Clean drinking water should be a basic human right that unfortunately many don’t have. Even the privileged in first-world countries are going to deal with contaminated water from time to time. But it’s so important to understand that contaminated water isn’t something that should be taken lightly. This can cause awful long-term health effects, and this does drive people to lawsuits (rightfully so), and you learn more here about this.
In general, contaminated water can happen to any area, to anyone, and you can count on that affecting your physical health. So, when it comes to this, what are the symptoms? Have you noticed that you or someone you live with has been feeling different than usual? Does your water have an odd color or taste? Here are the common symptoms that you can expect from drinking contaminated drinking water.
Gastrointestinal Problems
One of the first signs of bad water is going to be gastrointestinal issues; this is also going to be the most common one as well. However, it’s important to keep in mind that this is an umbrella term as you could most likely deal with:
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- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Intestinal or Stomach Aches and Pains
So, how exactly does this happen? Well, contaminated water can cause cryptosporidiosis a gastrointestinal illness. It’s essentially a parasite that is commonly found in bad drinking water that has been tainted by stool. The symptoms usually show up within one to three days, and the infection time can vary from two days to ten days.
Rapid Weight Loss
Rapid weight loss is usually just a side effect of the gastrointestinal problems that the average person has when consuming contaminated water.
Dehydration
Since contaminated water has pollutants in it, this will do a lot of harm to your body. If you’re having stomach issues from the water, you’re going to get dehydrated due to diarrhea. Plus, if you still lack adequate drinking water, then this is only going to exasperate it much further.
Death
While this is rare, death can happen if a person doesn’t stop drinking on contaminated water immediately. Death due to lack of clean drinking water is unfortunately still common, even in the 21st century. This is more apparent for those with a weak immune system, such as small children or the elderly.
Not Having Any Symptoms?
It may sound great if you are currently not seeing any symptoms, right? Well, you will also need to keep in mind that you can still deal with potential long-term health effects. Just because you’re not seeing or dealing with any symptoms or signs at the moment doesn’t immediately mean that it’s going to stay that way.
In general, drinking contaminated water is something that you’re less likely to encounter, and this is a situation that needs to be taken seriously. If your water had an unusual smell, consistency, or color, or isn’t clear, then this is something that you shouldn’t drink, and you’ll need to notify your water supply company immediately.
Photo by engin akyurt
