Bottled Water... something to be aware of...

[Cllcanada]

I drink only bottled water, and I mention this because something startled me a couple of time in the past few months. This has happen on 3 occasions.

I open a bottle have a few swigs recap and into my camera bag... I try to finish the water bottle in a few hours...

Recently I found a bottle I had opened and drank from on my counter, picked it up, but it didn't feel quite right... a bit odd in the hand. I opened it and there was a audible fizz... of gas escaping.

Something in it was alive 🦠🦠🦠... probably bacteria... likely from my mouth or lips, captured and incubating in the water... could also be from my oxygen enriched air supplied up my nose, I suppose.

Using the old addage...'When in doubt throw it out' which goes quadruple in CLL, the funky water went on my potted plants... or planted pot... now in Canada. 🇨🇦

So... be aware this can happen.. you don't need to ingest water with a raging colon of bacteria in it.

Some tips...

1. Use chilled bottled water with a few hours of opening it.

2. Pour it into you mouth without touching the bottle cap end to your lips.

3. If a bottle feels bloated or hard to squeeze, discard it...

4. Keep bottle water in a cool dark place, not in full sun on a hot patio.

5. Always chill before using. Bacteria doesn't like cold...

I recently mentioned this to a few CLL patients and a few report a similar experience, so when the neutrophils tank.. please be very careful.

~chris

[Motocost]

Is it possible that the water bottle was chilled when you first opened it and warmer when you opened it the second time, thereby causing the air inside to expand? I suppose the bacteria/fermentation possibility might be plausible, but without any substantial supply of carbohydrates for it to consume, I can't imagine there would be enough activity to create much CO2 or methane.

Just a though.

[TimHB]

I drink bottled water all day while out running around. The plastic bottle is always expanding and shrinking depending on the temperature in my car (same when I take bottled water on an airplane and it shrinks from the air pressure), so air is always "fizzing" in or out when I re-open a bottle. Isn't that normal?

[lankisterguy Volunteer in reply to TimHB]

You are correct, a small amount of air dissolves into water and when you change the pressure or temperature, some of that air ( 78% nitrogen/21% oxygen) will either go in or out of solution with the water.

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It's the same with carbonated water (CO2 gas infused) when you open the container the pressure decreases and some of the carbon dioxide that was dissolved, turns into gas bubbles.

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But Cllcanada/Chris is correct, left at room temperature water can "grow" bugs, and the small amount of bacteria or fungus is usually no problem for people with a normal immune systems.

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Most municipal treatment systems infuse enough "extra" chlorine gas to kill bacteria that might grow while the water is traveling through the mains to your house, but that chlorine is used or escapes when you release the pressure while filling drinking glasses or storage containers. So the time temperature clock for bacterial growth starts when you open the tap.

Len

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero in reply to lankisterguy]

If you look at the watercolour on this thread, made with tap water... the mushroom tower on the right is our water reservoir... that's were it gets it rather unique metallic taste... like sucking on an old penny... the McDonalds restaurant at the base of this tower, is famous for its copper coffee.. 🤪

😁

I believe most bottled water in UV treated and irradiated, good old gamma...

OH yeah... ever have FCR, FR or Bendamustine/rituxan, then your blood requires radiation prior to transfusion... 💉💉💉 something to remember, because very few doctors know this.

~chris

[cllady01 Former Volunteer in reply to Cllcanada]

The building? in the lower right-hand corner of that watercolor looks tired, sleepy--the sun has left it in the dark and it is bedtime.

Or is that tank(s) behind a fence?

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero in reply to cllady01]

The tank is on the right.. that mushroom shaped part.. early morning actually... I run to the loo for my pee time and check the scene... it was a chilly morning... 😁🚽

[migirlusa in reply to Cllcanada]

Chris I believe I read somewhere that the same thing goes for those of us on Ibrutinib.

Pam

[Havemercy]

Interestingly the Bloodwise booklet I was given at the start of treatment (called Eating Well with Neutropenia ) says avoid bottled water, carbonated water etc. Tap water is fine apparently.

[cllady01 Former Volunteer]

thank you, Chris, for the heads up.

I use tap water, let it run on cold at least 2 minutes wide open while starting breakfast, and anytime I have run hot water, I do the 2min. or longer on cold before filling my days supply of containers.

I keep a glass bottle and two steel containers filled in the refrig. (just realized "frig" with a soft "g" might not be understood since the word "friggin" is now used.)

But I occasionally will drink a bottled water--and who knows what the restaurants' water has been through when it is served?

[Sojomama13]

Thank you very much for your post Chris. I honestly thought that I was doing myself a favor by drinking bottled water. Until reading your posts and the other responders, I never once put any thought into how I stored my water, let alone how I drank it. I am slowly coming to the realization and acceptance that I need to be vigilant not only about what I put into my body, but in making sure I take the proper steps to ensure my safety.

[AdrianUK]

The neutopenic diet in the uk says that if under 0.5 you should only drink tap water. I think I’m gonna try stick to that.

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero]

I'm talking about water handling... not source ... although well water should be boiled...

This was just redone in 2013... and as a zero granulocyte patient... I found it to be very decent.

hillman.upmc.com/patients/c...

You need to use bleach and hydrogen peroxide...I boil all my cutlery for every meal, and poured the boiled water on the dishes before I placed food on it...

