I.Dup. Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 I'm wondering if you have noticed a correlation with coming down with the stomach flu a couple days into your trip, and flying on a plane? We took ALL of our children to Disney last January, and thank God no one got sick (one of my biggest fears, with so many young children). I am flying again this January with just my 5mo (who will be in a sling on my lap the whole time) and my 9yo. I am hoping for stories where you took your children on a plane for a trip and did NOT get sick...... (I'm scared enough as it is without hearing horror stories) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted November 19, 2011 Author Share Posted November 19, 2011 What about a day or two after flying...? Thank you for the encouragement. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 My girls have flown a few times a year, since birth (well...6 weeks). I can't think of one time they got sick right after flying. We just wash hands frequently, use hand wipes/gel, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 The kids and I have been on 2 plane trips in the last 18 months and none of us got sick. However, when dh flew to his grandmother's funeral in Jan, he came home with the flu and shared it with the kids. :glare: I think that he more than likely got it from a sick relative who couldn't stand to miss the funeral rather than the plane, but who knows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkInTheBlue Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 3 boys have traveled with us frequently and I've never notced them or any of us get sick after flying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted November 19, 2011 Author Share Posted November 19, 2011 Thank you all. I feel better and am holding out hope that we will have a nice, healthy vacation. :001_smile: I just hate planes, but they are necessary when we are on a time crunch and flying across country. :001_unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmarango Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 We are probably on a plane every two or three months and my children have been sick only once that I can recall right after being on a plane. However, I am pretty sure that they were both exposed to a sick child (friend) 2 days before we went home. My ds had an eye infection along with the URI that they both had. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Never gotten sick after flying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 We fly 4-5 times a year, never an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalknot Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Thank you all. I feel better and am holding out hope that we will have a nice, healthy vacation. :001_smile: I just hate planes, but they are necessary when we are on a time crunch and flying across country. :001_unsure: :grouphug: Have a great, relaxing vacation! I fly several times each month, and rarely get sick (when I do, I'm not convinced it's from the flying but YMMV!); my kids fly at least once each month, and have since a few weeks old each. They also have only rarely gotten sick a few days after flying. And I don't blame flying, but rather consider it perhaps one factor (loss of "good" sleep/eat routine from being away from home being a primary one) of many. I keep baby wipes handy (not the anti-bacterial kind, just the wet wipes) and we wash frequently during the flight. I always bring a plastic ziplock or grocery bag to hold all of our inflight trash. And I wipe down the seatback table; don't ask, just do. I've seen all kinds of nasty on those and avoid them once my kids are old enough to be able to LOL. I'm not one to carry wipes any other time, nor am I big on handwashing in general (aside from after bathroom use). If the kids use the lav, teach them to take a dry paper towel to open the door from the inside (and then use the same paper towel or an arm to close the door again from the outside). I know some people do this in regular bathrooms, too (I don't; only on planes!) and drink lots of water! Many of the juices on planes are crazy loaded with sugar - which, combined with flying and disrupted routines might contribute to a sick feeling after flying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 I have flown every year with my kids since they were infants, at least on six different planes (overseas trip). Never once have we gotten sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Are you sure it's a virus? Once when ds1 was little we traveled to visit family. After a couple days he got diarrhea. My sil suggested it was the water--different places have different water and those small differences can really affect younger kids. She suggested we get distilled water while away from home. That switch fixed ds up. We've followed that suggestion ever since and the dc have been fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Much more concerned about kids getting sick from nursery, Sunday school or co-op than from flying. Just follow the same rules you would otherwise: "please don't touch baby's hands," and wash hands before eating, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 No, never. And my dd has traveled several times with *her* ds (aka the world's cutest grandchild), and he nas never gotten sick, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 We have flown lots and lots and have never had a kid come down with the stomach flu a day or two after flying. One of them got an ear infection, ONCE, but she was sick to start with. One of them started puking ON a plane, but I usually give them dramamine, dh was flying without me and skipped it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I can't recall a time where my kids got sick after being on a plane, and we make as many as 6 round trips a year. I do have one who gets motion sick, so sometimes turbulence does him in. He's a teen now, so he knows to check the seat pocket as soon as he sits down and go back to the lavatory and grab a bag (or ask an attendant for one) if there's not one already there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Many plane trips. Never sick. Maybe just lucky? