Avoiding the agony of waterborne illnesses may be inconvenient at times when traveling the world, but it’s absolutely essential.
Have you ever gotten sick from waterborne illnesses while traveling? You’re not alone. Nothing ruins a great journey like getting sick, particularly if you’re doubled over in stomach pain while simultaneously suffering from diarrhea or heavily vomiting.
Unfortunately, across the globe there are many areas with inadequate water treatment, sanitation and general hygiene. At those locations, tap water can contain disease-causing bacteria, viruses, parasites and chemical contaminants and will be unsafe for drinking, preparing food and beverages, ice, cooking, and even brushing teeth and bathing.
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), those who are most susceptible to contaminated water are infants, young children, pregnant women, older people, and immunocompromised people, such as those with HIV, on chemotherapy, or who take certain immunosuppressant medications.
The most common waterborne illnesses include: E. coli, cholera, salmonella, protozoa including Giardia and Cryptosporidium, plus viruses like hepatitis A and rotavirus.
Among the most common causes of waterborne illness are bacteria such as E. coli, cholera and salmonella. Travelers are made ill by waterborne protozoa including Giardia and Cryptosporidium, viruses like hepatitis A and rotavirus and of course various chemical pollutants. For some travelers, even if the pathogens in the water wouldn’t normally cause many to get sick, it will sicken them because the water contains different pathogens than their body is used to at home.
If you’re careful, you don’t have to catch painful, severe waterborne illnesses that sometimes require professional medical attention.
Unsafe water can result in Traveler’s Diarrhea, Cholera, Giardiasis and even Hepatitis A. You don’t want to catch any of them. These illnesses can be painful and keep you glued to the toilet. If you get them you’ve got to stay hydrated. Sometimes they’re severe enough or last long enough that you need prompt medical attention from physicians.
Here are the six main situations that cause travelers to get sick from contaminated water and how to avoid them.
1. Drink a lot of tap water: You don’t want to drink any tap water when traveling in any questionable area. Drink bottled water. Generally, bottled water has been sufficiently filtered to be safe for you, even if you’re susceptible to water-borne illnesses. You do have to be careful, though. I only buy bottled water if the caps are sealed. For the most part that means I’ll avoid refilled water bottles by local businesses, as they rarely have the capability of resealing water bottles. Don’t forget to not get ice in your bottled water or any other cold beverage, as it’s more than likely to have been made from tap water, exactly what you’re trying to avoid.
2. Bathe in tap water: We all want and need to bathe while traveling and we have no choice about the water. If you’re washing your hair, keep your mouth shut tight so you don’t swallow any water and if possible don’t even get it past your lips. Once your hair is rinsed, wipe your face dry. If you’re not washing your hair, keep the water off your face entirely and when you’re finished, wash your face with bottled water. I shave with bottled water, too.
3. Brush your teeth with tap water: When you brush your teeth, do it with bottled water.
Most travelers are prudently wary of drinking, bathing, and brushing their teeth with tap water. But many forget about avoiding fresh fruit and vegetables that have been rinsed or washed with tap water.
4. Eat fresh fruit and vegetables rinsed or washed with tap water: If you’ve picked up some fruit or vegetables to eat raw, don’t wash/rinse them in tap water. As the old axiom goes, for fruits and vegetables, “boil it, cook it, peel it or forget it.” This also means to avoid raw food from street vendors and even salads and alike at quality local restaurants, as they’re most likely cleaning their raw food with local tap water, not bottled water.
5. Don’t drink from tap water rinsed and/or unwrapped hotel glasses: In too many hotels, the cleaning staff merely wipes the glasses in the room clean with towels after being rinsed with tap water. Don’t use those glasses, unless you clean them in very hot water. Even then, I avoid them, opting for the collapsible cup I bring from home.
You can even get sick from swimming in contaminated water, merely by accidentally swallowing it.
6. Swimming in the uncontaminated water of a sea or lake: Invariably when swimming you get water in your mouth. Pools are generally okay because their water is heavily treated, but at the beach, avoid the water unless you’re sure it’s safe for swimming. Even then, I’d avoid it because the water is different enough from home that you could get sick from “safe” water. If you’re hiking or touring in rural areas and can’t get bottled water, there are ways of using local tap water or stream water, but remain safe.
Boiling water can make it safe for use and consumption.
If you’re out on a trail, boiling water is one of the reliable methods for making water safe to use and drink. Bring the water to a rolling boil for at least one minute. If you’re at a high elevation, you’ll have to extend the boiling time, since water boils at a lower temperature than at sea level. Then allow the water to cool on its own. Don’t add ice to the water. There may be some sediment in the water, so let the water sit still so it can drop to the bottom of its container. Then pour the water off the top.
I use a UV Water Purifier as my go-to method for water sterilization.
A favorite way for me to get my tap or stream water to be safe is to use a UV water purifier. It’s a fairly fast method and the UV purifier kills 99.99 percent of bacteria, viruses and protozoa. It doesn’t affect chemical contamination, however. I personally use the Steripen Ultra UV Water Purifier when I need to make my water safe. It can purify 15 fl.oz. of water in less than a minute. Like many personal appliances these days, it’s recharged with a USB cable.
You can use iodine or sodium dichlorisocyanurate tablets to purify the water, but UV purifiers kill more pathogens than the tablets and ready the water faster.
Another way to purify the water is by using iodine tablets. If you use this method, make sure you purchase tablets of a reputable brand. Unfortunately, iodine tablets won’t kill the protozoan Cryptosporidium. It takes about half an hour for the iodine tablets to finish their job, plus the treated water doesn’t taste good. You can also use sodium dichlorisocyanurate tablets, but they have the same shortcomings as iodine tablets. Iodine and sodium dichlorisocyanurate tablets don’t kill all protozoa. Boiling water means you’ll need to stop to make a fire or pull out a camping burner and you’ll need a pot of some kind. That’s why I use my rechargeable Steripen.
A water filter in addition to a UV purifier, makes my drinking water safe.
While the water is generally safe after the above treatments, I also use a water filter. It filters out any silt and dirt from the water as well as some bacteria and protozoa. My favorite is the compact Katadyn BeFree 1.0L ultralight collapsible water filter bottle. I travel light when I hike, if at all possible. This bottle allows that. Drinking water safety is a critical consideration in many areas of the world. Particularly when traveling in water-suspect areas of the world, as identified by the World Health Organization, you need to take the precautions listed above. While it may be somewhat of an inconvenience, never take water safety lightly. (Image: Restaurant’s outdoor tables Copyright © 2019 NSL Photography. All Rights Reserved.)
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After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
