Water Borne Illness : Survival Tips : Discovery Channel

Waterborne Illness: Worst-Case Scenario

Charles W. Bryant,

The first thing on your priority list in any kind of worst-case survival scenario is a drinkable water source. Ideally, this means some kind of natural running water -- a stream, river or spring. If that's not possible, you'll need to collect your own water using some basic survival techniques. A lack of food resources may leave you hungry and fatigued, but not having water will kill you in just a few days. What can really put a dent in your bid to survive is drinking contaminated water. Failing to purify what you find or collect could make you very sick, weak and unable to function -- not good if you want to live through your worst-case scenario.

It's in the Water

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that nearly 1 billion people worldwide don't have access to safe, clean drinking water. Mainly these are people living in developing countries. But no matter where you are, if you're traveling off the beaten path and find yourself lost or stranded, you could have a hard time finding clean water. There's a host of things in tainted water that can make you sick. Parasites, bacteria, viruses and protozoa can be found in water all over the world, and you don't want them swimming around in your stomach.

Run Water, Run

Running water is your best bet and can often be consumed without even purifying it. But it's typically a good idea to go with a "better safe than sorry" approach, even with running water, which means boiling whatever you find for 10 minutes. This will kill any bacteria or virus and give you some safe, drinkable water, not to mention peace of mind. If you're staring death in the face from dehydration and don't have the means to boil water, go ahead and drink unpurified running water. Standing water should be an absolute last resort.

Be Prepared!

If you know you'll be roughing it or going on an exotic adventure, be smart and take along some items that you could need in case of an emergency. You can buy a compact emergency water filter that's no bigger than a large drinking straw and stash it in your backpack. You can also pick up some purification tablets for emergency use. These tablets use iodine or chlorine to treat water and make it safe for consumption.

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Waterborne Illness: Worst-Case Scenario

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