dangers of swallowing water?

[pipedope]

There are several risks in fresh water and swallowing the water is only one route of infection.

You can get infections directly into your lungs by inhaling the tiny dropletts that may be in your air if your regulator breathes wet.

In fresh water the major hazards are critters too small to see. In the ocean the worst hazards are big enough to see with the eye.

 

[starfish365]

bacterial count in water is always higher after a good rain storm - all that um...stuff...being washed off the roads, sidewalks, ditches, grass, etc ends up in the water. Which is also why the earaches are more likely to show up without having to drink the water. Not to mention the gas slicks on the surface.

Ok now I'm grossed out!

 

[outlawaggie]

Unfortunately, it's not safe to assume any water is safe anymore. Almost all of the fresh water in the country is contaminated, so drinking it straight during a weekend backpack is a big no no.

The above is a ridiculous statement. With the exception of a few areas (like NY) 99% of the water in this country is NOT polluted. Odds are that if you get sick from water is a biological cause NOT pollution.

That is not to say that I advocate drinking lake water. Being from Texas the water here is FULL of very nasty parasites, bacteria, ameobas, etc. The cause is the warmth of the water rather than man's influence on it. Your body can generally hangle a accidental sip now and then. But I would not drink it.

By the way, i am all for environmental protection and conservation but lets base it on FACTS.

 

[Hank49]

Now those of us who dive in lakes/rivers do swallow some water on occasion. Even if it is a quater of a sip... It does happen sometimes. Now I have not gotten sick so far (that I know of at least) but now that bug theory, well.... bugs me a little

There's no way you can dive in a body of water with a standard second stage reg in your mouth and not take in some water. Luckily most places where people dive are relatively clean. I've swam and dived in shrimp ponds, very high in organic loading (bio chemcial oxygen demand), swam in the Ohio river back in the 70s (it was bad) and don't remember getting sick. In the Philippines however.....it took some getting used to. I dehydrated within hours twice. Had to go get IVs. But I think you get toughened up...if you survive it. Two of my kids were born there and after living there 11 years we rarely get gastro intestinal distress. I drink straight from a well in Belize. Wimpy bacteria and bugs here.

 

[rkr3000]

Don't drink the water at CSSP - "someone" might have peed in their wetsuit. Not me of course....

 

[Firefyter]

Don't drink the water at CSSP - "someone" might have peed in their wetsuit. Not me of course....

Weren't you and I talking about the two types of liars just the other day? :54:

 

[freediver]

A couple years ago i was diving as part of a research project in Lake waco (Tx). We were analyzing the sediment oxygen demand. There was concern that runoff from dairies (manure) was contaminating the lake. Water tasted horrible (and I am sure i ingested some) but otherwise had no ill effects. The third eye that i have grown actually helps my visual acuity.

 

[scubajoe]

The third eye that i have grown actually helps my visual acuity.

Just where did you get that mask?

Joe

 

[MikeC]

As a part of yesterdays Discovery chanel program there was a bit about surviving in the wilderness. When it came to water, the guide told not to drink out of the stream/river ulness its the last resort.

One thing to remember, if you get into a SHTF scenario you will be at minimum slightly stressed out, not eating correctly and probably not sleeping right. All of those issues along with some parasites can cause problems that wouldn't be an issue in normal life.

 

[DORSETBOY]

The above is a ridiculous statement. With the exception of a few areas (like NY) 99% of the water in this country is NOT polluted. Odds are that if you get sick from water is a biological cause NOT pollution.

damn right! same thing over here, although we have less space, I think talk of water course contamination is highly over exagerated. exceptions to this i've found first hand have been with heavy metal contamination, the river tawe (south wales) is infamous for heavy metal pollution and I got myself sick for a week after diving in there doing cash in hand work pulling out trolleys for a local supermarket and retrieving 'scrap' from dumped stolen cars in the river.