How to Prevent Waterborne Illness

A waterborne illness is sickness that you can get from bacteria, viruses, chemicals, or parasites in water. This can develop from:

• Drinking unsafe water.
• Using unsafe water to wash or prepare the food that you eat or to wash the dishes that you use for food preparation and eating.
• Swimming in unsafe waters.

You may come into contact with unsafe water:

• While traveling.
• At your own home or workplace.
• In streams, rivers, and lakes.
• In public swimming pools or hot tubs.
• During severe flooding.

You can take certain actions to lower your risk of waterborne illness and to prevent serious symptoms from developing.

What types of nutrition changes can be made?

The following actions may prevent you from getting a waterborne illness from the water you drink or the food you eat:

• Buy a high-quality water filter to filter the tap water in your home.
• Check your area’s public water quality reports. If you still have concerns about your water quality, a certified lab can test the tap water in your home.
• If you have a well, have the well water tested every year for germs and other substances.
• Do not drink water from streams, rivers, or lakes.
• Follow your community’s instructions for preparing your water before drinking or cooking.
• Research the water quality in areas you travel to and determine whether you should take any precautions.
• If you have concerns about the safety of your water, you can:
  • Boil water before drinking it or cooking with it. This kills the source of waterborne illness.
  • Use only sealed bottled water for drinking and cooking.

What are some other changes that can be made?

To avoid getting a waterborne illness from swimming, make sure you:

• Check water quality before swimming in rivers, lakes, and pools.
  • Do not swim in lakes, rivers, or pools with poor water quality.
  • If you are not sure about the water quality, avoid getting the water in your mouth, eyes, and nose while swimming.
• Properly treat your home pool or hot tub with chlorine and other chemicals.

Why are these changes important?

• Filtering or treating drinking water can kill the cause of waterborne illness.
• Planning ahead before traveling will help reduce your risk of getting sick.
• Being aware of the water quality in areas where you swim or spend time reduces your chance of getting sick.

What can happen if changes are not made?

Waterborne illnesses can cause serious or even fatal symptoms, such as:

• Gastrointestinal problems like nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can lead to serious and even dangerous dehydration.
• Respiratory issues, such as coughing, trouble breathing, and pneumonia.
• Skin, ear, eye, or wound infections.

How is this treated?

If you think you might have a waterborne illness, see your health care provider right away. Treatment depends on the cause of your illness. Minor sickness may go away on its own. Treatment for a more serious illness may involve:

• Antibiotics or medicines to kill the virus, fungus, or parasite that causes your illness.
• Medicine to stop diarrhea.
• IV fluids to prevent dehydration.

Where to find more information

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov  
• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: www.niehs.nih.gov  

Summary

• Waterborne illnesses can happen from drinking, cooking with, or swimming in unsafe water.
• Know the water quality in your area or any areas you may travel to.
• Take precautions to filter or use bottled water if you have concerns about water quality where you live, or where you are traveling to.
• See your health care provider right away if you think you may have a waterborne illness.