to plan ahead. Love those dinner choices? Eat light for lunch. Stick to the fruit or salad choices at the buffet or eat in the main dining room and only order a light meal. No matter how much that waiter pouts, if you've had enough and are trying to save calories, do..not..order..dessert. If you must, stick to a fruit plate. Or if you want dessert, plan ahead and don't have an appetizer. Make good choices.

All ships have some kind of gym but one of the best exercises is to skip the elevators when you are moving about the ship and use the steps. Can't do steps? Find that promenade deck and circle it a few times. There's always a sign somewhere that tells you how many times around are a mile. Go for it! Every day!

No matter where you are traveling, it's all about good food choices and finding a way to get a little exercise. Walking is almost always an option. As one of the local Florida Keys restaurants says, "Eat well, Laugh Often, Live Long!"

How To Stay Well When You Travel

There is nothing worse than planning a wonderful trip and then feeling ill when you travel. While I don't have all the answers, I do have some common sense ideas that can help you stay healthy starting with the tried and true answer to most everything: WASH YOUR HANDS! Often!

I carry Purell with me always. Even when we are not traveling. It's no fun being sick at home either. We try to remember to use the hand sanitizer when we've had to shake a lot of hands, use a banister or hand rail in the mall, or just open doors in a public place. We're not fanatics and mostly use it before we eat. Again, keeping those hands clean is more than half the battle against what's lurking out there.

Remember to get your immunizations. The flu shot especially but there are also lots of other immunizations for pneumonia, shingles, etc. that would be good to have. Visit a health clinic if you are planning a trip to a country that you're not sure will have some other problems that could affect your health like malaria.

Don't drink the local water. We follow this rule even when we travel within the USA. Water is different in every area of the country/world and certainly not always processed well. The best advice we got when we went to China was to be sure we ate only cooked food because raw vegetables might have been washed in local water that has poor quality. We were also cautioned to be sure our bottled water was sealed and if kept cold in ice, it was suggested we wipe the bottle off before drinking from it. Remember if you get ice in a drink, it is probably made from local water.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. The best thing you can do for yourself is to drink plenty of water starting from the time you get on the plane to when you return home. Dehydration in any type of climate is possible and you will feel much more energy and wellness if you remember to drink plenty of water.

Stick to a routine as much as possible. Certainly time zone changes are a challenge but once you adjust a bit, keep to a morning wakeup and regular bedtime. Get those eight hours of zzzzz. Also if you are not being too active as you travel (bus tours require a lot of sitting) take advantage of the fitness center in the hotel or find a good safe place to take a brisk walk each day.

Several travel sites suggest taking Clorox wipes to clean your seat area in the plane. I'm not that germ conscious but I do take my own sweater or soft cotton hoodie to wrap up in should I want to sleep or the plane is chilly. Actually I take one to wrap in and one to roll as a pillow. I never could get used to those blow up pillow or horseshoe pillows people use.

Another tip I found is wearing your glasses instead of contacts when you fly. You are less likely to touch your eyes with your hands. I guess I never thought of that but I usually take my contacts out after the TSA check in and wear my glasses if we're taking a flight I'm going to sleep on--less chance of my eyes getting too dry.

Did I mention wash your hands--often? That is still the number one way of fending off those nasty things that could ruin a beautiful trip with illness.

World Cruise - Travel Clinic, Ouch!

There are two things that make me very anxious--snakes and hypodermic needles. Having twins was a good thing to start out with because then Bob had to come with me to the pediatric appointments and he could hold each one as they got their "puppy shots." I've gotten past that a bit but I still don't like getting shots so when we scheduled an appointment with a travel clinic in our area I was understandably nervous.

Before our appointment we needed to go online and fill in a form telling where in the world we were traveling. Are they serious? This is 108 days and let me count the countries. . .23! Knowing that Madagascar, the Amazon area, and parts of Africa (south, not west) are on our itinerary, I knew that we were in for some kind of preventative actions.

When we arrived and were seated with the nurse consultant, she handed us each a thick book listing all the countries and the things to watch out for in each. It felt like looking at all the disclaimers and side effects from every medicine you've ever seen advertised on TV all at once. I feared my arm was going to be a pin cushion!

This beautiful lady narrowed it down for us to the essentials and it didn't look quite so bad. I was current on my tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis, pneumococcal, shingles, and influenza. Is it any wonder I hate shots? We would need some meds for preventing malaria (not the lariam we took once before that made us both loopy) and a booster to our original Hepatitis A that protects us for life. Then came the suggestion of a yellow fever shot and possibly typhoid. Yikes!

The bottom line, we will be on a cruise ship with little travel in the countries where yellow fever and typhoid are prevalent and that travel will be during the day avoiding the high activity time for insects and certainly not eating or drinking on land. The only hitch may be that one of the Caribbean islands we visit after we are in Brazil may require certification that we had been vaccinated prior to our visit to Brazil. The jury is still out on that one. We've heard conflicting stories and until we hear from the cruise line that it's necessary, we're going to pass. If we have to stay on the ship that day, so be it. One less shot sounds good to me.

Vaccinations were not the only thing discussed and we came home with the books that are full of information on what to be careful of in each country. It's mostly common sense stuff starting with "don't drink the water!" If you ever do this for travel, be aware that you will get more information than is necessary just so that they cover all the bases and possibilities. It could almost scare you out of going but remember that knowledge is power--power to travel safely.

By the way the clinic we visited was Passport Health. There are locations all over the USA.