Beware of hitch hiking... illnesses

[StarWarsGirl]

how many of you flew on this trip when you got sick.. because its hard to get sick in the open air.. but on a confined plane you can get sick real fast.

I did fly...but I wasn't sick until almost a week in. I'm fairly certain where I got it because there was another guest coughing near me and I couldn't get away.

And actually, airplane air isn't the issue. Here's why:

Airplane air is 50% fresh air and 50% air through a HEPA filter. That means that air is constantly being cleaned as it's recirculating, if it's recirculated. Basically, airplane air is cleaner than hospital air, which is also well filtered in most cases.

It's why, as someone with severe allergies, I ask people around me not to eat peanuts. I'm also severely allergic to perfume, but if I move a few rows away, I'm okay (I have had to ask to be reseated before because someone else came on having bathed in it...fun stuff). It's also why people with cat and dog allergies aren't likely to react if sitting far away from the animal. The only way you're getting sick is if someone very close to you is coughing.

What you should actually be doing on airplanes is wiping down your tray tables and the window if you have a window seat. Don't stick your phone in the back pocket or wipe down that area as well before you stick items there. That's where you will pick up germs. I typically put a pack of Wet Ones in my carry on so I can grab them and wipe down my area.

 

[NickMaio]

Our little guy cought hand,foot,mouth in WDW this past July......
Petri is right.

 

[networkpro]

how many of you flew on this trip when you got sick.. because its hard to get sick in the open air.. but on a confined plane you can get sick real fast.

Not us, we're within a 6 hour drive so no aluminum incubator for us.

 

[OrlandoRising]

Large crowds in tight spaces means infectious disease spread will occur. Pretty simple.

Someone made a reference to "con crud" and Disney World can have the same thing. I think it may seem more pronounced now because COVID has had summer peaks unlike flu and common cold viruses.

Those summer peaks also tend to happen well after updated COVID vaccines had been released and under 25% of adults even got the 2024-25 COVID shot. Sure seems like a recipe for summer illness we weren't seeing before.

 

[hopemax]

how many of you flew on this trip when you got sick.. because its hard to get sick in the open air.. but on a confined plane you can get sick real fast.

I wear a mask when flying to vacation because I tend to pick up crap on the way there. I did not expect the several hundred people and 2.5 hr wait crammed into a hallway at the Coronado Springs convention center to pick up pre-order merchandise (pins, pins and more pins) and didn't have a mask then. So I'm going with that one as to where the transmission happened and not the airplane.

 

[danlb_2000]

Great PSA. I also want to add that on top of washing your hands, make sure you are getting enough Vitamin D, either through sunlight (my preference) or supplements. I have an app that tracks how much sunlight you need during a specific UV rating, to get enough, without getting burnt.

I now get far less sick than I used to, and the 1 time I did since doing this, it lasted 3 or 4 days instead of over a week.

Just remember that any immune system benefit you will get from Vitamin D supplement will take several weeks if not months, so you can't just start taking them the week before your trip.

 

[Raineman]

Our last trip was in early November of 2019. After we got back, my wife got very sick with fairly heavy flu-like symptoms. I don't know when the first COVID case in the US was discovered in late 2019, but I wonder if that's what it was.

 

[jloucks]

Sometimes you can do everything and it still doesn't work.

I went to WDW in 2022. I have a pretty unusual immunodeficiency that we didn't know about at the time, but at that point, I was fully vaccinated, and I was still masking, hand sanitizing, hand washing, etc. I got Covid.

The big thing about masking was that no one else in my party got Covid. I didn't realize I had it (Covid brain) until I'd already flown home. My uncle drove me home and I masked around him. He didn't get it.

Fortunately, the one benefit of my type of asthma is that (there's been research done on this) my lungs make a protective coating that protects them from severe illness. I mostly get the vaccine to protect others.

We had the same sorta surprising spread in our group in 2022. We were a group of 7, and only 2 of us caught the big C19. Or rather, only two of us had symptoms. I was one that had some symptoms.

Y'all have heard the rest of that sneezy drippy coughy story.

