Status of the flu in DW

[KBLovedDisney]

Going to chime in with this:

The flu shot will not stop the flu. It, however, prevents it from getting very severe. In some cases though when the person whether old or young has underlying medical issues that didn't go diagnosed, regardless if they got the shot or not, can still succumbed to the virus. Same goes with the flu virus if you don't take care of yourself, a.k.a. - following doctor's orders of rest and taking medication. A lot of people are pushing their bodies trying to work or go to school regardless of having the flu and that can very well make things a whole lot worse.

The way I see it is the flu shot is like a motorcyclist wearing a helmet. The helmet doesn't prevent you from crashing, but it will protect your head at least. You just have the choice of being extra cautious and gearing up (or not) to keep yourself safe. Otherwise, you will get pretty bashed up if you don't take care of yourself.

 

[TheGuyThatMakesSwords]

In case no one has mentioned the obvious....

The Status of the Flu, or any other disease, at WDW will be it's status within the entire US, and probably, GLOBALLY.
Think about it - this is not a typical US City (though its the size of one). On any given day, the population rotates VERY rapidly - and rotates globally.

Then? There is the economic driver - the one that motivates sick people that have paid for their vacation to GO. "Yes, little Jimmy & Sue are choking up blood... but by damn, we PAID for this! We're GOING!"

Now, no one is going to be able to fix that last driver. Its not like these families are staying home from work for a day.....

So what can we do?

1) BEWARE of that Aircraft headed to WDW: Please, consider wearing an H1N1 surgical mask. Eat, drink NOTHING. That flight in is close to the WORST exposure you will get. Think "Plague Ship".
2) KEEP that mask for Magical Express.
3) Have the RIGHT Hand Sanitizer, carry it, and use it. Your enemy is any handrail. It is definitely contaminated with sick guy snot. If your Hand Sanitizer is NOT used in a Hospital, and is "kind, smells fresh"? You likely have a dud.
4) PLEASE get a flu shot. We do, every year. We're 66. If these are deadly? We should be dead . We do not appear to be so.

WDW is wonderful. They do a GREAT job TRYING to keep everything clean. But being an International Destination? They pretty much have to deal with everything from Flu (all global strains), to Ebola . This can not be easy - I would not want to be the Health Director for WDW .

Last? Three days ago, I read about a wonderful HS cheerleader. 19. She was killed in a vehicle crash with a truck . Things like this make me just a little angry that I have lived so long, and a young person died needlessly - and nothing to do with the Flu.

Life is a mixture of risk, and reward.

 

[nasmith003]

Went to WDW Jan 27 - 31st. I am an ICU RN ( CCRN certified)(20+ years) (stayed at AKL Jambo Club level) - I KNOW about infection control and all the ways you can be infected (I'm also generally athletic and healthy). I also had the flu shot.

4 days after returning, I came down with the flu. 11 days later, and I'm still not 100%! Hand sanitizer didn't help, neither did copious amounts of hand washing. If someone coughs in your face or a child sneezes without covering their mouth, there is really nothing you can do. PLEASE teach your children to sneeze and cough into their elbows (as Kleenex isn't always available) - although to be fair, I've seen more adults sneezing and coughing without covering than children. This flu presents with upper respiratory symptoms - sneezing, nasal congestion - so it's easy to think it's a cold - however, if you get tested within 48 hours, you can start Tamiflu and recover quicker.

If you are really concerned, I'd avoid all buffets (or club levels ), and use hand sanitizer before eating anything. I'd say to avoid crowded places - but good luck on the elevators and in lines. You could wear masks and gloves - but I hate wearing them at work, and can't imagine taking a vacation wearing one!

Vitamin c and immune boosting supplements (airborne, etc) are continually being tested and have been proven to NOT help at all - do the real research (not everything you read on the web is true ). Although there are plenty of people who swear by them because they were taking them and they were NOT on the elevator with the sick person who coughed in their face so the supplements obviously worked . At any rate, the supplements won't hurt - unless you are prone to kidney stones ( and then too much Vitamin C for too long just might hurt). They say that if you had the flu shot, it doesn't affect you as hard ( because your immune system moves in quicker to fight the virus) - and I can't speak for anyone but myself - but I only felt seriously crappy - handled it with OTC Sudafed and Advil - so maybe the vaccine helped?? It's a really infectious bug though - my Husband has it now - and I really, really, really tried not to infect him

Good luck. Hope you don't catch it.
Jill

BTW- to the original poster - I'm a cancer survivor myself - 15 years now - and I did go to WDW during my 5th of 6 months of chemo ( I needed a WDW "booster shot") - I was fine ( tired, but fine). If you start to feel sick, play it safe and go get swabbed for the flu ( it's quick, cheap and easy) - and will make your recovery much easier - especially if you catch it early. Good luck!

