I will be travelling in a few days. Do you have any recommendations on ways to avoid drinking contaminated water while I’m out of the country?
I will be travelling in a few days. Do you have any recommendations on ways to avoid drinking contaminated water while I’m out of the country?
I'd reccommend you don't worry about it. If you are really worried about, there are like 20 dollar water filters for camping you can get and just use that.
The importance depends on where you are going and the general safety of the drinking water. In many places you should drink only bottled water from unopened bottles. Avoid ice cubes. Eat fruit that you peel yourself. Wash your hands frequently (bring Purelle or the like).
When we’ve travelled to exotic locations with questionable drinking water we’ve taken dukeral (sp?) which is a bit pricey but seemed to help avoid travellers diarrhea. You take two doses some weeks in advance. It should be available at your local pharmacy, and comes in packets to mix in water and drink. Tastes awful...
My spouse spent a few months serving in northern Pakistan in the late 89s and was afflicted by frequent gastro issues (as were all of her colleagues), as well as a more serious bout with dysentery that resulted in early repatriation. Also malaria, which stays in the system forever.
Make sure your shots are up to date and see if there are any you should get specifically for the area you are visiting (I have to get rabies and Japanese encephalitis for an upcoming trip), particularly consider hepatitis A and B if you don’t already have them.
See if your doctor will prescribe an antibiotic to have on hand in case you pick up a bug in spite of precautions.
Good luck and enjoy the trip!
Pro tipp: buy bottled water.
Before opening bottled water always check to make sure the seal is original. I’ve visited some places where they had obviously refilled the bottle and put super glue on the cap to make it seem like a new, never opened bottle.
Don’t rinse your tooth brush with tap water.
As mentioned don’t take ice in your drinks.
Don’t eat salads or fresh greens.
Bring Cipro with you or an appropriate antibiotic with you.
Open soda cans or bottles yourself. The waiter should never give you a preopened bottle.
Drink whiskey vodka gin or other spirits.
Yeah, this.
MichelleAna wrote:
I will be travelling in a few days. Do you have any recommendations on ways to avoid drinking contaminated water while I’m out of the country?
Where are you traveling to? When I travelled to Flint, Michigan in th US, I just drank beer.
how do people not know? wrote:
Yeah, this.
https://www.lifestraw.com/
Except that straws are being outlawed in many places because a turtle once snorted one.
What a stupid question to ask.
MichelleAna wrote:
I will be travelling in a few days. Do you have any recommendations on ways to avoid drinking contaminated water while I’m out of the country?
Don't drink water out of puddles, streams, or gutters.
Judging from the responses in this thread, I'm coming to understand why travellers' diarrhea and other GI issues occur so frequently; many people don't seem to appreciate that drinking water outside one's home town / state / country may not be as "safe" as they think.
So now I know...
Ultraviolet Water purifier light. Easiest and most effective. A cheaper option is a portable water filter, ie: Life Straw
A traveller wrote:
malaria, which stays in the system forever.
Total nonsense.
A traveller wrote:
Judging from the responses in this thread, I'm coming to understand why travellers' diarrhea and other GI issues occur so frequently; many people don't seem to appreciate that drinking water outside one's home town / state / country may not be as "safe" as they think.
So now I know...
That, plus thinking that randos on a running board are a reliable way to learn about this. I’d suggest also getting some misspelled stock suggestions and kill two birds with one stone.
drink jizz
Yes. There are many items they produce now for travelers that are lightweight and easy to travel with. A SteriPen (UV purifier) is easy and can be used in a water bottle or cup. There are also waterbottles with purifiers in them that purify as you drink. This is another easy on-the-go solution. Buying bottled water is the best solution, just make sure the seal is not broken. Don't get ice in your water at a restaurant.
The spreading of falsehoods and lies. wrote:
A traveller wrote:
malaria, which stays in the system forever.
Total nonsense.
Ah perhaps so. It’s what we were told after treatment so long ago, but now I can’t find anything to back that up. If I spouted nonsense, it was honestly believed nonsense, and, I thought, based on medical advice, but perhaps not. Still, you wouldn’t want to catch it...
water purifying solutions wrote:
Yes. There are many items they produce now for travelers that are lightweight and easy to travel with. A SteriPen (UV purifier) is easy and can be used in a water bottle or cup. There are also waterbottles with purifiers in them that purify as you drink. This is another easy on-the-go solution. Buying bottled water is the best solution, just make sure the seal is not broken. Don't get ice in your water at a restaurant.
The OP - likely a troll - provided no details, but obviously a lot depends on where one travels and the environment. Tap water in places like Japan and Northern Europe is probably safer than the US. I have never worried about drinking it and have never had issues.
In probably 100 or so trips to developing countries I have also never had issues and never used any kind of purifier. Bottled water is just standard to use for brushing teeth, avoid swallowing water in the shower, etc. But it also depends on the situation. In top-tier hotels I will drink juice (sometimes it is mixed with water) and take ice in drinks. I doubt if the Ritz-Carlton would risk an outbreak of dysentery with their customers. Most good hotels also provide complementary bottled water.
At a roadside stand I will only drink bottled water, or better yet, unopened soda if I really don't want to take a risk. A lot of it is just common sense.
Great question! wrote:
MichelleAna wrote:
I will be travelling in a few days. Do you have any recommendations on ways to avoid drinking contaminated water while I’m out of the country?
Don't drink water out of puddles, streams, or gutters.
Then where in the Hell are we supposed to drink from here in New Jersey?
OP, where are you going? I have been all over the world and can help you.
For starters, if you are going to any industrial country other than the U.S., you will probably have safer drinking water than at home.