Noro and travel. What can I do?

[Genie+]

Who is going to get on that raft with noro family? Once people get wind of it, nobody.

As others have mentioned, felt like I was gonna die. ZERO energy. Couldn’t imagine risking that on a physically demanding trip.

 

[BayouQueen]

I have to join others in saying I'd cancel and go another time. The thought of enduring noro on a trip like this is just....unthinkable.

 

[EllieJedi]

We're related. I know her well enough to know she's prone to big reactions if she feels criticized. I'm really hoping that she's just been blindsided by a bad situation and needs some time to think through her choices. She might change her mind when she tries to get out of bed and move around.

The trail we are hiking is no joke. People die from dehydration and underestimating the difficulty and overestimating their physical condition. Not having hiked it before, I have no personal experience to draw from. I believe it's probably a very bad idea for her.



I hear you, and I somewhat agree. But what if she doesn't have norovirus and then I've just ruined her trip and maybe she forfeits several thousand dollars because she believes I'm being neurotic. It's going to cause major problems in our relationship. She does have an obligation to report her condition so I can probably approach it that way.

If the trail you are hiking is no joke under the best of circumstance, and now you are adding the heat and her condition I think you are obligated to report it to the trip organizer. She may be angry but it’s better than she’s angry, safe and well, than she suffer from heatstroke out on the trail.

 

[CBMom01]

Try calling your doctor and get an opinion. Good luck!

This is a good idea. Then you can tell her the advice is coming from a doc, not from you

 

[mumto3girls]

I responded upthread, but have been following along and been thinking about your dilemma. You are in a tough spot here and I feel for you. I am not confrontational at all, but have a fairly strong sense of right and wrong and that combination gives me some anxiety. I think I would call her up to check on her and then tell her you are very worried about this trip. Remind her of the heat, the level of activity and the difficulty of getting medical care if she gets in over her head. I would tell her at the very least, she needs to go see a doctor and find out what she has. If it’s not noro and the doctor thinks she may be fine, that’s one thing; but hopefully even in that case the doctor is telling her this trip is a bad idea right now. I might also tell her that I am also concerned about her husband and everyone else on the trip getting it and managing the symptoms. Maybe that will give her something to think about.

Good luck.

 

[leahgoogle]

I did send a text suggesting she check in with her doctor about how contagious she'll be on the trip. She responded that I'm being neurotic since it will be 2.5 days past her symptoms starting. That's why I posted. I wanted to hear what other people thought about the situation.



TY. This better articulates the concerns.

But, her son gave it to her after 3 days of his symptoms starting soooo. Norovirus or not, it seems like it is a nasty bug and I would consider not going. I bet she will be miserable if she goes after being that sick.

 

[jo-jo]

Have you spoken with her today? How is hubby? Maybe they will decide on there own not to go and you won’t have to worry about being preachy, even though you’re right.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I would cancel. This isn't the type of trip anyone wants to be on and possibly get sick from. It's possible she would cancel just from being so ill and you'd have to hope that's the case but I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

If it's indeed norovirus hand sanitizer doesn't work well for that and it's extremely contagious. Asking a doctor isn't going to give you the advice you want nor the comfort you want, this has to be a decision you make because someone has very recently been sick and is still actively sick and other members of their household could potentially become sick. You can review CDC guidelines if you want https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/about/transmission.html (hint if it's norovirus the contagion period is typically much longer than you think if you're asking about several days time).

No matter what it is I would seriously question why all the adults think it's even a good idea to keep going knowing one member of the traveling party has been sick just before it and hasn't cancelled themselves yet.

 

[Threehearts]

It's called carb loading before surgery. There are many articles and healthcare documentation online.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21781358/

Those articles are quite old. I will look into it though. Aspirating grape juice during any kind of surgery could be a terrible situation. In major medical centers, we have never recommended that on the day of surgery but perhaps other hospitals do. I practiced in Boston and Washington DC.

 

[nw6675]

Those articles are quite old. I will look into it though. Aspirating grape juice during any kind of surgery could be a terrible situation. In major medical centers, we have never recommended that on the day of surgery but perhaps other hospitals do. I practiced in Boston and Washington DC.

Not here to argue the pros and cons of an accepted practice. I was seen in the country's largest hospital system. You are welcome to your own opinions and research.

Now back to Noro...

 

[lifesavacation]

I emailed the company asking if they screen for Noro symptoms before the trip. If not, can they please do so. If that doesn’t prompt them to ask or she doesn’t say anything, I’ll have a direct conversation with them.

The Disney cruises ask about symptoms 3 days before. So I guess that would mean one isn’t highly contagious after the initial 3 days. She’s within that time frame, though. Definitely contagious.

 

[ronandannette]

We're related. I know her well enough to know she's prone to big reactions if she feels criticized. I'm really hoping that she's just been blindsided by a bad situation and needs some time to think through her choices. She might change her mind when she tries to get out of bed and move around.

The trail we are hiking is no joke. People die from dehydration and underestimating the difficulty and overestimating their physical condition. Not having hiked it before, I have no personal experience to draw from. I believe it's probably a very bad idea for her.



