Get Healthy Carson City: Food safety: Prevent food poisoning

Drinking water safety while hiking and traveling

When hiking, camping out in the woods, or traveling to new areas around the world, it is important to know the quality of your water. A safe source of drinking water is important for public health. When safe drinking water is unavailable travelers can experience health risks such as diarrhea, dehydration, nausea, and vomiting that can ruin a trip. Additionally, if you are way off the beaten path and away from professional medical services, these symptoms can be very hard to treat and can cause long-term health issues.

If a water source is contaminated, it affects more than just your drinking water. Food prepared with unsafe water, such as a fresh salad, can make you sick from exposure to bacteria and viruses. Water is also used when washing your hands, mixing drinks, making baby formula, making ice and brushing your teeth. Remember to not drink any unsafe or untreated water while showering or bathing.

Knowing the source of your water

Exposure to contaminated water is more likely in places where there is little to no sanitation or nearby water treatment plants, such as at campgrounds, remote wilderness areas, or in some foreign countries. Even if water looks and smells clean, it can be contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and parasites. This is why it is important to know where your water comes from, if and how it has been treated, and whether it is safe before drinking or using it. An easy option to know you are drinking safe water when traveling is to drink bottled water. Always look for unopened, factory-sealed bottled water.

Treating your water

There are many ways you can treat or purify contaminated water while enjoying the outdoors or when traveling.

• Boiling water: Boiling your water is the surest method to kill disease-causing organisms, including viruses, bacteria, and parasites.

• Before boiling, let cloudy water settle, then skim the clean water from above any sediment. You can also filter the water through a clean cloth or paper filter such as a coffee filter.

• Bring water to a full rolling boil for one minute (if you are at elevations above 6,500 feet, bring water to a boil for three minutes), then allow it to cool before use.

• For travelers with access to electricity, use a small water kettle, electric heating coil or a lightweight beverage warmer to boil all water, including water used to wash your hands and brush your teeth.

• Disinfection: If boiling your water is not possible, you can make small quantities of filtered and settled water safer to drink by using a chemical disinfectant such as unscented household chlorine, bleach or iodine. Be sure you know the correct concentrations of chemicals to use to safely disinfect your water.

• Disinfectants can kill most harmful or disease-causing viruses and bacteria but are not as effective in killing more resistant organisms, such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia parasites.

• Chlorine dioxide tablets can be effective against Cryptosporidium if the manufacturer’s instructions are followed correctly.

• If you are pregnant, suffer from thyroid issues, or are hypersensitive to iodine, water that has been disinfected with iodine is NOT recommended.

• Filtration: There are many water filters available to choose from when preparing for a trip, from gravity filters to pump filters. If you are using a portable water filter, try to use one that has a filter pore size small enough to remove parasites. Some water filtration bottles also have an added purification step built in.

A filter labeled as certified by National Sanitation Foundation Standards 53 or 58 will remove parasites if used properly but will not remove viruses or all bacteria.

Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions when using filters and check the label of your filter product. Clean or replace filters as recommended by the manufacturer’s instructions.

• Ultraviolet Light (UV Light): Portable ultraviolet light (UV Light) units can be used to kill some pathogens by destroying their DNA.

There are some very small UV treatment units that are powered by batteries, and larger units that use electricity. These units can be effective to disinfect small quantities of water.

Before heading out on a trip, research your destination’s safe drinking water sources. If heading out to camp or hike, plan your trip by researching campground information or studying topo maps for treatable water sources. Above all, be safe and hydrated and enjoy your travels!

For information about services and programs available to you through Carson City Health and Human Services, please visit our website at www.gethealthycarsoncity.org, or give us a call at 775-887-2190. You can also find us at 900 E. Long St., or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cchhs, X @CCHealthEd, or Instagram @GetHealthCarsonCity.