View Full Version : Water born illness questions...
2009ThruHiker
10-15-2008, 12:22
Can giardia and other water born illnesses cause problems through an open cut or sore? Is there any safety risk to using untreated water to wash out a cut etc...?> :-?
I can't give a positive answer on this, but for perspective, I cut my foot open some time ago and I dressed it properly with bandages and disinfectant... a day later I was Tubing in the Housatonic River. That evening, I had horrible food pain and the next day I had to go to my doctors to find out I had an infection in my foot. It had to be cleaned and I needed meds.
2009ThruHiker
10-15-2008, 13:02
I can't give a positive answer on this, but for perspective, I cut my foot open some time ago and I dressed it properly with bandages and disinfectant... a day later I was Tubing in the Housatonic River. That evening, I had horrible food pain and the next day I had to go to my doctors to find out I had an infection in my foot. It had to be cleaned and I needed meds.
thanks for the heads up. did the doctor attribute it to the water contact?
budforester
10-15-2008, 13:03
Definitely risky! You won’t get a case of the trots, but may introduce lots of bad bugs. Wound infections are usually bacterial, and many of the common soil and water organisms are opportunists in that regard. I would only allow surface water contact on something very superficial or to remove chunks of debris from a wound. Then it requires follow- up cleansing and disinfection.
GoldenBear
10-15-2008, 13:14
Each Pathogen is Unique
Different organisms spread through water can infect you in different ways. Giardia, for instance, won't cause a bit of trouble UNTIL you ingest its cyst.
www.mayoclinic.com/health/giardia-infection/DS00739/DSECTION=causes
But other pathogens, particularly bacteria like tetanus, can cause trouble if dropped on an open sore. That's precisely WHY you wash out the wound, to get rid of the bacteria.
Soap, BTW, does not kill bacteria, it just loosens it so it can be rinsed away. So putting soap in your wash water won't do much good. Also, using alcohol to clean a wound is likely to do more damage from irritation than good.
Here's the (presently) recommended approach to cuts
www.mayoclinic.com/health/first-aid-cuts/FA00042
If you have NO purified water but MUST clean out the wound of its dirt NOW, your best bet would be to clean it with untreated water and then cover it with anti-bacterial cream. Note, however that, once you stop the bleeding, you can wait an hour or so before cleaning the wound -- thus giving you plenty of time to purify the untreated water.
budforester
10-15-2008, 13:23
Each Pathogen is Unique
Different organisms spread through water can infect you in different ways. Giardia, for instance, won't cause a bit of trouble UNTIL you ingest its cyst.
www.mayoclinic.com/health/giardia-infection/DS00739/DSECTION=causes (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/giardia-infection/DS00739/DSECTION=causes)
But other pathogens, particularly bacteria like tetanus, can cause trouble if dropped on an open sore. That's precisely WHY you wash out the wound, to get rid of the bacteria.
Soap, BTW, does not kill bacteria, it just loosens it so it can be rinsed away. So putting soap in your wash water won't do much good. Also, using alcohol to clean a wound is likely to do more damage from irritation than good.
Here's the (presently) recommended approach to cuts
www.mayoclinic.com/health/first-aid-cuts/FA00042 (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/first-aid-cuts/FA00042)
If you have NO purified water but MUST clean out the wound of its dirt NOW, your best bet would be to clean it with untreated water and then cover it with anti-bacterial cream. Note, however that, once you stop the bleeding, you can wait an hour or so before cleaning the wound -- thus giving you plenty of time to purify the untreated water.
Good points; brings up another thought: a tetanus booster prior to a thruhike might be a good idea. We usually think about those only when school, job, or foreign travel demand it.
thanks for the heads up. did the doctor attribute it to the water contact?
absolutely. i dressed it up prior, perfectly (sans waterproofing.) It wasn't even a particularly deep cut.
take-a-knee
10-15-2008, 16:17
Some protozoans can cause infection via access through broken skin, this is fairly common in the tropics. Bacterial contamination is much more likely.
Never irrigate a wound with water you wouldn't drink.
Lone Wolf
10-15-2008, 16:56
don't ever swim in ponds, lakes, rivers or streams either. giardia and other stuff can get in all your orifices. swim in clorinated pools ONLY