Well well, a salutary reminder -

[Nurseandy]

I'm just back from a four day, three night wild camping hike in the Highlands, took all my food, got water from burns/rivers, it was bliss - met 3 people in the whole time.
But......I obviously didn't sterilise my water well enough as I was properly ill with d&v a day after getting home. Uncontrollable watery green stool and simultaneous vomiting. Thank God we've two bathrooms and I camped out in the smallest one where I could sit on the toilet and lean over the sink. It was not hugely funny.
Slept for practically 24hrs & over it now but a good reminder how completely debilitating something like that would be in the case of SHTF.
For interest I used a combination of sawyer mini, sterilising tablets and boiling. But obviously some cross infection/not boiled long enough. We have had a period of very dry weather with intermittent deluges so prime washing the sh1te off the hills weather.
As an aside we've got an untreated private water supply and I've been a nurse for the last ~30years so like to think I've a pretty robust immune system, but maybe can't fight off everything

[GeeGee]

Oh good grief ..glad you are over this
You used sterilising tabs and boiling also...
I never thought there was a statutory boiling time etc
Anyone know how long water needs boiling for ?
Sounds awful ...
My son had cryptosporidium when he was a baby
Was in hospital in isolation and also ended up with meningitis we don't know if the crypto enabled it or if it was just awful luck
Tap water that was contaminated
I've been wary since dont drink tap water have filters even for washing up ...
Anyone with a lesser immune system probably wouldn't survive the shtf scenario

[Yorkshire Andy]

Speedy recovery now go restock the dioralite and imodium

[Frnc]

I think cross contamination is more likely than water not being clean after going through a Sawyer, puri tab and boiling. Boiling shouldn't even be necessary after Sawyer and puri tab. In my hill walking days, all we had was puri tabs. Not even boiling during the day.

It sounds like a bit of untreated water somehow touched your mouth. Glad your'e ok now.

[jennyjj01]

...got water from burns/rivers...But......I obviously didn't sterilise my water well enough as I was properly ill with d&v a day after getting home. Uncontrollable watery green stool and simultaneous vomiting.

It sounds like a bit of untreated water somehow touched your mouth. Glad your'e ok now.

I'm actually amazed and concerned by this. It sounds like the amount of illness is not proportional to the amount of contaminated water, nor the degree of contamination!

Maybe we overestimate the ability of our immune systems to deal with a bit of muck.

Might it be that washing yourself or your hands in the burn was the source of infection, rather that what you drank?

[Frnc]

...got water from burns/rivers...But......I obviously didn't sterilise my water well enough as I was properly ill with d&v a day after getting home. Uncontrollable watery green stool and simultaneous vomiting.

It sounds like a bit of untreated water somehow touched your mouth. Glad your'e ok now.

I'm actually amazed and concerned by this. It sounds like the amount of illness is not proportional to the amount of contaminated water, nor the degree of contamination!

Maybe we overestimate the ability of our immune systems to deal with a bit of muck.

Might it be that washing yourself or your hands in the burn was the source of infection, rather that what you drank?

As a general rule, likelihood and severity of illness is proportional to the amount of nasties that you get inside you. So, one or two individual bacteria or viruses won't make you ill. They might even boost your immune system. 18 Noroviruses can make you ill. That is a small number.

[Nurseandy]

Actually a bit of an update to this - one of my daughters is also sick now and the two of us had attended a social event (with food) the evening I got back.
None of the other 3 people in the house are unwell so maybe it's food poisoning?
I'll keep you posted on how far it spreads.
Hand sanitizer akimbo here!

[pseudonym]

Actually a bit of an update to this - one of my daughters is also sick now and the two of us had attended a social event (with food) the evening I got back.

That seems more likely than a 3 phase failure of all your methods. You all get well soon.

[jennyjj01]

Actually a bit of an update to this - one of my daughters is also sick now and the two of us had attended a social event (with food) the evening I got back.
None of the other 3 people in the house are unwell so maybe it's food poisoning?
I'll keep you posted on how far it spreads.
Hand sanitizer akimbo here!

Makes more sense.
If it was a restaurant, give 'em hell. It infuriates me how they play with our health. Reporting them might save lives.