Testing for Parasites in a Stream
Published August 1, 2011 | 
Newell writes:
theres this stream/river by my house and i was wondering if you could tell me a way to test and or kill the parasites in this stream and make sure i dont get infiltrated by terrible parasites. i was wondering if theres a free way to do this at home or any other way. thanks! your help is greatly appreciated.
If you get your drinking water from the stream, you’ll need to get a good home treatment system which includes appropriate filtration and disinfection. If this is the case please write me back and I can help you with that.
If you just want to test for parasites because you want to swim in the water, I’m afraid there’s no free way to do this. The likelihood of you contracting parasites simply from swimming is slim. To reduce those chances, make sure you don’t have any cuts or open sores on your body. Also, wearing goggles, ear plugs and nose plugs help. Ensure you do not swallow any water as well.
Parasitic microscopic organisms are actually relatively rare among the natural flora and fauna in water. They are more common in standing water than fast flowing water.
I hope this helps. Please write back if you have any other questions.
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Posted in disinfection, health, microorganisms, question | 
keeping safe, parasites, river, safe from parasites, stream, swimming, testingIodine for Water Treatment?
Published July 1, 2011 | Emily asks:
How long is it safe to use iodine water treatments? I’m going to be in a 3rd world country for about 6 weeks, and I plan on using an iodine treatment to clean my water; however, I’ve heard that iodine should only be used short term, not long term.
Are there severe health effects from using iodine for too long, and would it be safe to use iodine as a water treatment for 6 weeks? I would just boil the water, but I seriously doubt I’ll have access to a hot plate.
Hi Emily
Iodine use has risks to thyroid issues. Plus, it is not always effective against virus or parasites. What you should do is use the same type of equipment you use in camping. First, you need to filter the water to remove any ‘chunks’, because ‘chunks’ could impede disinfection. Then use a chlorine based disinfectant that won’t lead to any effects with prolonged use, as well it’s effective against more miro-organisms.
I go camping yearly, and I use Katadyn products, a filter and a chlorine dioxide tab system and it works great. I’ll link to both for you to check them out:
Filter: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007U0…
Disinfectant tabs: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IDX…
It’s probably a bit more expensive then iodine but considering your health, probably worth it I’d say. Please let me know how you make out regardless.
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Posted in disinfection, health, microorganisms, question | keeping safe, parasites, river, safe from parasites, stream, swimming, testing
