Posted on August 28th, 2008 by Craig Maltby, Editor
Sick cruise ships – prepare your immune system
Welcome aboard the HMS Germ
My sister-in-law and her husband just left on a Mediterranean cruise this week. One of the big concerns on any cruise these days is whether the whole ship will get sick. We’ve seen this happen several times. If I were cruising to Monaco and Sicily and Venice, I’d be royally PO’d if I had to spend my trip in bed.
Could a healthy, balanced immune system help stave off your getting ill when many or most on board are in the sick bay?
Of course, many people who go on vacation–no matter where–end up feeling lousy the day they begin vacation, possibly because they’ve endured the pent up stress of getting everything done and organized ahead of time so they can break away for a week or two. We all know, stress can impact your immune system, which can lead to variety of ailments. MSNBC has an interesting piece on cruise crud from a couple years ago.
Anyone really wanting to delve in the cruise/passenger health world should visit the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program Web site.
I’ll let you know how my sister-in-law fared when she gets back.
