How come nobody gets sick from swimming in lake water

[sirbingo]

Whats up WhiteBlazers,

I've got a question....How come nobody gets sick from swimming in lake water?

My wife and her family spend around 3 weeks per summer at a lake house. All of us (13 nephews and nieces, Uncles, Aunts, etc) spend lots of time swimming and playing in the lake. Over those 3 weeks I am sure the whole bunch of us have swallowed tons of lake water...how come no one gets Gardillia or wherever you call it?

:-?
Sirbingo

[hopefulhiker]

Not sure but I think that Giardia is caused by animals peeing in the water. I would not drink lake water anyway... The water here has been reused a bunch of times by other towns on the Catawba river..

[Appalachian Tater]

Surface lake water is clean compared to streams. Sunlight kills organisms. However, you could still get giardia or a host of other illnesses from the water. http://www.pcta.org/help/join/magazines/SierraWater.asp

To me, the best argument for treating water on a long hike is purely on the odds: if you're out for the weekend and use 5 or 6 carefully-chosen sources you may not get sick, but over the course of a thru-hike, you're exposed to hundreds of possibly contaminated sources.

[JAK]

Sometimes people do get sick swimming in lake water. Also, most often people would NOT get sick if they didn't treat water while hiking. It's more a matter of lake water not being practical to treat. If it is bad enough, you simply don't swim in it. It is practical to treat drinking water, on the other hand, even when it is likely to be as safe as tapwater.

The real issues seem to be more a matter of cost, personal preference, and of course marketing. Like most things in the hiking world, as in 'real life', treating water does NOT have to be expensive, or all that complicated. It only makes sense to make it so because the wonders of modern technology, or past proven technology, are always being undone by the wonders of modern marketing, which really isn't that modern, and never was. I'm sure Chaucer had plenty to say about water treatment, if I ever get around to reading his book.

[Pedaling Fool]

Drinking untreated/unfiltered water, especially on the AT, is not as dangerous as everyone makes it out to be. I can't begin to guess the quantity of untreated water I've drank in all my time on the trail.

Not saying I'm not taking a chance or I won't ever get sick, but it's just not nearly as dangerous as it's been made out to be.

[Withmybarehands]

Its been my expierence that at the higher elavations of a given area, the water from a stream is usually ok. Havn't got sick yet. But I will be treating it on my thru-hike just so I dont have to deal with the off-chance I will get sick.

[Tennessee Viking]

Sunlight hitting surface water is correct. There a few new ultraviolet light filters out there, but they are usually very expensive. And usually all cysts and bacteria will venture to the bottom of lakes or hang around the shore line. Usually the rule of thumb is if water has algae or pond scum on top, or looks muddy dont drink it unless its treated. Also drinking contaminated water with a stomach full of food is a breeding ground.

[Ramble~On]

People do get sick from swimming in lake water.

People sometimes die from contact with the organisms in the water...rare but it happens. In recent memory there was a young boy (boy, if I remember right) who died as a result of an amoeba entering into his ear at Falls Lake near Raleigh, NC. Kind of hard to think that something so small could be deadly.

[Fiddleback]

It also has to do with amounts...the amount of water intake and, therefore, the amount of nasty beasties ingested.

We're pretty much always ingesting bad bugs. Even the water piped to homes in urban settings has disease causing bugs in it. But, generally, there are not enough bugs to cause sickness. This concept, the amount of organisms required to reproduce to infestation levels (i.e., disease) is one of the reasons clean water and food standards allow some small amount of nasties. It's also why UV treatment of water is effective...it doesn't kill the bugs but it prevents them from multiplying to infestation levels. Finally, it's why lots of bpackers get away with drinking untreated water...not necessarily because it's clean but because it's not dirty enough.

FYI, giardia and other diseases that originate from animal excretion come from the introduction of animal feces, not the urine, of the carrier animals or people. In other words, giardia is an intestinal track disease as is many (most?) waterborne diseases. I think urine is generally 'clean' in the sense it doesn't carry disease.

FB

[Midway Sam]

In recent memory there was a young boy (boy, if I remember right) who died as a result of an amoeba entering into his ear at Falls Lake near Raleigh, NC. Kind of hard to think that something so small could be deadly.

http://www.sptimes.com/2003/10/12/Worldandnation/CDC_cautions_against_.shtml

[cutman11]

you are correct, urine in normal healthy conditions is sterile.
It does contain urea and salts that if you continue to drink it in large quantities will make you sick eventually. In survival situations, it is better to drink your urine than sea water. The bacterial concentration as has been discussed in environmental sources is the issue. It is correct that fecal material is the source of bacteria and parasites such as Giardia. Another is decaying dead animal carcasses. Thus, the higher elevation, the smaller the stream, the less surface distance the water has travelled, the less relative contamination. The best source is the underground spring where it comes to the surface near the top of a mountain, after the rainwater has been filtered by the percolation thru the soil there. This, unfortunately, is theoretical, since most mountain tops have no water at all.

[Shade]

I have had the same thought when watching people diligently filter water and then use stream or lake water to wash/rinse thier hands and face.

I think most stomach illnesses come from poor hygiene or situations like the above not unfiltered water.

[sirbingo]

In recent memory there was a young boy (boy, if I remember right) who died as a result of an amoeba entering into his ear at Falls Lake near Raleigh, NC. Kind of hard to think that something so small could be deadly.

I thought stuff like that only happened on Seti-Alpha 5!

:eek:

[Fiddleback]

Health Concerns Close Record Number of U.S. Beaches in 2006 http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2007/2007-08-07-02.asp

"...This year's report takes a close look at the nation's highest risk beaches – those that are either very popular, very close to pollution sources, or both. Of those, beaches in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Rhode Island, and Minnesota ranked the worst for failing to meet national health standards..."

[refreeman]

I grew up hiking and drinking straight from the streams I found. I never got sick. I also lived on a medium sized lake with an active beaver family. I swam in the lake, got the occasional gulp of water and opened my eyes under water, and I never got sick. So, I am inclined to believe L Wolf and consider him to have a significantly valid point that the fear of getting sick from drinking wild water is vastly over rated.

However, I also know 2 people that did get Giardia. They lost so much weight they had a deflated look. So even though the danger is unlikely, its severity merits respect. Moreover, the industrial era polluted most large water bodies and water ways. The mountain water did escape most of the pollution. However, natural chemical pollution still occurs every day. Lead, and heavy metals are not unusual to find in mountain waters. Yes, you may not get sick when you drink it, but it can dose your system with a small toxic load.

Yes, I still drink straight from springs and some mountain streams. However, I am very selective. I pump and purify my water if I have any doubts, like most sensible hikers.

[whitefoot_hp]

just drink whatever water you find.. it will give your immune system a workout..