Introduction
Water is supposed to be essential to our bodies. It helps us stay hydrated, replenished, maintains our digestive health, flushes out harmful toxins, reduces fluid retention and gives us more energy. However, like most things in life, with the good, comes the bad. Generally, most organisms in water are completely harmless and will not lead to desieses, but there are some issues that can cause water to be unsafe for us to drink. It is always a smart idea to do your own research and work to figure out which potential drinking water contaminants could effect your household as its a good idea to be in the know and to have some peace of mind.
History
Water is one of the most known breeding grounds for a variety of organisms. Although most will not harm us, there are some we do need to be worried about and some that can cause desieses and viruses in the human body. The five potential desiese-producers in water are as follows:
- Fungi
- Bacteria
- Worms
- Viruses
- Protozoa
Drinking these desiese producers can cause severe illness, sometimes even fatality. They are linked to desieses such as tularemia, cholera, jaundice, hepatitis and typhoid fever. You need to be very careful when it comes to this topic as it's very serious and is not something to take lightly.
Features
If your drinking water is surface water, meaning it comes from a lake or river, then there is a chance you're being exposed to acid rain. This means, you could be exposing yourself and your family to pesticide runoff and industrial waste. If your water is contaminated with these things, you could experience desieses like liver and kidney desiese, damage to your immune system, cancer and even birth defects. If your drinking water comes from a well, then you're generally safer than people who receive their water from other means. When water is in a well, it usually takes longer to become contaminated because the water is not exposed to sunlight or many micro organisms. However, you're not entirely in the clear yet as the water could be contaminated by your septic system or leaked underground storage tanks. If your well water is in fact contaminated, you could suffer health effects ranging from skin rashes, lung irritation and vomiting. In some cases, it could also lead to death. In most cases, these are acute health effects and can be taken care of by a doctor.
Tips and comments
To protect yourself and your family from desieses that are found in drinking water, you will want to test your drinking water. You can get in contact with your municipal water superintendent and ask for the latest test results of the public water supply. They cannot turn down your request and are legally required to share the information with you. If you prefer, you can also get in contact with your local health department and ask for a free water testing kit. Additionally, you can also have your water tested by an official state-certified private laboratory for a fee. Another great idea to ask your local health department what type of water purification system would be beneficial to you and your current situation.
Comments
Most Recent Articles
-
What Desieses Can You Get Doing Drugs
There has been more and more intravenous drug use in the United States over the past ten years. There are many desieses that you can get when you shot up drugs and share needles with other. ...