Obviously we can't live in a bubble, and bacteria, viruses and fungi will find us, but hopefully we can minimise the relative risk...

~chris

[noeagaman]

I wonder how a reverse osmosis filter would fit in here. We are having one installed in our water system in the house that we are building. This is mostly because the water here is so hard from minerals. We will also have a water softener.

Chris

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero in reply to noeagaman]

It should be fine, might put a light pipe in the system...

I was on well water for years and osmosis was fine. The huge issue was iron bacteria, we tried a number of solutions none worked very well, all I could taste was hydrogen sulphide...the egg smell...

Shocking the well worked OK for a while...

~chris

[noeagaman in reply to Cllcanada]

I'm mainly putting it in to have pure water to mix for salt water for my fish tank. I hear that they make for pretty good drinking water too.

[Hidden in reply to noeagaman]

noegaman,

We had an RO water system on our sailboat....it makes the safest water any where...except it is *so safe* all the minerals, etc are removed from it...and it tastes like nothing.....if you use an RO system they make additives that put back some trace minerals and things you need in the water. Once we found that, best water ever....

But that system was extremely complicated, and required careful watch/replacement of filters.....but anything that can turn polluted seawater into pure drinking water is impressive

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator]

I just saw an app advertised for finding cheaper bottled water. I can get a tonne of filtered, treated and cooled water delivered underground to multiple access points in my home for 1,000th the cost water supplied in single use plastic bottles. It's often the same water bottled and sold elsewhere, requiring trucks to transport it and generating additional greenhouse gases. (I do appreciate how distasteful reticulated water can be, however, particularly where drinking it is an acquired taste!)

I worked for a while in a water corporation and learned first hand how thoroughly reticulated water quality is monitored throughout the supply chain - all the way from source to the release of treated water into the environment*. Centuries ago, we learned how extremely essential a reliable potable water supply is to a healthy society. This was the topic of one of my very first posts: healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

Hence Adrian's comment about tap water being considered safe for reasonably neutropenic people.

Chris, I hope you recycle your water bottles so the plastic isn't ending up in everyone's poop!

* An engineer I knew in the water treatment division proudly displayed the following sign on his desk: "Bringing you yesterday's water tomorrow". We may not esthetically appreciate drinking recycled water, but if you live on a long enough river, you may be 'interested' to learn that river towns deriving drinking water from the river, typically have the water intake upstream of the town with (hopefully) treated effluent discharged into the river downstream...

Neil

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero in reply to AussieNeil]

Yes, I only buy water in previously recycled bottles... currently its 50% rPET, but this is increasing every few years... hopefully we will be able to have a near 90% recycle.

~chris

[Hidden in reply to Cllcanada]

Hi Chris,

How are you doing. Well I hope. Renee says hi and wants to know if you are growing anything fun now that things are leeeegal in CA land. I'd send you clones but don't want to get tossed in a cage

Scott

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero in reply to Hidden]

Nope, we are changing the name from Canada to Cannabis...

One of the largest grow ops is out my way, in an old Hershey factory...and if the wind is blowing in the right direction... 😜

youtu.be/qnoxKXkPqEE(Not working as expected?)

The Former Hershey Factory in Smiths Falls:

It was a 470,000 sq. ft. chocolate factory opened by The Hershey Company in 1963 and was the first Hershey plant to be opened outside the United States.

newsinteractives.cbc.ca/lon...

[kensim9]

How about tap water in Water to Go bottle, from Fridge.!

Have one for few years for holiday trips. It has filter to drink through, does not remove viruses but what does! Happy user no financial connection 😇

Cheers

Ken

[JigFettler Volunteer]

My neutropenic diet booklet states NO bottled water, only tap, and run it for 2 mins.

I researched this, bottled water comes straight out of the rock and into the bottle. Tap water gets treated.

Surprised me.

Having said that I've drunk carbonated bottled water all thru FCR, but using a glass...

Jig

[Flabal]

Chris

That’s very wise of you. Recently someone I know got really ill after drinking bottled water in Paris and I was rather shocked. Thanks for sharing your experience

[hazelton in reply to Flabal]

I saw plastic bottles being refilled and then reused in Paris so never used them again!

[Flabal in reply to hazelton]

Really? Sounds bad.

[Mystic75]

Thank you Chris!!

I know in the US, and available online, are vacuum insulated stainless steel bottles.

The keep a beverage hot for up to 12 hours or cold for up to 12 hours, 24 hours with ice.

They really work - I've left them in a hot car this summer for several hours and they still kept the water cold.

[Lily_Pad_Master]

Thank you, Chris. I drink from a stainless bottle that I definitely don’t clean frequently enough and I refill from abgooln jug I fill from the water cooler each morning. I probably don’t clean that gallon jug frequently enough, either. Further, I hate cold water. It hurts my teeth and throat. Always has, so we don’t keep the water cooler plugged in. I’m not neutropenia, but your post provides enough to motivate me to change my ways. I’m plugging the cooler in and cleaning the water bottles daily from now on,

Glenn

[Lola69]

So that case of bottled water sitting in my patients dark closet is full of bacteria?

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero in reply to Lola69]

No.. highly unlikey, but after it is opened and sitting around for a week or so, it might be.

~chris

[Lola69 in reply to Cllcanada]

He usually leaves it on his nightstand for weeks than refills it from the water tank. We throw bottle out when they turn grey