 

[KBLovedDisney]

Also note, that head colds are going around too (yep, it found me)

 

[Jillf]

Good luck to you and your family on staying healthy. We are here in Disney World for the next week. My whole family has managed to contract the flu within 2 days of being here...sharing one bathroom...the horror!

 

[iowamouse]

Good luck to you and your family on staying healthy. We are here in Disney World for the next week. My whole family has managed to contract the flu within 2 days of being here...sharing one bathroom...the horror!

Do you mean the stomach virus? Or influenza? (Influenza is a respiratory thing)

I'm sorry to hear that you're all sick though - that does not make for a magical week!

 

[xdan0920]

I see we still have some flat earthers chiming in with their quasi-science about vaccines. Cool. Cool.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Do you mean the stomach virus?

Also likely, if there is alimentary discharges, food poisoning thanks to bacteria.

 

[Dave B]

No, not this again

 

[HwdStudio]

Went to WDW Jan 27 - 31st. I am an ICU RN ( CCRN certified)(20+ years) (stayed at AKL Jambo Club level) - I KNOW about infection control and all the ways you can be infected (I'm also generally athletic and healthy). I also had the flu shot.

4 days after returning, I came down with the flu. 11 days later, and I'm still not 100%! Hand sanitizer didn't help, neither did copious amounts of hand washing. If someone coughs in your face or a child sneezes without covering their mouth, there is really nothing you can do. PLEASE teach your children to sneeze and cough into their elbows (as Kleenex isn't always available) - although to be fair, I've seen more adults sneezing and coughing without covering than children. This flu presents with upper respiratory symptoms - sneezing, nasal congestion - so it's easy to think it's a cold - however, if you get tested within 48 hours, you can start Tamiflu and recover quicker.

If you are really concerned, I'd avoid all buffets (or club levels ), and use hand sanitizer before eating anything. I'd say to avoid crowded places - but good luck on the elevators and in lines. You could wear masks and gloves - but I hate wearing them at work, and can't imagine taking a vacation wearing one!

Vitamin c and immune boosting supplements (airborne, etc) are continually being tested and have been proven to NOT help at all - do the real research (not everything you read on the web is true ). Although there are plenty of people who swear by them because they were taking them and they were NOT on the elevator with the sick person who coughed in their face so the supplements obviously worked . At any rate, the supplements won't hurt - unless you are prone to kidney stones ( and then too much Vitamin C for too long just might hurt). They say that if you had the flu shot, it doesn't affect you as hard ( because your immune system moves in quicker to fight the virus) - and I can't speak for anyone but myself - but I only felt seriously crappy - handled it with OTC Sudafed and Advil - so maybe the vaccine helped?? It's a really infectious bug though - my Husband has it now - and I really, really, really tried not to infect him

Good luck. Hope you don't catch it.
Jill

BTW- to the original poster - I'm a cancer survivor myself - 15 years now - and I did go to WDW during my 5th of 6 months of chemo ( I needed a WDW "booster shot") - I was fine ( tired, but fine). If you start to feel sick, play it safe and go get swabbed for the flu ( it's quick, cheap and easy) - and will make your recovery much easier - especially if you catch it early. Good luck!

Thank you for this. I am also RN and I agree with everything you said.

 

[disneygeek90]

I think people sometimes forget that people actually LIVE here, no need to panic this much. It’s the winter (now leading into Spring),people get sick. But it’s not spreading like the plague down here, either. The worst is gone and it is back to business as usual here.

 

[thomas998]

We're headed down to DW in about 25 days. I've heard conflicting reports about how bad the flu is in Florida (though mostly I hear about how bad it is in Florida right now). Whole family has had their flu shots. We have a preschooler & a preteen.
I plan to bring loads of sanitizer, as well as wash hands as often as possible. I'm close to having us wear masks on the plane, I really don't want to have the flu in our family. I have a brain tumor, and I mean, that sucks on its own, but I've got a heightened anxiety about illnesses / health because of it.
We can't really reschedule, and we'll be staying in the Orleans Riverside resort.
Where are the germ traps? I've heard the Buzz Lightyear ride should be avoided. Anything else come to mind? Any tips for staying healthy?
Also, any reports on how bad the flu is down there? I know people are carriers before they show symptoms, so I don't really know how to gauge that one. I am seeing our upcoming vacation with more fear than joy though, and I'd like to gauge how bad it is (so that maybe I can let some of this anxiety go.)
I'd love to just relax and enjoy our trip, and I will try while we're there! But being prepared makes things much easier.

