We all have to drink to keep our bodies hydrated and most of us know that means you avoid bad water. Our tap water is treated to kill all of the various diseases that lurk in dirty water. Water Borne Diseases killed more men during the American Civil War than died from combat. Getting access to clean water is critical to your survival.
But now what happens, for one of a variety of reasons, someone in your group drinks bad water and becomes sick. Now you do not have access to modern medicine or antibiotics. You are strictly on your own.
Now I want you to understand that I am not a Doctor and have no special medical training. These ideas are only for situations in which modern medicine is not available. Under normal circumstances, I strongly recommend you get medical help if at all possible.
How do you treat water borne diseases?
First, the best method is prevention, but we have already lost that one. Now most of the common water borne diseases have fairly similar symptoms. Diarrhea, abdominal cramps, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, gas, malaise, fever and weight loss are the most common.
If you suspect that you are dealing with water borne diseases eliminate the source of the water and make sure the patient only gets good water.
Since your expertise is limited and you probably can’t tell one infection from another, you will just have to treat the symptoms as best you can.
Most people if they are healthy adults will survive without any other treatment than keeping them well hydrated. Make sure they are getting enough liquid to replace what they are losing.
If they are losing a lot of water you can give them a rehydration drink to replace some of the electrolytes they are losing.
While a prisoner of the North Koreans during the Korean war, Dr Lam treated dysentery with charcoal. He would take clean-burned wood and scrape of the charcoal and feed the patient a handful. He also used tea, the tannic acid helped stop the diarrhea.
Don’t forget to keep the patient feed, watered down porridges are a good food to start them on.
If at all possible, get them medical help.
Howrd
I had a case of food poisoning once that I treated by eating burnt toast and drinking strong black tea. It worked. Best of all, there were no side effects.
The burnt toast is a good substitute for wood charcoal for anyone who doesn’t burn wood for heat or cooking.
Diarrhea diseases are perhaps the most common cause of infectious disease death post-disaster. Within refugee camp settings, more than 40% of deaths in the acute phase of an emergency have been associated with such, and over 80% of these deaths occurred in children under the age of two.
After the 800,000 Rwandan refugees entered the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1994, 50,000 people died in the first month. 85% of these were due to diarrhea diseases, with cholera and shigellosis being the primary culprits.
Hurricane Allison in 1995 saw an outbreak of diarrhea diseases amongst Americans, as did Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The greater majority of these outbreaks are caused by drinking contaminated water or eating contaminated food. And when I say ‘contaminated’ what you should read is “poop covered.”
Aside from just the fecal-oral route, there are disease risks that come from post-disaster overcrowding as well. Easter Sudan and Somalia in 1995 saw measles – a disease associated with overcrowding – account for 53% and 42% of deaths, respectively.
The point is that post-disaster environments are both dangerous and prime environments for disease.
Zinc deficiency contributes to an increased incidence and severity of diarrhea.
Chlorine Dioxide – I had suffered from Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth for close to 3 years since eating at a Crackle Barrel in Georgia. But how I accidentally cured it. I was taking Chlorine Dioxide for a virus infection. And after 2-3 days of drinking the stuff, the SIBO went away. It’s been 2 months now and it has not returned.
The Chlorine Dioxide I’m using are the Aquamira Water Purification drops sold to purify drinking water. This comes under “Other uses” lol.
How to use:
Liquid Drops:
• Place 32 drops Aquamira Water Treatment (Part A) and 32 drops Phosphoric Acid Activator (Part B) in a cap to pre-mix.
• Let mixture react for 5 minutes to ensure full activation (it will turn yellow color).
• Fill container with 1 quart (1 liter) water. Add contents of mixing cap.
• Water is now ready for use. Enjoy! I’ve been told NOT take vitamin C supplements while taking Chlorine Dioxide!
Dosage:
Drink 3 oz taken every hour, until the content of the bottle is finished (8 to 12 shots). It has not taste. Just like water. Make a new batch fresh in the morning and repeat.
Note: I believe this treatment will destroy any un-wanted pathogen in the digestive tract causing harm like Crohns Disease, Chronic Diarrhea (bacterial in nature), Peptic Ulcers, Ulcerative Colitis.