Filtering water is medically unnecessary: Slate Magazine Article

[Sailing_Faith]

Wow, pretty bold title... I have filtered / treated water since I was a kid (well maybe not as much when I was a kid)....

What do you think of this?

https://slate.com/technology/2018/02...necessary.html

[tawa]

For what its worth---Warren Doyle says he doesnt filter water on the AT as its not needed!!
OK let the fire storm begin----

[Lone Wolf]

For what its worth---Warren Doyle says he doesnt filter water on the AT as its not needed!!
OK let the fire storm begin----

i don't either. i've known warren 29 years.

[Just Bill]

i don't either. i've known warren 29 years.

All the water you drink is filtered before they can it at the brewery.
And has roughly 4% ABV to keep it clean.

[TX Aggie]

All the water you drink is filtered before they can it at the brewery.
And has roughly 4% ABV to keep it clean.

Add a Zero after the 4 and that’s how my water typically comes.


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[Colter]

For what its worth---Warren Doyle says he doesnt filter water on the AT as its not needed!!
OK let the fire storm begin----

[Doyle] disdains water treatment or filtering of any kind, drinking directly from springs, streams, and puddles--and even brags about getting giardia.

[Another Kevin]

[Doyle] disdains water treatment or filtering of any kind, drinking directly from springs, streams, and puddles--and even brags about getting giardia.

He brags about becoming ill unnecessarily because of a failure to exercise elementary precautions.

He thinks this is worthy of a boast because ... ?

[Highland Goat]

He brags about becoming ill unnecessarily because of a failure to exercise elementary precautions. He thinks this is worthy of a boast because ... ?

Because he is Warren Doyle.
It does bother me when Warren teaches other people some of his higher risk methods - like not treating water - but what bothers me more is when I agree with him on other stuff.

[MA_Woodaman]

Wow, pretty bold title... I have filtered / treated water since I was a kid (well maybe not as much when I was a kid)....

What do you think of this?

https://slate.com/technology/2018/02...necessary.html

Even if that article is remotely correct, I'm filtering at a minimum around any questionable water source. I'm filtering and boiling 99% of the time...

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[Just Bill]

Easy enough to say in the mountains, harder to say in the meadows, pretty dangerous to do in the flatlands.

If you're a 'full time' hiker building up immunity over a decade or so in primarily remote places... I can buy the argument.
But for most of us folks trotting out to the woods for a week or less once or twice a year probably not any chance of building up enough immunity for most places.

What's a sitting? In summer it is not difficult to consume 7 liters of water a day for me when hiking long hours.
Maybe no biggie (on paper) to hit that source once, but day after day for weeks?


" The data on Giardia and Cryptosporidium are similar: A study in the popular magazine Backpackeragain only found pathogens in a minority of sampled sites, with the highest recorded concentration still so dilute that obtaining an infective dose would require consuming 7 liters of water in one sitting."

Either way;
This seems like the most accurate takeaway from the article overall:

"If the real danger comes from eating after a trip to the cathole, then that’s the point thatshould be emphasized—not an unsubstantiated view of all water in the mountains as suspect. In all likelihood, it’s not the water that’s gross. It’s you. "

[MA_Woodaman]

I don't know guys and gals...we know the science of bacteria and pathogens pretty well. I'd say that unless you have a super unique gut tract, consuming surface water anywhere is a big risk.

If you've got access to a spring like many of us in this room are likely able to identify and use correctly that's one thing.

I think that article sends the wrong message to the wrong group of people.

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[MA_Woodaman]

I don't know guys and gals...we know the science of bacteria and pathogens pretty well. I'd say that unless you have a super unique gut tract, consuming surface water anywhere is a big risk.

If you've got access to a spring like many of us in this room are likely able to identify and use correctly that's one thing.

I think that article sends the wrong message to the wrong group of people.

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And I'm very much in favor of bills post. Beer-thirty is my favorite hydration break...;p

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[QiWiz]

I don't know guys and gals...we know the science of bacteria and pathogens pretty well. I'd say that unless you have a super unique gut tract, consuming surface water anywhere is a big risk.

If you've got access to a spring like many of us in this room are likely able to identify and use correctly that's one thing.

I think that article sends the wrong message to the wrong group of people.

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I thought the article was interesting. I use Aqua Mira mostly and sometimes have a squeeze filter or SteriPen for quick water treatment on trail. On AT I generally did not treat spring water, but did treat stream water. Maybe overkill per the article, but it was easy to do, and I plan to continue. Have never had giardia (as far as I know) or other waterborne infections, FWIW. I do know someone who got giardia from a spring in the Quehanna region of PA (not on AT), the one source she did not treat on a weekend trip prior to developing symptoms of her infection.

[Paleolith54]

And if you’ve actually had Giardia, which I have, the fact that those cysts are present in a minority of samples doesn’t mean much. It’s so easy to avoid the problem.

[KCNC]

I think the article should come with a litany of qualifiers. What if you're on immunosuppressants? What if your health is compromised in some other form or fashion?

I don't "need" to wear a seatbelt when I drive, I only "need" one in case of an accident. The rest of the time I wear one for insurance.

Same thing goes for filtering water. With most filters rated for thousands upon thousands of gallons one unit is, essentially, a "lifetime use" item if properly cared for. If it keeps me from getting sick just once, it's well worth it. If it keeps that one illness from ruining a trip, then it's worth even more.

[rickb]

I don't "need" to wear a seatbelt when I drive, I only "need" one in case of an accident.

“A seatbelt” is to “texting while driving”

as a

“Water filter” is to “not washing your hands with soap and water”.

[Sarcasm the elf]

“A seatbelt” is to “texting while driving”

as a

“Water filter” is to “not washing your hands with soap and water”.

That's perfect.

In all seriousness, do you mind if copy this word for word and use it in future discussions,?

[Sarcasm the elf]

My two cents:


1) The odds of getting a waterbourne illness from any one source is overwhelmingly low.
2) The majority of illness that are blamed on "bad water" are actually transmitted by contact with infected people or contaminated surfaces. Proper hand washing with honest to goodness soap is far more effective at reducing the spread of pathogens than water treatment.
3) Most commercial filters do not protect against viruses like Noro virus that is ever present on major trails.
4) It you are unable to treat your water, just drink it. Dehydration is generally more dangerous to the average hiker than waterbourne contaminants.
5) All that said I still treat my water, because I think it's easy and a smart thing to do.

[Feral Bill]

My two cents:


1) The odds of getting a waterbourne illness from any one source is overwhelmingly low.
2) The majority of illness that are blamed on "bad water" are actually transmitted by contact with infected people or contaminated surfaces. Proper hand washing with honest to goodness soap is far more effective at reducing the spread of pathogens than water treatment.
3) Most commercial filters do not protect against viruses like Noro virus that is ever present on major trails.
4) It you are unable to treat your water, just drink it. Dehydration is generally more dangerous to the average hiker than waterbourne contaminants.
5) All that said I still treat my water, because I think it's easy and a smart thing to do.

Yes indeed.

[BionicAnkle]

#4 is very wrong sorry puking and the squirts will dehydrate you way faster.