Nice try, but those who know me know I'm pretty doggone hiker trashy.
Of course Skids is being tongue in cheek, but you'll notice he wasn't at all shocked that I could be so irresponsible as to cut into the water treatment industry's profit margin. He knows me!
If people spent less time being offended and more time actually living, we'd all be a whole lot happier!
In the statement, EPA and CDC note: “Although data are not sufficient for [us] to recommend that all severely immunocompromised persons take extra precautions with regard to their drinking water, individuals who wish to take extra measures to avoid waterborne cryptosporidiosis can bring their drinking water to a rolling boil for one minute. Boiling water is the most effective approach for killing Cryptosporidium
Cryptosporidium can be deadly for folks with impaired immune systems, but it tends to have either no impact, or less than serious impact, on people in good health.
Here's what the Mayo Clinic says:
"There's no commonly advised specific treatment for cryptosporidiosis, and recovery usually depends on the health of your immune system. Most healthy people recover within two weeks without medical attention.
"If you have a compromised immune system, the illness can last and lead to significant malnutrition and wasting. The goal of treatment is to alleviate symptoms and improve your immune response. Cryptosporidium treatment options include:
"Anti-parasitic drugs. Medications such as nitazoxanide (Alinia) can help alleviate diarrhea by attacking the metabolic processes of the cryptosporidium organisms. Azithromycin (Zithromax) may be given along with one of these medications in people with compromised immune systems. Anti-motility agents. These medications slow down the movements of your intestines and increase fluid absorption to relieve diarrhea and restore normal stools. Anti-motility drugs include loperamide and its derivatives (Imodium A-D, others). Talk with your doctor before taking any of these medications. Fluid replacement. You'll need oral or intravenous replacement of fluids and electrolytes — minerals such as sodium, potassium and calcium that maintain the balance of fluids in your body — lost to persistent diarrhea. These precautions will help keep your body hydrated and functioning properly. Anti-retroviral therapies. If you have HIV/AIDS, highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) can reduce the viral load in your body and boost your immune response. Restoring your immune system to a certain level may completely resolve symptoms of cryptosporidiosis."
Last edited by weary; 05-01-2011 at 14:11. Reason: quote from Mayo Clinic
Take almost nothing I say seriously--if it seems to make no sense what so ever it's probably meant as a joke....but do treat your water!
Yeah, they used to be classified within the bacteria (Monera) Kindgom because they are single-celled prokaryotes. About 5 years ago, they were reclassifed to form their own kingdom of life, the Archaea Kingdom. There are also some that live in acidic conditions and some that live in areas where swamp gas precludes other living creatures.
If people spent less time being offended and more time actually living, we'd all be a whole lot happier!
I personally use bleach. I did it my whole thru with no issues. I did not treat only if I saw the water coming directly out of the rock. All the people that I saw with steripens only reinforced my view that they are finicky garbage. You don't want complicated gear when you are in the woods.
I have used a steripen for thre years no problems with it but I have always made sure that the sensor was dry when I capped it I also carry back up micro pur just in case
"Fish Camp Woman.... Baby, I like the way you smell"
- Unknown Hinson
My girlfriend called Hydro-photon back when we couldn't find a filter that we wanted in Erwin. They sent us a replacement and it was defective immediantly out of the box. This one randomly turns off while treating water. At first it wasn't too bad, it would take 2 or 3 tries to get a liter but I figured that was about the best I could hope for out of a steripen. But it's gotten to the point that if it only takes 6 tries I'm lucky. So I've picked up a sawyer 3-way filter and I'm really happy with it so far. Good riddens steripen.
Try bleach. It's A) really cheap and B) theoretically effective.
I disagree with bleach as their are too many variables for the quality/purity of the stuff and its ineffectiveness on many waterborne cooties, Aqua Mira is a better solution if you are going that chemical route. I have got used to carrying a First Need Purifier and Aqua Mira or chlorine dioxide tablets and either filtered or used the chlorine dioxide dependent on water sources.
Bleach is not effective in killing either Cryptosporidium or Giardia. Here's a good link to what the CDC says about back country water treatment. http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drin...treatment.html
Here's the short version if you don't want to follow the link
■Disinfection with iodine or chlorine is not effective in killing Cryptosporidium;
■Disinfection with iodine or chlorine has a low to moderate effectiveness in killing Giardia;
■Disinfection with iodine or chlorine has a high effectiveness in killing bacteria
GA - NJ 2001; GA - ME 2003; GA - ME 2005; GA - ME 2007; PCT 2006
A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will.
—SPANISH PROVERB
I can see it now. I start out my thru in 14' with the steripen as my primary and in 30 days or less I end up mailing it home.
I used the Opti for 600 miles after replacement of the Adventurer. Working pretty well still.
Figured I should probably update to say that we finished the AT last October and the sawyer 3 way is still going strong.