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Water Bug

Original Post
Keith Boone · · Henderson, NV · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 492

While backpacking in Bishop, CA I was drinking lake and creek water that was clean, flowing and appeared to be good. My primary treatment method was a UV steripen and a bandana to filter floaties, but I didn't know that treated water should be stored in the shade and that sun can reverse its affects. In about a week I got explosive diarrhea and major abdominal cramps. No one else I shared the water with got sick. I am hesitant to go get a stool sample. Any suggestions?

I am trying garlic, probiotics and other at home treatment. Is it likely giardia? Should I be worried about worms or anything?

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion · · Colorado · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 35

Are you seriously asking for home remedies for giardia? Go to the doc. It's a pretty simple and effective protocol.

FWIW, you can't make dead protozoa come to life (they do have a dormant form though). I doubt the sun did anything. I would guess you got infected through something other than the water bottle. Maybe the bandanna, maybe you went swimming, maybe you went ass to mouth, possibly something left on your dishes after washing in the water.

S Denny · · Aspen, CO · Joined Sep 2008 · Points: 20
Keithb00ne wrote:treated water should be stored in the shade and that sun can reverse its affects.
source?
WHAM . · · Utah · Joined Mar 2013 · Points: 1

If anything you should keep it in the sun...

modernsurvivalblog.com/heal…

Keith Boone · · Henderson, NV · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 492

I'm wrong on this one. I did more research and the reference I was using does not appear to have any scientific backing. Here is a quote I found that gives a better explination:

"For full disclosure, I'm Miles Maiden - inventor of SteriPEN - the UV purifier. I'll make no comment about our products or the Camelbak product. I just wanted to clarify about the idea about using the sun's UV to purify water. UV light is actually a wide band of wavelengths - about as wide as the entire visible spectrum. It includes UV-A, UV-B, UV-C and Vacuum-UV. UV-C and Vacuum UV - the highest energy UV - does not make it through the ozone layer. As anyone who gets a suntan or sunburn knows, UV-A and UV-B do make it to the surface of the planet. While there is a germicidal effect associated with UV-A and UV-B it is very weak and therefore very time consuming to use as a treatment method.

UV purification systems use UV-C to destroy microbes - and it is actually only a narrow band within the UV-C range that is highly germicidal. It is this narrow energy band that interacts with bases within the DNA of a microbe - thereby disabling the microbe's capacity to replicate. The sun's UV-A and UV-B do not work this way - so while putting water in a clear container in the sun may have some germicidal effect after perhaps a couple of days it is by no means equivalent to treatment with UV-C."

Bapgar 1 · · Out of the Loop · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 90
nicelegs wrote: Maybe the bandanna, maybe you went swimming, maybe you went ass to mouth
Nicelegs, you definitely need to post up more often in the injuries forum. They could certainly use some of your creativity in possible diagnoses.

I always thought that ass to mouth was the whole reason the steripen was created in the first place.
Ray Lovestead · · Boulder, CO · Joined Jan 2008 · Points: 108

I just broke my leg today. The bone is protruding through the skin and there is a lot of blood. I can't really see what is going on through all the clotting and I feel really light headed.

I don't want to go to the doctor. Can anyone on here give me some advice on what to do??

teece303 · · Highlands Ranch, CO · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 596

I have no idea what happens if giardiasis is left untreated (and folk remedies qualify as "left untreated").

But you know who does know? Your doctor.

Unless you are destitute, go see your doctor. If you are destitute, go to Denver Health. They'll treat you.

My cousin got giardiasis from a crystal clear mountain steam at 11,500' once. He used a filter (as did I). Stuff happens. I was fine. He did not speak highly of his experience, even *with* proper medical treatment.

John D · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 10

I got giardia in college and it sucked, explosive diarrhea almost hourly day and night. I toughed it out for 6 weeks cause I was broke, it was a stupid choice. Go to the Doc, they may run stool tests to check, or they might just treat you with antibiotics to cover the most likely suspects. Talk to the doc, you can probably convince them to just treat you instead of running the tests if you want, because the tests are expensive, but the drugs are relatively cheap.

