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Keep vacation viruses from washing you out

By: Ask Journeys / Ron Pradinuk

Posted: 07/7/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Cruise ships are the only sector of the hospitality industry obligated to report norovirus outbreaks.

For those of us who enjoy travel, the one hope we all share is that we will be able to complete our journeys in a safe and healthy manner.

Cruisers especially become concerned when they hear or read about a ship that has been put in quarantine because of a wide-spread norovirus contagion aboard.

They ask if there is anything they can do to ensure their holiday is not ruined by this, or other form of controllable health issue on their trip.

The answers often come in the modification of a popular phrase from an old poem; water, water everywhere and make sure you use lots of it.

QUESTION: I know of people who have been asked to stay in their cabins during a cruise because of a flu-like illness.

Given the fact that seasonal flues of all kinds are common, let alone the norovirus, is there anything we can do to prevent being quarantined?

ANSWER: No one wants to have their holiday ruined with a quarantine order, but any sign of a communicable illness should be reported for the sake of all passengers on board.

And while norovirus is a word that strikes fear in the heart of cruisers, it is not a sickness that is exclusive to cruise ships. It happens everywhere; in hotels, resorts, convention halls and anyplace numbers of people gather.

It's just that the news of norovirus emanates from cruise incidents more because of the legal requirement for cruise ships to report them to health authorities. These requirements are not mandatory when they occur in other segments of the hospitality industry.

There is no way of insuring you won't get sick on board a cruise ship, or at the resorts of your choice, but there are things you can to do mitigate the chances of ruining your vacation because of health ailments.

The first three are the most important. Wash your hands, wash your hands and wash your hands. These words of advice cannot be repeated enough.

Before you eat, after you tough stair railings, after you use the washroom, before you dine and after you enter your own cabin or hotel room, wash up.

While all this may sound like enough to make you lose your enthusiasm for travel, the same advice is likely good for all of us at home and in our day-to-day travels here.

Experts continue to give this advice whether at home or abroad.

Carry a quality sanitizer with you so you do not always have to run to the nearest facility for cleanliness. Cruise ships are way ahead of the trend on this one. You will find sanitizer dispensers in most areas of every vessel that sails international waters these days.

There are also commercial sanitizers on the market today that offer longer protection, but nothing can compare to the effectiveness of frequent handwashing.

QUESTION: I like to consume fairly large quantities of water when I travel but fear drinking it in a lot of countries I visit. How can I find out which countries offer safe water and which don't?

ANSWER: More people should attach themselves to your policy of drinking lots of water when they travel.

We tend to go to the hottest countries and as we are actively pursuing our passions for exploration we tend to forget to stay hydrated.

We often consume more alcohol on these trips, which also tends to dehydrate us.

Severe dehydration brings its own problems so it is important to be conscious of drinking more water when you are away than you might think of consuming if you live a relatively sedentary life at home.

While resorts and cruise ships ensure that passengers and guest have as much safe drinking water as they wish, there are many countries where you should not drink anything other than bottled or purified water.

Most know that Mexico and other Caribbean countries we visit do not run the kind of safe tap water required for our more delicate human systems through their resorts or restaurants.

Go to www.vogage.gc.ca ahead of time to check out health concerns in the country you may be visiting.

The United State's Centre for Communicable Diseases and the U.S. State Department also do an excellent job of supplying information to its citizens on their websites.

Carry bottled water everywhere you go when you travel. Save money by refilling your bottles on board or at safe resorts in the dining rooms and other water-accessible areas.

And while we have focused on preventable actions you can take when you reach your ship or destination, it is important to realize how dehydrating a long air flight can be.

Especially on longer flights, the idea of passing the time with a few alcoholic drinks to begin the vacation sounds excellent, but it can lead to the greater negative impacts of dehydration. This becomes especially true if you transition into a hot climate immediately after landing and don't have an opportunity to buy bottled water in your rush to catch waiting transportation.

Whether it is soft drinks, juices or water, keep up the intake of fluids on the flight and throughout your holiday.

It will help ensure a much healthier vacation.

Forward your travel questions to askjourneys@journeystravel.com . Ron Pradinuk is president of Journeys Travel & Leisure SuperCentre and can be heard Sundays at noon on CJOB. Previous columns and tips can be found on www.journeystravelgear.com or read Ron's travel blog at www.thattravelguy.ca .

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 7, 2012 D4

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