Germ-free

We are 18 days away from our vacation departure, and it's time to really start thinking about preventing sickness in our household. Normally I'm not one to NOT take my kids somewhere due to fear of germs, but for the next few weeks I will be that mom. Why? Because if you are sick they will not allow you to board the cruise ship. Sickness spreads very easily on a cruise ship due to close quarters and they take every precaution not to have a boat full of sick people.

And how much would that suck to have this vacation planned for 2 years and not be able to board the ship???

So I've stocked up on vitamins, echinacea, soap, hand sanitizers...

On a Disney Cruise, the crew gives everyone an antibacterial wipe upon entering the dining rooms.  There are also automatic hand-washing machines for the kids before and after the kids' clubs (see this video).  I'm not as worried about getting sick on the ship, because I figure with all that preventative stuff, if we still end up getting sick then there is nothing we can do about it.  (We do have trip insurance which will reimburse for any days "lost" in quarantine due to sickness, and it also pays for any medical expenses on board the ship since most U.S. health insurance does not cover medical expenses incurred overseas).

But I do feel like I have *some* control on how many germs my kids are exposed to pre-vacation.  While my oldest son is in school until 4 days prior to our trip, my middle son's last week of school is this Wednesday.  I plan on avoiding the gym daycare and fast-food playgrounds from now until our trip. 

Last year, on our vacation to San Diego, my youngest son got sick.  We were at the San Diego Wild Animal Safari Park, he was having a blast, but we noticed that he had a big bulge in his neck.  Hmmm...what's that?  We asked him if he felt alright, he said he did.  But, um, he had a BIG BULGE IN HIS NECK!  We left the park early (kind of a bummer because it was a really cool park, but I was kind of freaking out!)  We found a CVS with a Minute Clinic and took him to be checked out.  He had a severe case of strep and his lymph nodes were very swollen!  So it turned out not to be a big deal, he got on antibiotics and was not contagious after 24 hours.  But we were in the U.S., where our insurance was accepted, and we had a spacious rental condo where our son could recuperate.  That trip was in January, which in my mind is a month more prone to sickness than June (not sure if that's actually true, though).

Have you ever gotten sick on a vacation?  Have you ever missed a vacation due to illness?  Have you ever taken precautions before your vacation?  Do you think I'm nuts???