Poll on FIltering and Illness

[Alligator]

Point is: most people in the world drink untreated water and do not get sick from it. In Nepal, i too now drink the water and don't get sick although most newcomers to Nepal probably would like i did my 1st time.
Does this mean that i've built up an immunity to Giardia? I believe so.
somebody said "God bless the folks at PUR" why? cause they learned how to make money from your fears? drink the water, it'll keep you alive, not kill you

Lots of people get sick.
One child dies every eight seconds from a water borne illness, that's over 10000/day.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/sgsm8707.doc.htm
27000 child deaths a year in Nepal alone from just diarrhea
http://www.cwin.org.np/resources/rep...2/survival.htm

Try a search on water borne illnesses. There are several particularly nasty ones.

[Alligator]

I have to admit that there is one aspect of filter that worries me.

If I was concerned about getting stung by a wasp (which could hurt some), I sure as heck wouldn't go about protectingy myself by catching everyone that came near me, until I had hundreds and thousands of the live insects collected in a "special place" in my backpack.

Because if they ever escaped together, that would really hurt.

Seems to me that concentrating crypto, giardia, e-coli and other bugs in an old filter is doing much the same thing.

Pure speculation.

Run a mild bleach solution through it now and then. It'll clean the hoses too.

[fiddlehead]

I stand corrected. sorry

[kyhipo]

i have used some of those nasty pills maybe 3 times in almost 7yrs and never have been sick.I am a chosey picker of water period and will walk for miles untell i find a good water source once ky

[rickb]

Pure speculation.

Run a mild bleach solution through it now and then. It'll clean the hoses too.

You are right about the speculation part, Alligator. Those were jsut my thoughts.

I am not suggesting people don't use a filter, BTW. If you are faced with getting your water from a stagnant pool, one can be very comforting. I have used a Pur Hiker in the past, and there were occasions that I was glad to have it.

But I also think there is enough data out there to suggest that people who filter do get sick. Some of that has nothing to do with one's water. But if some of it does have to do with filtered water, then why?

I know that when I put my filter away I was carefull about putting input and output hose in different bags. But I also know that when I put the filter itself in a third bag that the input and output nipples were right next to each other at the bottom of a plastic bag. As gravity causes some of the water that had been on the dirty side of the filter toleak out, I cant help but think where its going. And I can't help but think that the water that is coming out of that side of the filter is a toxic stew.

Don't get me wrong, I am not an engineer. Perhaps the clean side soes stay clean. Perhaps a month of use don't create tears in the filter membrane through wich accumulated junk passes.

One thing though. If the manufactures see a need to run chlorine through the filter to clean it, aren't they conceeding my point? And keep in mind that the chlorine pass wont kill Crypto.

But again, I am not saying one should not filter. I am suggesting that if you do believe there is a need for filtering, there might be ways to do it better. than I do, and MUCH BETTER ways to filter than the average hiker employs.

Now a question. I have a filter with an ellement that is about two years old. Last time it was used was out West in what in a stream with visible horse **** nearby. I was glad to have it! By the time I take it out again, it will have set in a warm attic for months on end. Should I expect this filter to increase my chances of maintaining good health the next time I draw water from a mountain streem high in the whites? How about if I run a bleach solution through it?

[Alligator]

Now a question. I have a filter with an ellement that is about two years old. Last time it was used was out West in what in a stream with visible horse **** nearby. I was glad to have it! By the time I take it out again, it will have set in a warm attic for months on end. Should I expect this filter to increase my chances of maintaining good health the next time I draw water from a mountain streem high in the whites? How about if I run a bleach solution through it?

