So Lorraine has preached the measures for staying healthy on a cruise ship - you remember - annual flu shot - handwashing/sanitizing - paper towels on public facility doors, etc. BUT - she forgot to mention what is probably the most important safeguard... HYDRATION! Yep - good old WATER!!
Unfortunately, this is a lesson learned the hard way. On the very first day of this past cruise, Lorraine awoke to find herself on the elevator floor (with a sprained foot, no less) - yep - OUT COLD! The culprit? DEHYDRATION!!
Well - after two infusions of IV fluids (and a rather hefty infirmary bill) - she was feeling well enough to remain on the cruise - EXCEPT - she could only navigate by wheelchair... yep - that foot was really trashed! Oh Joy of joys – a cruise that was supposed to give daughter a few days of R&R instead turned into her becoming a “nurse” - told her it was good practice for when I got old - LOL!
After threatening to push me down the spiral staircase if I didn’t behave, the “stay well” program was followed - one to two liters of water per day plus electrolyte powder and bananas. Except for the foot, Lorraine was back to her “normal” self!
Seriously, cruise ships can give you a false sense of security - you’re out of your usual environment - and prone to let routine hydration go by the wayside. All the “good” things you enjoy (coffee, tea, alcohol) plus the notoriously low humidity clime on cruise ships actually work as giant “sponges” absorbing the necessary life fluids and electrolytes right out of you.
So, if you want to screw-up a perfectly good cruise - follow Lorraine’s FORMER practice of insufficient hydration... t’s a sure-shot guarantee!