Dirty Water Taking its Toll
Drinking dirty water can have many Health consequences. The one reason that it is bad to drink dirty water is because it is most likely to cause illness and even death. Millions of people die everyday from water borne illness or poor water sanitation. The lack of sanitation is a result of an insufficient amount of money to clean the water, over population of the area the water supplies, and bad watersheds. The diseases can come in many forms such as bacteria, virus or even a parasite, but all of them are because of polluted water.
What many people do not know is that one of the main reasons that water is not safe to drink is because it is contaminated with fecal matter. Only 10% of wastewater, or poop, is filtered out but it still manages to leak into the system. The reason your body gets rid of it is because it can be hazardous to the body. Many do not realize how much hazardous waste goes into the water system. All we have to do is improve sanitation and we can eliminate 1/10th of the world’s disease.
The main disease that the dirty water causes is diarrhea. To the first world this is humorous and not a serious disease. You can go take a pill and fix it in a day, but to third world countries it is much more severe and fatal. If not treated the bacteria will kill you in days due to infection. This is the number one killer due to dirty water.
Diarrhea is a symptom and effect of many other water borne illnesses. Some of these diseases are cholera, E. Coli, Salmonella, and viral gastroenteritis. Diarrhea will cause infections in your body and it will dehydrate you. Humans can only last 2 to 3 days maximum without any water so if you become sick by dehydration in these areas, then you will most likely die.
All of these diseases affect you in a similar way. Bacteria goes into your system and targets your gastrointestinal area, which is small, and large intestines as well as the colon. This can be caused by water contaminated by harmful substances. Even people in first world countries can fall victim to these diseases because many times fertilizer gets into the water system and can cause disease.
Another way that disease can be spread is through the food supply. If the crops and resources are grown in the surrounding dirty watersheds, then the plants and food will eventually be contaminated. Wherever this food now goes, in its indigenous area or overseas, it will give people diseases. If there are fisheries and local watersheds that are also contaminated, then the fish will definitely be affected by the polluted water.
In China, a farmer was working a fish farm in the southern china mountains of Fujian Province and was using dirty water. The area is not as well off financially and the water filtration systems were not up to standard. China also does not have as strict environmental regulations as other countries so they continued to raise fish and many people paid the price. There was a water shortage in the area and they used the dirty water to save the business. Many were put at health risk and contracted a disease in the area. This happens all over the world especially in poverty stricken regions because people want to keep business moving and make money so many do not care about the water quality when working.
One of the most popular water borne illness that is found in dirty water is cholera. You can be infected from this disease through rivers, streams or even coastal waters. The incubation period, which is the time for the disease to infect you, is 2 hours to 5 days. The symptoms of this disease are watery diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. It is a bacterial disease and if not treated, the sickness will worsen, and its victim will eventually die. Another popular common disease that can be picked up from drinking dirty water is E. Coli. The incubation period for this disease is 1 to 8 days. E. Coil is not directly picked up from dirty water. Raw meet, dead animals or humans, and rotten food in impure water can lead to an outbreak of this disease.
It is hard to imagine a life where every time you go to take a drink of water there is a risk that you could contract a disease. Visualize how many times a day you take a sip of water. Even the smallest sip could be fatal so naturally you would drink less water. That’s what many people do and they suffer from dehydration.
What many people do not know is that one of the main reasons that water is not safe to drink is because it is contaminated with fecal matter. Only 10% of wastewater, or poop, is filtered out but it still manages to leak into the system. The reason your body gets rid of it is because it can be hazardous to the body. Many do not realize how much hazardous waste goes into the water system. All we have to do is improve sanitation and we can eliminate 1/10th of the world’s disease.
The main disease that the dirty water causes is diarrhea. To the first world this is humorous and not a serious disease. You can go take a pill and fix it in a day, but to third world countries it is much more severe and fatal. If not treated the bacteria will kill you in days due to infection. This is the number one killer due to dirty water.
Diarrhea is a symptom and effect of many other water borne illnesses. Some of these diseases are cholera, E. Coli, Salmonella, and viral gastroenteritis. Diarrhea will cause infections in your body and it will dehydrate you. Humans can only last 2 to 3 days maximum without any water so if you become sick by dehydration in these areas, then you will most likely die.
All of these diseases affect you in a similar way. Bacteria goes into your system and targets your gastrointestinal area, which is small, and large intestines as well as the colon. This can be caused by water contaminated by harmful substances. Even people in first world countries can fall victim to these diseases because many times fertilizer gets into the water system and can cause disease.
Another way that disease can be spread is through the food supply. If the crops and resources are grown in the surrounding dirty watersheds, then the plants and food will eventually be contaminated. Wherever this food now goes, in its indigenous area or overseas, it will give people diseases. If there are fisheries and local watersheds that are also contaminated, then the fish will definitely be affected by the polluted water.
In China, a farmer was working a fish farm in the southern china mountains of Fujian Province and was using dirty water. The area is not as well off financially and the water filtration systems were not up to standard. China also does not have as strict environmental regulations as other countries so they continued to raise fish and many people paid the price. There was a water shortage in the area and they used the dirty water to save the business. Many were put at health risk and contracted a disease in the area. This happens all over the world especially in poverty stricken regions because people want to keep business moving and make money so many do not care about the water quality when working.
One of the most popular water borne illness that is found in dirty water is cholera. You can be infected from this disease through rivers, streams or even coastal waters. The incubation period, which is the time for the disease to infect you, is 2 hours to 5 days. The symptoms of this disease are watery diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. It is a bacterial disease and if not treated, the sickness will worsen, and its victim will eventually die. Another popular common disease that can be picked up from drinking dirty water is E. Coli. The incubation period for this disease is 1 to 8 days. E. Coil is not directly picked up from dirty water. Raw meet, dead animals or humans, and rotten food in impure water can lead to an outbreak of this disease.
It is hard to imagine a life where every time you go to take a drink of water there is a risk that you could contract a disease. Visualize how many times a day you take a sip of water. Even the smallest sip could be fatal so naturally you would drink less water. That’s what many people do and they suffer from dehydration.
© Will Severynse