I wouldn't use it. I've never run horse***** through mine. I would consider that one spent, especially if it had some use. They are not a cheap option. May have been a good place to use a coffee filter first. I run bleach through immediately upon returning home, otherwise I am highly suspicious myself. A Pur will get funky over time if not treated properly. In the past, I had a Sweetwater which could be frozen. However, with a paper filter, I cannot say whether that is an option. I think it would freeze tear. Besides ceramic (like the Sweetwater) there are others which may not be good to even bleach. Bleach is corrosive to stainless steel. I've never owned an expensive one and doubt know the exact construction. I haven't used my filter though in about two years. They are more problematic for section hikers due to down time. I think they are a reasonable option for groups where the weight is distributed and they get used up quickly.

[prozac]

I remember reading a few years back about a study done on the chances of a long distance hiker contracting giradia. Don't recall the source or the organization who did the study but the basic conclusion was that most backpackers contract the disease from fellow hikers. The lack of basic hygiene and sanitary conditions led to one individual infecting whole groups thru incidental contact. Makes perfect sense when you think that G-funk has an incubation period of weeks and in the mean time you are basically Typhoid Mary on the trail. I always take a small bottle of antiseptic hand soap ( 3 ozs.) and so far so good.

[Scribe]

I am one of those lucky ones that don't get sick from NOT treating water. A few years ago, as a definitely non-scientific test, I purposely did not treat water no matter the source - and everyone else on the 7-day trip did. No one got sick.

I have a PUR filter - but use it only to eliminate chunky stuff (such as burro poop in the canyons of SE Utah).

[justusryans]

I use a Steri-pen, UV kicks ass!!!

[smokymtnsteve]

I use a Steri-pen, UV kicks ass!!!

Yeah I kinda like shock therapy

[justusryans]

Yeah I kinda like shock therapy

does kind of give me a buzz!

[SGT Rock]

I am one of those lucky ones that don't get sick from NOT treating water. A few years ago, as a definitely non-scientific test, I purposely did not treat water no matter the source - and everyone else on the 7-day trip did. No one got sick.

I have a PUR filter - but use it only to eliminate chunky stuff (such as burro poop in the canyons of SE Utah).

Well my threory is that people who live in remote locations, animals, and people who live in cities with poor sanitation (like Baghdad) can develope imunities to these illnesses with exposure. To support that: That article on Giardiasis also mentions that many people that have Giardias never even know because they have no symptoms.

So, if you, and others like LWolf tend to drink from these sources and had good imune systems to start with, then you should be OK most of the time - there is always still a chance. But even as has been mentiontioned - even treaters and filterers still retain a chance of getting sick.

Now folks raised on just good city water may be at a disadvantage because of less exposure to critters in the water, and same could be said for people with compromised immunity systems. So since people like you, LWolf, myself (sometimes) can make it without treating and filtering, it isn't going to be the solution for everyone.

[Seeker]

the british national health institute, or whatever their version of it is called, did a study a few years back... those of you with kids will be able to relate... the healthiest kids, measured by fewest colds/allergies/illnesses, were the 5th and younger children in families of boys... seems that as their parents got overwhelmed with trying to keep everyone clean, their kids' immune systems grew stronger... pretty funny...when i was growing up, mom wasn't too worried about me drinking from the creeks/ponds/streams out back... she'd grown up in a pretty remote part of brazil. my neighbors mom was completely the opposite... everything got sprayed with lysol... all three kids were constantly sick with something or other. my brother and i were pretty healthy and didn't miss much school... i'm still the same way and seldom get sick enough to stay home from work. have missed maybe 3 days in the last 10 years or so, and maybe 2-3 in the 9 years i was on active duty...i still purify my water around here with aqua mira, but i'm not shy about drinking straight from the springs up in the smokies and adirondacks...

[Scribe]

What Sgt. Rock said is correct. I grew up in a "remote" area - western Kentucky - drank untreated water from our well (dug in an unfortunate location and one in which we once found a very dead and bloated frog) and from the creek in what passed for our front yard. I must have built up an immunity during my childhood years that has remained with me throughout.

[stupe]

An unscientific comment: You can filter and treat and still get sick, and you can drink directly from sources and never get sick.
I am going to continue to play percentages, and filter and treat.