Norovirus outbreaks can occur in close quarters of a ship, leading to the establishment of norovirus prevention programs in place for nearly 20 years. Cruise ships have the necessary chemicals and training to control the virus, and hand hygiene is crucial to prevent its spread. The easiest way to avoid the ailment is to wash your hands with soap and water after using the bathroom, before eating, and after touching surfaces touched by others. To avoid spreading your own germs and picking up others’ germs, wash your hands frequently, especially before eating, for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water.
Norovirus is a common and contagious illness that can affect people on cruise ships as well as on land. To avoid transmission of the virus, passengers should wash their hands frequently, stay hydrated, and limit physical contact as much as possible. The only way to completely avoid norovirus is to seal yourself from all human contact, which is not what travel is about.
To avoid touching banisters and hand, it is important to remember every precaution taken by cruise lines and take note of them. Hand washing and sanitizing are particularly effective in preventing norovirus, which causes a gastrointestinal illness.
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Very informative! I have Addison’s Disease which is where my Adrenal glands do not produce aldosterone or produce cortisol for your fight or flight system. I live basically on steroids and my immune system is compromised. Thank you for sharing this article. I’ve been very nervous about our upcoming cruise. I Have 5 emergency injections of steroids to take with me incase I go into adrenal crisis! You and Jenny are life savers! ❤💙💯
Great info Tony and to the others who have already commented! I didn’t get sick on my cruise (first one so far), but I was being hyper vigalant with keeping my hands clean. I did get very sick from Disney world in November last year, though. 🙁 We were there four days and the morning we were checking out of our rental I woke up in horrible health conditions. High fever with chills, really achy, zero energy, nausea. It felt like flu, so I’m not sure it’s relatable to Norovirus as that seems more stomach related, but it’s definitely something I picked up from Disney with all the hand rails your holding on to when waiting in line for rides, plus the safety bars on most of the rides themselves. I always wash hands in restrooms and think I’m being careful, but with the amount of people on a daily basis going through these parks, someone is bound to be sick and things spread. 🙁 It was a rough few days until I felt back to normal. I wish it on no one!
Keep in mind that while using hand sanitizer can be a good defense against bacterial agents, it does nothing to prevent Noro. Wash those hands with soap and warm water often and try not to touch your eyes and nose. If you have preschoolers, watch out because Noro is a huge problem in schools, daycare centers and nursing homes.
Funny story about norovirus (if there is any humor in this illness)! When I got sick in Vancouver (it was either 1990 or 1997) the doctor I saw told me he was going to give me a shot of Gravol – I was so sick, I thought he said gravel and I was wondering about the Canadian health system – crazy man! Later I found out that Gravol is Dramamine & the dr was wonderful- he was very concerned that I was dehydrated & said I needed to start drinking water, and he went to the pier after seeing me to talk to the pier master because so many people were getting off the ships and were sick!! Two weeks after I left Vancouver- they actually closed the port for a week to completely disinfect the whole area!! They didn’t want the whole island of Vancouver getting sick!
Been there, done that! Really, really, really awful! I got it before it was named Noro virus (it was called Norwalk virus)! Got it on an Alaskan cruise & so many people were sick. The shows at night were canceled, crew members who had been on ships for years were sick – the ship doctor told my friend that she had “delayed seasickness” because we were in port. I was with a group of 6, 3 of us got sick!! I got it on the last night – right after the midnight buffet!! I had to call a dr in Vancouver- almost ended up in the hospital – I thought I had meningitis- my neck hurt so much from throwing up so much. I now travel with an antibacterial/anti-viral hand sanitizer (kills 99.99% of viruses)! I swear by it now! I’m not a crazed germaphobe – just use my Germ-X & I avoid the public restrooms on cruise ships because if someone did get sick in the bathroom & touch the stall door handle – they wouldn’t wash their hands until they were on their way out of the bathroom. Might be a bit inconvenient to go back to my cabin – but that’s what I try to do! I did ask my dr if I could get it again – he told me to just go in the cruise and have a good time, so I do (although I did see elderly people who had to be airlifted off the ship, and children who were sick & in their cabin the whole cruise. And when I went to Alaska in 2008, my friends husband got deathly ill when we were on the plane flying home – the pilot put the plane down in Salt Lake City & he was in the hospital in Utah for 5 days – norovirus!