Keith Boone · · Henderson, NV · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 492
Ray Lovestead wrote:I just broke my leg today. The bone is protruding through the skin and there is a lot of blood. I can't really see what is going on through all the clotting and I feel really light headed. I don't want to go to the doctor. Can anyone on here give me some advice on what to do??
No one can help you for falling off a 5.easy. Learn to crank harder.
highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion · · Colorado · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 35
Keithb00ne wrote: No one can help you for falling off a 5.easy. Learn to crank harder.
If you leave explosive diarrhea in the mountains, Ray will take it. Finders keepers.
Ray Lovestead · · Boulder, CO · Joined Jan 2008 · Points: 108

I'll be the guy who won't go to the hospital with his leg in half. While vomiting and shitting his guts out.

Asking for help. From someone who isn't a doctor.

"Is there a layman in the house?"

Tom Nyce · · Flagstaff, AZ · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 45

I've had giardiasis twice. Since the "treatment" is somewhat carcinogenic, I went untreated and let the disease run its course (months of discomfort).
Some people can't fight it off, and should get treatment. Some people don't even get symptoms, but are carriers. Many of the people who fight it off, become long term carriers, and thus everyone should observe sanitary disposal practices. You might not know if you are a carrier.
I'm not sure that you even got giardia though, since the normal time for symptoms to appear is more like 2 weeks.
In a totally separate incident, but related to "filters," I got very sick within hours of drinking filtered water. The other person that drank it also was vomiting for hours. The third person, that didn't drink the water at all, did not get sick. I never trusted filters after that.

Rob Gordon · · Hollywood, CA · Joined Feb 2009 · Points: 115

I've definitely drunk a fair amount of water from the stream up at the Buttermilks unfiltered...

Austin Baird · · SLC, Utah · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 95

Pretty sure I got explosive diarrhea from an exploding belay one time

caribouman1052 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2012 · Points: 5

If I remember correctly, giardia encycsts in the liver. Not a good thing to leave untreated.

Tom Nyce · · Flagstaff, AZ · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 45
caribouman1052 wrote:If I remember correctly, giardia encycsts in the liver. Not a good thing to leave untreated.
That isn't the normal course, but rather an infrequent complication. Thanks for pointing it out, because it is a good thing to be aware of, when you and your health care provider are discussing the options for treatment. The liver inflammation can be found by checking the liver enzyme levels.
There are a bunch of other things to consider as well. For instance, an immunocompromised person should probably get treatment right away, because they have a much higher chance of complications from the parasite.
Watch out when canyoneering! Swimming, while pushing a pack in front of you makes it easy to gulp some water. Also, your pots, water bottles, and utensils sometimes get submerged.
The other way that I got it was not getting the water hot enough when making hot chocolate. Winter camping, at 12,600 ft, inside a steamy tent, at night, made it impossible to even tell if the water was boiling. We had chopped through the ice to get to lake water instead of melting snow. That same area is full of sheep in the summer, and the cysts survive a looong time in cold water.
caribouman1052 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2012 · Points: 5

Ok, it's good to know encysting in the liver is not normal - I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop for years now.

flynn · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2002 · Points: 25

Flowing water keeps all the bad things stirred up. Never mind that myth that stream water purifies itself every so many yards, that's a complete crock. Lake water might be a better bet, but I wouldn't chance it. Spring water? Maybe.

My one bout with giardia was caused by my failure to wipe off the nipple on a bike water bottle. Ten days later...well, you know.

For now, go see the doc. You will not be able to fix this at home. The drugs that cure it are no fun, but they beat the hell out of shitting yourself to death for weeks on end. The stuff is called metronidazole or flagyl. You'll start to feel better in a couple of days, but take all the pills so you kill the cysts. If you quit early, the damn things will bloom all over again and you're back to square one.

Good luck!

Keith Boone · · Henderson, NV · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 492

Update..... Self treatment knocked it out in a couple weeks. I didn't take antibiotics so I don't know 100% if I had gardia or not. I have read horror stories about gardia lasting for months and it seems unusual mine disappeared so quickly.

Here was my treatment; starve yourself to death, avoid fats, avoid simple sugars & carbs, load your system with probiotics (minimum 15 billion per day), eat kimchi (natural probiotic), pinapple & grapefruit (natural parasite killers) and nuts (fiber).

germsauce Epstein · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2010 · Points: 55

I had Giardia- Keithb00ne, if you get a recurrence go see the doctor man. if not, then good on you for self treatment, not saying that's impossible,but for most of us it's not worth the time and effort for unproven results when the doc can give you a couple of knockout pills and you are done with it. But I do remember this coming and going a few times before I realized that I must have a parasite.

cramps/nausea, bad rea and the worst smelling farts you could imagine are all pretty tell tale signs.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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