There really isn't any way to avoid exposure to some degree other than living in a plastic bubble. The reality of the flu vaccine this year is it hasn't been very effective with some estimates putting the effectiveness of it at 10%. So having the shot wouldn't make me feel safe. What you can do is try to avoid enclosed areas with confined space because it has been shown that the flu this year can and has spread thru the air alone without the normal expected touch something then touch your eyes or mouth route that you normally expect to be the way you get the virus.

You can wear a mask but honestly that doesn't help you as much as it helps others that might not want exposure to what you have. The typical mask you buy has a couple of problems that make it useless against exposure to viruses... first the mask doesn't have a perfect seal around the edges so anything in the air can still be sucked in around the edge of the mask and it only takes a small amount of air to bring in lots of viruses. Second problem is many viruses are so small that they will easily slip right past the mark's membrane. The masks are more to keep someone with a cough from flinging their germs all over the place than it is to keep you from breathing them in. So honestly I wouldn't bother with a mask it doesn't do much for you.

What you should do is stay well hydrated on the plane ride. The airplane is probably the worst place you'll be as far as exposure to all sorts of nasties and the best defense you have is your own nose. Keep yourself well hydrated and you reduce the possibility of viruses getting past the mucous defense in your nose. Also breath through your nose and not your mouth when on the plane. That's the best shot you have at not picking something up on the trip.

Reality is if someone has the flu they are much more likely to take a plane ride that costs a lot of money and is often non-refundable than they are to go Disney's parks. If they are feeling really bad from it they will be more likely to take a day to stay in their room and try and feel better only missing a day in the park than they are to skip a plane ride. So the plane is probably a much more dangerous place for you to get the flu than the parks.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I think people sometimes forget that people actually LIVE here, no need to panic this much. It’s the winter (now leading into Spring),people get sick. But it’s not spreading like the plague down here, either. The worst is gone and it is back to business as usual here.

I have proof you're wrong. Do you have proof you're right?

https://www.clickorlando.com/health/flu-sending-fewer-to-doctors-office-but-season-not-over-yet

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm

 

[Otterhead]

Do you mean the stomach virus? Or influenza? (Influenza is a respiratory thing)

When I was down there, the locals called it "the stomach flu", but it's a stomach virus (novovirus to be exact) that's hitting the parks very hard right now.

 

[NelleBelle]

My younges DS just recovered from influenza (he unfortunately had to miss a state-wide music fest where he was the the snare drummer in the band...very devasting thing in his small world). His pediatrician told us his symptoms were a lot less severe likely as a result of the vaccine he received way back in September. He missed 6 days of school/band fest but could’ve been much worse. Very thankful no one in our family came down with it (they are all vaccinated with the exception of me...I’m allergic). I had to really think about if I wanted him to take Tamiflu or not, given the side effects of that drug. We decided against it, but I really questioned that decision. I can’t imagine if we had to struggle with this on vacation away from the comforts of our home. I feel for any one who does end up on vacation at WDW, especially with the temptation of the parks being so close. But like I had to tell my son about going to his band fest...you need to be fever-free for at least 24hrs before heading back into community

 

[disneygeek90]

I have proof you're wrong. Do you have proof you're right?

https://www.clickorlando.com/health/flu-sending-fewer-to-doctors-office-but-season-not-over-yet

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm

Yes I saw those. I'm just saying... it's not like this is something only Orlando goes through. The entire country does. Just be smart, wash your hands, and, like you do on any vacation, hope you don't get sick.

 

[Tinkwings]

Bout every trip to WDW was during flu season. That being said no one got flu shots and only ONE trip did we get ill, but think we all had bronchitis. Thank God it was during our longest stay of 9 days so it was all good. And yes that likely was from the airplane flight down....

 

[Tom P.]

My personal opinion is that this thread should be shut down, locked, put out of its misery. It should kick the bucket, shuffle off this mortal coil, and cease to be. In short, this should be an ex-thread.

After about the first three posts, this thread has done nothing to help anyone.

 

[xdan0920]

My personal opinion is that this thread should be shut down, locked, put out of its misery. It should kick the bucket, shuffle off this mortal coil, and cease to be. In short, this should be an ex-thread.

After about the first three posts, this thread has done nothing to help anyone.

I disagree. If even one person was thinking they should be anti-vax, it's very important to shame them. It's an unacceptable stance to take, and those people need to be stopped.

 

[OneofThree]

I disagree. If even one person was thinking they should be anti-vax, it's very important to shame them. It's an unacceptable stance to take, and those people need to be stopped.

I believe it's important to have the vaccination discussion, and personally believe in the practice. But "shaming"? Really? Now, it really doesn't at all bother me, as I'm never offended by the random opinions people throw out there. At the same time, if you're going to endorse the practice of "shaming", you're going to have to accept it when it comes around, because everyone has different ideas as to what is acceptable and what is not.