Re: sickness going arround championship
 

I was at the VEX World Championship and noticed an unusually high amount of sick people all weekend (including myself after Day 1). For some it seemed to last only a day, for others like myself, we're still just getting over it.

Re: sickness going arround championship
 

I'm surprised the box lunches didn't make me ill. I wonder how long they had been unrefrigerated or how long the food was left out. They apparently redistributed unclaimed lunches the day after too.


The solution is simple: INDIANAPOLIS.

Ok. Maybe I just want food trucks.

Re: sickness going arround championship
 

Food trucks! Food trucks EVERYWHERE!

Re: sickness going arround championship
 

This.

This again.

This yet again.

Seriously, wash your hands before every meal at these events.

Re: sickness going arround championship
 

One of our team members had a stomach ache and was vomiting. I'm not sure how long it lasted. Last year at championships a member on our team had the same symptoms.

Re: sickness going arround championship
 

And this. 90% of the time sicknesses like this that run through large groups are not related to food, but are viruses. (Similar to what happens on cruise ships).

Re: sickness going arround championship
 

Here's my two cents, and it comes from years of competitions and working in a school.

I think there may have been some bugs going around, but I think that's more a result of having people from all over the country and world interacting in the same place. Your body is exposed to germs and viruses that it may never have been exposed to, and as such it can react poorly.

Also, the long days don't help. One of the best ways to fight off illness is to rest, and I guarantee most of our students were getting very little this weekend. I know there were many nights where I was excited if I got 5 hours of sleep. Your body may be more susceptible to new bugs if it doesn't get adequate levels of rest.

As has been said - wash your hands early and often. At your events, make sure to put a bottle of hand sanitizer (if you can) in your pit. Encourage students to stay hydrated and get plenty of rest. They may not listen (I know I didn't at that age, and still don't), but prevention is the best way to stop illness.

Post-event? Catch up on rest that you may not have gotten in St. Louis. Have a glass of Orange Juice, a nice salad, or whatever you usually consume to get your daily dose of vitamins. Take some time to stand out in the sunlight (I know a foreign concept for us techies). Give your body the time it needs to heal.

-Tom

Re: sickness going arround championship
 

Do this.
Don't go out of your way to do this. Unless you're actually vitamin-deficient or going hungry (which you probably aren't), it won't have any special benefits.

Re: sickness going arround championship
 

I got a head splitting headache after eating at the stadium. Had it not been for the first aid station having pain relievers I might have lost all my marbles.

I originally thought it was dehydration, but the pain continued to get worse even after the indicators showed that I was not.

Re: sickness going arround championship
 

Do you know if you have a sensitivity to MSG, Splenda/Sucralose, etc.? A terrible headache is actually a pretty common reaction to either of them if consumed in a high enough concentration.

Otherwise, a headache like no other headache you have ever had in your life is a symptom of a stroke. ;-)

Re: sickness going arround championship
 

I have no such sensitivity that I am aware of.

The medical history of my family might suggest that I could one day develop such a sensitivity though. I think it may have been more correlative to a low blood sugar event that is very common in my family.

Re: sickness going arround championship
 

Two of our mentors ate food at the stand near the entrance to the convention center (glass doors/carpeted walkway near Section 138?). Both were very ill later that evening.

Re: sickness going arround championship
 

This picture of some of the under-cooked (raw) food was posted on reddit.com/r/frc.

Re: sickness going arround championship
 

A student on our team purchased a 6 oz. cup of grapes full of mold for $5.99. I'd avoid the stadium food if at all possible.

Re: sickness going arround championship
 

If this ever happens again feel free to walk up to the counter and ask to speak with the manager from Levy. Thy are the same food service who provides the food at the place where I work and they generally pride themselves on quality. They will do everything they can within reason to make it better.