I hear you, and I somewhat agree. But what if she doesn't have norovirus and then I've just ruined her trip and maybe she forfeits several thousand dollars because she believes I'm being neurotic. It's going to cause major problems in our relationship. She does have an obligation to report her condition so I can probably approach it that way.

Given what you've said in the bolded above, here's the approach I would take: talk to her husband while she's still at her sickest. Tell him everything you have learned about noro and let him know you are BEYOND worried about her health and the huge potential for serious problems. Remind him of the isolation and lack of emergency support. Tell him/her/them that your conscience demands notifying the tour operator, for the sake of her safety. Lay it on thick. None of this is untrue and avoids villainizing her, which, IMO, is a card you can still play if needed. Good luck.

 

[WDWJDS]

Does your group have some sort of Facebook page just for the travelers? If so, right on the page I’d ask “Hey Sally, how are feeling today? Is that norovirus getting any better for ya?” Put it right out there in the open!

 

[DLgal]

OP, it's time to get over your hang ups with what this may do to your relationship. You need to straight up tell the tour operator that she (not "a participant") has norovorus and her husband has been exposed as well. Let them handle it.

Your relative can literally DIE on this trip. The fact that she and her husband are even considering going is so mind bogglingly irresponsible, I don't think I could even continue a relationship with them if they did go. Just the sheer selfishness being displayed by her is off the charts. This person doesn't deserve to be treated with kid gloves. Tell her she needs to stay home, and not bring this virus to the other 22 people on this highly strenuous trip. Her losing money is not your concern. She should have purchased trip insurance. This is why it exists. Her lack of preparation is not your fault.

 

[Minnie1222]

But what if she doesn't have  norovirus and then I've just ruined her trip and maybe she forfeits several thousand dollars because she believes I'm being neurotic.

The type of virus is irrelevant at this point. It has shown to be a highly infectious pathogen based on your descriptions. For the safety of the group, I sincerely hope you can persuade/prevent this couple from going.

 

[luvthatduke]

If from your perspective it's not safe and she is not willing to postpone or have a plan in place, then best is not go on the trip yourself.

Calling your own doctor will not be of much use, that will be as effective as saying 'I've read on a website once'. Your doctor doesnt know her and her status.

Calling her doctor would be more effective.

Or stretching it a bit, but if she goes out while still contagious, aren't there laws against this? Not executed often, but if she is endangering public health, something to look into.

I absolutely disagree w/your comments re: calling her own Dr.
I have called our Primary more than once over the years
due to DS having an unusual medical allergy.
We needed her advice when he needed to avoid
some communicable illness situations
& she was very helpful in instructing us on best practices,
avoidance if attending, & when we needed to stay away.
I was very glad I called her for her opinion.

Also, I would assume that OP's or anyone's Dr. would not
give out information regarding their patient's
condition due to HIPAA.

Edited for clarity.

 

[tcufrog]

You need to put on your big girl pants, get a spinal implant and either tell her and her husband not to go, contact the tour guide directly and explain the situation, and/or cancel and try to get some of the $ back. Going on this trip with this couple is the definition of insanity.

 

[gottalovepluto]

But what if she doesn't have norovirus and then I've just ruined her trip and maybe she forfeits several thousand dollars because she believes I'm being neurotic…

Who cares what the diagnosis is? It’s blatantly obvious it’s highly contagious and if she spreads it to anyone they get to go through the physical trauma of a helicopter evac because she was too cheap to buy trip insurance. I can barely fathom this level of selfishness. No matter how cheap she chose to be it’s on her, not you.

Now that you know, if anyone on the trip gets sick and you don’t warn the company & the people you already know going on the trip then that is on your conscious- personally I couldn’t deal with that.

 

[Karin1984]

I absolutely disagree w/your comments re: calling her own Dr.
I have called our Primary more than once over the years
due to DS having an unusual medical allergy.
We needed her advice when he needed to avoid
some communicable illness situations
& she was very helpful in instructing us on best practices,
avoidance if attending, & when we needed to stay away.
I was very glad I called her for her opinion.

Also, I would assume that her or anyone's Dr. would not
give out information regarding their patient's
condition due to HIPAA.

Oh, I am sure the OPs doctor is willing to give advice. What I meant is, that it is probably not going to change the sick friend's mind.

If the friend tells the OP that she is neurotic now, I don't think she will respond better to "hey, I spoke to my doctor about your condition and my doctor also thinks that you shouldn't go."

 

[luvsvacation]

I’ve been on the trail you’re talking about twice. Last time was 2 years ago in July and it was sweltering. They had a couple of helicopter rescues and we talked to a ranger who told us the insane cost of having to be flown out! I’ve never had noro or know much about it, usually when I get a stomach bug it last exactly 12 hours and is gone. If I had something like that a couple of days before I’d still go. But this sounds like a very different type of stomach illness and having been on that trail let me just say it would absolutely suck and you would want to die! There aren’t even woods around where you can go behind a tree!