AIBU to feel anxious about illness ruining our holiday?

[Neonnectarines]

We are going on a much-awaited holiday at October half term. It is quite a financial outlay for us, and something that has been years in the planning.

Aibu to be getting really anxious that one or more of us are going to be really sick for it? Friends and family are already beginning to come down with colds and coughs, and last winter was really awful for us in that regard. My son is asthmatic so has a rough time of it whenever he falls ill. Last winter, we had to cancel a holiday at the last minute due to one of said illnesses, so that is definitely in the back of my mind now.

How does everyone cope with the stress and uncertainty of whether all the money and planning will be worth it?

There is literally nothing you can do about it, so stop worrying.

Do you have decent travel insurance?

Yanbu to worry a bit but sounds like it's spiralling? Is the place you're going to well equipped for medical emergencies?

I think it’s fairly natural, when you’ve got something coming up that you’ve really been looking forward to, to really be hoping it all goes well. And then it’s a small step from that to worrying about various reasons it might not go well. Especially if it had to be cancelled last year.

PP is right that there’s nothing you can do. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to just stop worrying

Presumably you have insurance should you need to cancel?

I go on about 10 trips a year and have never had to cancel a trip due to illness. Tell a lie, I did once because my elderly dog was struggling in the extreme heat, so there was no point going away.

Just stay away from people with infectious diseases. Use good food and hand hygiene.

Masks for everyone from the time you leave home. Anti bac wipes for all surfaces on the plane and in the accommodation. Plenty of soap and water for hands regularly.

After that, there isn’t anything you can do. Take plenty of your favourite remedies.

You're overthinking it OP.

There's nothing to be done about the possibility of potential illnesses, except make sure you all avoid people who are unwell whenever possible, have goo holiday insurance and make sure you've all had your flu vaccines this year?

So there's zero point in 'worrying' about something over which you really have no control?

You'll make the run up to the holiday a misery for everyone, and especially yourself if you continue to focus your thinking on possible sickness scenarios?

Stop focusing on what 'might' go wrong, and instead concentrate on your packing etc

I always feel like this when I’ve got a holiday or something I’m really looking forward to coming up, especially in the colder months.

It’s only actually happened to me once that I’ve had to cancel a holiday due to illness (Covid as it happened) though so the odds are pretty good!

I do feel like this, and not just for holidays, but for any one-off occasions.

Fo you have travel insurance?

I feel a little like this to be honest. I have a holiday booked at the end of this month, and I am so excited about it. But before then, my partner is going on business to France on the Eurostar and a few other trains the other end. He is getting his flu jab next week (I had mine today) and he will be liberally using anti bac gel. Hopefully we'll both be well for the holiday.

I’ve got a big holiday in a few months and whilst not anxious about being ill, I’m doing a few things to help prevent it so I know I’ve done everything in my control. I’ve got my flu jab booked for in a few weeks, I’ve become more consistent in taking vitamins, I’ll use hand sanitiser a bit more when I’m out and in the couple of weeks before I travel not see friends/family if they’ve got a cold or illness. I also make sure I take cold/flu tablets and throat sweets on holiday with me in case they’re needed.

If I am ill it’s then just bad luck.

I always worry about this too. It's quite natural but obviously you need to control it somehow if it's impacting you negatively.

I nearly always seem to get sick on holiday and then proceed to have nothing but a minor sniffle for the next 12 months 😭

I’m not one a ‘sick’ person usually. Almost never take a sick day off work.Then holiday and bam, sick enough to be laid up in bed for a couple of days.

Travel insurance. And booking holiday spots that are near enough to decent hospitals that have paediatrics.

Just chill a little. We go away up to 6x a year, 3x kids ages 7-13 and have never cancelled a holiday because of illness. You can go away with a cough or a cold. It will be fine, relax and enjoy looking forward to your trip.

All you can do is healthy eating and healthy life. Good hand hygiene and take vitimins

We’ve just had to cancel a holiday because my husband was gravely unwell (on the road to recovery- thankfully!) You don’t give a sh*t when it’s happening to you. Never a truer saying than you don’t know what’s around the corner and there absolutely nothing you can do about it.

I worry about this too. It helps me to think about potential contingency plans and to have decent insurance in place. I also often use nasal sprays (like First Defence or the Boots equivalent) as a prophylactic before going to crowded areas just before a holiday. They can destroy viruses in the nasal cavity before they take hold.

YANBU you have my sympathy. I am an emetophobe so sickness bugs are my fear and before any holiday that fear ramps up. Stupid and pointless, I know. But it’s still real. Distraction helps me and having plans in my head so I know I would cope should it happen.

yes

general good practice - handwash regularly including ehen coking inside, before meals, after touching face.

general immunity - so rest, avoid stress, plenty of fresh air and sunlight, take vitamin D and C and eat well.

any vaccinations you're eligible for

first defence spray does actually seem to work sometimes!

Do you have decent travel insurance? Make sure you are covered and that you were completly open and honest with them but then forget about the possibility.

If you became so unwell you had to cancel the holiday (eg in hospital) it would probably be the least of your worries at that time.

In general I’d suggest you don’t big up your holiday too much in your mind or you’ll be disappointed. No matter how much you spend no holiday is perfect there will always be hiccups, the more open you are to rising to any challenge the more you’ll enjoy it.

Have I read this right, did you say you had cancelled a holiday because of a cold/ cough?

It's a natural and common worry.

You can tackle the worry in two ways - take some moderate steps to avoid problems (so don't go to a big party the day before you leave?), and also practice accepting uncertainty, there are breathing exercises etc that help with this.

It's awful when you've spent a lot and it gets spoilt somehow. Hopefully you'll have good luck this year!

People who are asthmatic suffer more than people who are not, a cold is not an equal problem for everyone.

It’s understandable but other than take basic precautions- stay away from sick people, use good hand hygiene, have good travel insurance, maybe avoid places that are crowded and involve a lot of close contact like swimming, fairgrounds and soft play- not much you can do.

Make sure you have travel insurance, although their definition of too ill to travel may not match yours if a cough/cold is a problem (my asthmatic son suffers more with them, but nothing his inhaler can't fix, however accept this isn't the case for everyone). I did try to avoid putting the big ticket expensive part of our once in a life time holiday at the start of our trip last year to allow time to recover if we caught anything on the plane, but as it turned out we were fine though did get sick shortly after getting home. You don't say where you're going, but most touristy places have decent healthcare (even if it's unaffordable for the locals in some places).