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 Thank you all!!! :001_smile::001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 We done lots of flying and never correlated illness-except once (but I was already congested when I boarded the flight). One child vomited after a flight but I think that was the tension and excitement of travel and it didn't become an illness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 We travel to/from the US every year, which entails a 10-hour overnight flight from Brazil to TX and then a flight from TX to CO; 1 to 2 wks in we have a flight from CO back to TX and then after another 2-ish weeks we repeat the overnight TX to BR flight. We've done this for the past four years. When we started, the boys were 2.5 yrs, 6.5 yrs & 10 yrs old. We've never had anyone get sick immediately following a flight (or at all soon enough after to be related to germs on the flight). We also travel at least once/year within Brazil by plane and again, no illness following. So, that's minimum 6 separate flights per year (counting each leg of the trip as a separate flight, since they are spaced apart), x 3 kids per flight x 4 yrs of this pattern = 72 exposures to flight-contained germs between the three of them over the past four years. And exactly ZERO flight-related illnesses after. I think you'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Are you sure it's a virus? Once when ds1 was little we traveled to visit family. After a couple days he got diarrhea. My sil suggested it was the water--different places have different water and those small differences can really affect younger kids. She suggested we get distilled water while away from home. That switch fixed ds up. We've followed that suggestion ever since and the dc have been fine. We *HAVE* experienced this in one of our boys. Twice now he has had a 24-hour bout of dehydrating nausea once we arrive in my MIL's town. We think it's a combination of the water & the greasier foods (not a reflection on her; he overloads on his US favorites, which tend to be greasier than we normally eat). We've been suggested to have him eat yogurt (live culture) to maintain the intestinal flora at the right level and will try that this year in hopes of avoiding the puking. At least now we know though that it's not a virus, won't spread through anyone, etc. and won't cancel whole family trips b/c of it. Distilled water is probably a good idea, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 If it helps, apparently airplanes have a laminar air flow system that goes from top to bottom and the air isn't recycled. This is how clean rooms are designed, and clean rooms are designed to keep germs (or particulates) at bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I have flown with my kids 4X and only once did one of my kids come down with a stomach sickness. She had it the day after we had flown and it lasted for about 8 hours. I cannot say at all that it was because of the flying or had anything to do with flying. It could have been the rich food we ate that first day in a different country or just been one of those things she might have been exposed to prior to going on vacation. Out of 7 of us traveling together that time, she was the only one to get ill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I've never noticed my kids getting sick after flying, and we fly at least 2-3 times a year with them. I think it makes sense that the incidence of illness after spending hours on a plane might be higher, but it hasn't impacted us personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 I think you'll be fine. Thank you :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyeska Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 When we fly we always, always, always use antibacterial wipes and wipe every surface of our sitting area...hand rests, all buttons, trays, window sill and plastic window cover, seat belt buckles...everything. I have gotten plenty of funny looks, but have never gotten sick during or after a trip so it must work. I don't use Lysol wipes...they are too smelly. we use the ones meant to wipe off kids hands. they are just barely scented and don't stink up the airplane. : ) Also, we use hand sanitizer before we eat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 No. We never wipe anything, and we eat all the food we were given. We don't wash hands before eating. I seem to remember the boys got ill once in Dallas, but it was several days after the plane journey and we'd eaten in all kinds of places in the interim. We used to live overseas, so travelled by plane an awful lot. Calvin was six months old when he first flew; Hobbes was 5 weeks old. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puma Mom Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 None of us have ever got sick related to a plane trip. We eat regular airplane food, don't wipe down anything, and take no special precautions. Dh flies a lot--he will fly his 90th leg this year on Tues--and he's never gotten sick from flying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I've never noticed my kids getting sick after flying, and we fly at least 2-3 times a year with them. I think it makes sense that the incidence of illness after spending hours on a plane might be higher, but it hasn't impacted us personally. Adding: We also don't use anti-bacterial wipes or sanitizing gels, etc. We wash our hands when possible / appropriate, but don't fret about it. We eat airplane food. I wouldn't lick the tray tables, lol, but short of that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 I fly often with my children, probably 9-10 times a year. I've never noticed an increase in illness. I do bring on sanitizing gels and encourage proper handwashing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyNellen Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 We fly frequently and have seen absolutely NO correlation between flying and getting sick. At all. Now I HAVE seen a correlation between Chuck E. Cheese and stomach bugs, but that's another story :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Now I HAVE seen a correlation between Chuck E. Cheese and stomach bugs, but that's another story :lol: Oh, heavens yes! Not specifically CEC, but indoor ball pits and kid-habitrails. When mine were toddlers / preschoolers, I could almost guarantee a stomach bug within 24-72 hours of going to one of those places. *Shudder* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyNellen Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Oh, heavens yes! Not specifically CEC, but indoor ball pits and kid-habitrails. When mine were toddlers / preschoolers, I could almost guarantee a stomach bug within 24-72 hours of going to one of those places. *Shudder* Yes, we avoid all ball pits/Playlands like the plague...because I am pretty confident they CAUSE the plague. At least that has been our experience. Blech! I should also mention to the OP that my hubby has traveled twice a week by plane for work since February and has never gotten sick...not so much as a sniffle in that time. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarfoot Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I must be in the tiny minority who always seems to get sick after flying. I don't even want to say it, but we flew home yesterday, 10 days after flying to our destination, DS 4 threw up late this afternoon, and I have a sore throat.:glare: The other kids spent a couple of days feeling under the weather. We absolutely could've brought them home from the crowds where we were, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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