Sick/Hurt Up High

[Bean Counter]

Water tablets expire, sometimes we don't get the stuff around the rim of the drinking bottle, and we need to be careful about the kill-time for the tablets.  I got the cha-cha's too many times on tablets and I stick with a PUR hiker pump filter now.

 

You get one year max from the date you opened the bottle.  They only sit good on the shelf (even while sealed) for like 4 years.

This summer I backpacked through the Enchantments with a group of four.  I brought a UV light filter which chose to give out during the trip. It made things miserable as the only other backup we had was fuel to boil water--and probably didn't have enough.  Fortunately the UV light was bought at REI so it could be returned.

I'm going the route of the pump next, but even still, I'm taking pills as a backup. They can't be beat as far as weight and size goes.  As mentioned before pay close attention to the directions (30 minutes minimum--and don't add the vitamin C tables before this time as it neutralizes the iodine).  This may not have been the source of your diarrhea but it bears repeating for everyone reading. 

[Redmist]

A few people have brought up poor purification technique.  Not knowing me I respect those suggestions.  I'm ANAL (I hate that word right now), but I double the time, and sometimes increase the power.  Rim shake two to three times, at different purification intervals.  Like I said, the only doubt I had with the pills were MFG.  I replace my pills about every trip, and certainly don't carry them over to the next season.  I've been doing this for quite a few years now, and the only difference on this trip was the pills MFG.  For years I have used Potable Aqua MFG by Wisconsin Pharmacal, The pills I bought this trip were Coghlan's MFG in USA for Coghlan's Ltd.  Same size bottle and Pills.  The pills were the same size, chemical, chemical concentration.  The only difference  I (might) have perceived were the dissolving action of the neutralizer, which shouldn't mean anything other than taste.  Talking with the Docs, the internet education, etc., I don't think this was related to my mountain water source, but was brought into the mountains by my body.  Doc is testing for water Giardia, Cysts, etc.  I will certainly keep you hunters informed of the lab results.  I didn't recognize that Ascorbic Acid was the neutralizer.  I figured it was chlorine? Thanks for educating me.  My brother and I have purified water out of Mountain Goat wallows which contained about as much mud and dung as H20 and didn't get sick using pills.  Survival of course.  I still ride 2-Stroke dirtbikes and bassboats.  Love the smell of Castor 927 and VP-U2 race fuel.  I put that *censored* in my lawn mower to make me think I'm somewhere else.  Try it.  But I might get a water pump.  Appreciate all info.

[Redmist]

It looked nasty even purified.  But it tasted great.  You watch that survival dude on TV sucking juices out of a week old dead camel and drinking his own piss and you'll buy dung water from me for top dollar when your severely dehydrated.  Matter of fact, I'm raising prices due to the cost of fuel.  Just close your eyes when you have to suck juices from something that looks questionable.  It's easy as that!

[MichaelJ]

Hey Redmist, sounds like you're getting it worked out!  You think you gonna make it back there or not?  Sending PM here pretty quick...

Michael

[WAcoyotehunter]

Do people get giardia from springs very often??  I drink out of springs all the time and have never had a bad experience??  Heck my house water is from a developed spring and comes in untreated. 

[boneaddict]

Basically... Giardia cysts are non-motile microscopic organisms that have been shed into the stream from some sort of critter, man, beaver, marmots etc.  Marmots and beaver are big carriers of it.  The motile organism or the ones causing yiou the grief are not infective.  Therefore hard running water, springs etc, unless you disturb the bottom, the odds are you won't get it even in infected waters.  However it doesn't take too many of them to make you miserable.   Then there are a large chunk of people who seem to have a pretty good immunity to the bug.  I thought I was one of those folks as I drink mountain water all of the time.  I only use a water filter when drinking out of a pond or stale water source.  Then one morning I got some bottom sediment in my container when I was filling up in the dark.   OUCH!  It hit about 10 days later. 

[Gobble]

I picked up a squeeze bottle at Sportsmans warehouse before our mountain elk hunt and it worked great. Cost me like $15 bucks and filters out giradia and other bugs. 

[WDFW-SUX]

I think all water is dirty. I put some chlorine type tabs in it before I drink water anywhere.  Im paranoid like that.

[boneaddict]

Flagyl presciption is only a $10 deductible if you have medical. course the toilet paper costs have gone up some.

[Bean Counter]

I wound up drinking directly from streams and lakes during our jaunt through the Enchantments as I felt that I shoudl take the brunt end of our water purification going offline since I'm the one who bought it.  Boiled water went to the innocent parties first.  Fortuantely, I never got sick despite the area being littered with mountain goats.

[GoldTip]

Redmist, I would agree with your Doc that the most likely culprit is the C-Diff, especially if you've recently finished a course of antibiotics.  Boneaddict is right, it's too short of an incubation time for any of the standard water borne type ailments, at least from what you've described.  Follow the Doc's treatment for the C-diff and you'll start getting better pretty quick.