 

[jloucks]

Our last trip was in early November of 2019. After we got back, my wife got very sick with fairly heavy flu-like symptoms. I don't know when the first COVID case in the US was discovered in late 2019, but I wonder if that's what it was.

I'd put money on, yes.

 

[jloucks]

Agree.
It all comes down to your own personal tolerance level and immune response.

I certainly have been exposed to plenty of germs and ‘unsanitary’ things over the years and rarely become ill even at my age.
Always put it down to ‘super antibodies’ which I believe after having built up so many exposure levels.





Evil microbes and unfriendly bacteria…!



-

I think science will support that those of us who work with the general public have stronger immune systems than those who don't.

Now, I didn't say we don't get sick more, lol, but when we do, it is not nearly as bad.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

My one thought on the topic is that it is also important to stay hydrated during a vacation.

Also, esp in FL heat- be aware of food safety as much as possible.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Just remember that any immune system benefit you will get from Vitamin D supplement will take several weeks if not months, so you can't just start taking them the week before your trip.

Just remember that if you take vitamin D, not to take it on an empty stomach…in order for D to have it’s maximum benefit, you need food…don’t forget your C, Zinc & Magnesium too…

 

[Tom P.]

Everyone is saying very reasonable things and I think it's wise to take precautions. I always carry hand sanitizer at Disney, for example, and I border on clinically OCD with hand washing anyway. But I think the reality is that going to a vacation destination like WDW with tens of thousands of people, there is just very little you can actually do to stop germ transmission. We've just come to accept that someone is going to get sick when we go on vacation. I think it's just part of the deal, unfortunately.

 

[danlb_2000]

Everyone is saying very reasonable things and I think it's wise to take precautions. I always carry hand sanitizer at Disney, for example, and I border on clinically OCD with hand washing anyway. But I think the reality is that going to a vacation destination like WDW with tens of thousands of people, there is just very little you can actually do to stop germ transmission. We've just come to accept that someone is going to get sick when we go on vacation. I think it's just part of the deal, unfortunately.

... add to that the fact you are being exposed to people from all over the world who could be carrying virus strains that you don't have immunity to.

 

[cattycat2]

Went to Disney in December 2024 (hadn't been in 12 years) and within 5 days of being back home got covid for the very first time! It was really bad! Headache, high fever, sneezing, runny nose---I do have an autoimmune disease, so it hit me hard, but got Paxlovid within 6 hours of symptoms and I was better within 2-3 days!

We are going again this December....this time doing a nasal spray and wearing a mask on the plane.

 

[Tom P.]

Went to Disney in December 2024 (hadn't been in 12 years) and within 5 days of being back home got covid for the very first time! It was really bad! Headache, high fever, sneezing, runny nose---I do have an autoimmune disease, so it hit me hard, but got Paxlovid within 6 hours of symptoms and I was better within 2-3 days!

We are going again this December....this time doing a nasal spray and wearing a mask on the plane.

I'm curious why you are targeting the plane ride as the time you want to wear a mask. (And please everyone, I'm not trying to reignite Covid mask debates; that is not what this is about!) However, given the sophisticated air filtration systems on modern planes, as was pointed out earlier in the thread, that's about the least likely location out of the entire trip to catch something, IMHO. Now, I understand you have an autoimmune disease and, again, I'm not trying to debate wearing masks. I just am legitimately curious why you are more concerned about the plane ride then the time in the parks with 10,000 of your closest friends.

 

[Ayla]

I'm curious why you are targeting the plane ride as the time you want to wear a mask. (And please everyone, I'm not trying to reignite Covid mask debates; that is not what this is about!) However, given the sophisticated air filtration systems on modern planes, as was pointed out earlier in the thread, that's about the least likely location out of the entire trip to catch something, IMHO. Now, I understand you have an autoimmune disease and, again, I'm not trying to debate wearing masks. I just am legitimately curious why you are more concerned about the plane ride then the time in the parks with 10,000 of your closest friends.

It may because of the confined quarters within a plane. If someone near you is coughing, it doesn't matter how well the air is filtered.