Архивы форума Египетского Клуба

Все бы только хихикать.
Кому интересно, привожу переписку наших иностранных друзей.
P.S. Замечу, что у них там, за бугром, форумы не оканчиваются фразами типа "сам такой".
P.S. P.S. Ешьте побольше лимонов!



Author Topic: safe to drink the water
Deneen
Junior Member
Posts: 28
Registered: Feb 2003
posted 26 March 2003 01:02 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Many people tell me to drink only bottled water in Egypt. But... the Lonely Planet guide book says the water in Cairo is treated and perfectly safe, it just has a heavy chlorine taste/smell. So it is ok to drink water in Cairo, like in the hotel? And just take bottled water when out and about? Any ideas?
IP: Logged

Dalia
Member
Posts: 254
Registered: Aug 2002
posted 26 March 2003 03:46 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's perfectly okay to drink the water if you don't mind the yucky chlorine taste and smell. But then, depending on which state you're from, you might be used to that.
IP: Logged

Jennifer
Member
Posts: 146
Registered: Oct 2002
posted 26 March 2003 05:36 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I asked Debbie this question, and her response was to ease into it. Like, use it to make ice. Stuff like that. If you will be there for any lenght of time you will HAVE to get used to it, I should think.
In Guatemala, even the Guatemalans don't drink the water, and it is amazingly inconvenient. Think about brushing teeth...with bottled water.
IP: Logged

Deneen
Junior Member
Posts: 28
Registered: Feb 2003
posted 26 March 2003 07:34 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dalia,
Yes I'm in VA and every time we have a drought, the water gets this wonderful algae flavor to it. As long as I'm not going to get dysentary, I'm not particular!
IP: Logged

sally
Member
Posts: 74
Registered: May 2002
posted 27 March 2003 09:21 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i agree with debbie - to ease into it.
i still tend to drink from bottled water, but clean my teeth with tap water.

IP: Logged

Debbie
Member
Posts: 1412
Registered: Mar 2001
posted 27 March 2003 02:43 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even I still buy bottled water for my drinking use, but I use tap water to brush my teeth, take pills, make ice, and to make my coffee or any hot drinks from.
I don't buy the bottled water because the tap water will make me sick, but because I do hate that yukky chlorine smell and taste.

Probably if you were to drink copius amounts of tap water the first month you were in Cairo it might make you a little sick. It would be like going from VA to FL and drinking loads of their tap water right off the bat. All water is treated a little differently and will have different bacteria in it than what your home water has and your body is used to, ergo, you get a little yukky tummy from any new water area.

If you are here for a long time and buying bottled water isn't a thing you want to do, there are filter systems that lots of people seem to use and like.

IP: Logged

Dalia
Member
Posts: 254
Registered: Aug 2002
posted 27 March 2003 03:14 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, just realized that my posting might have been misunderstood. I did not mean drinking tap water for your thirst and in huge amounts, I was just referring to using it for tea, coffee and occasional drinking ...



IP: Logged

niledoc
Member
Posts: 767
Registered: Jul 2001
posted 28 March 2003 12:02 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first month I was in Egypt I drank nothing but bottled water and still got very sick. There are so many things that can make you sick in Egypt when you first arrive because the bacteria are different here and you aren't used to them that whether you drink the water or not it isn't something that will make or break you. The food will probably affect you more but you can't stop eating. Now I drink only tap water unless I am somewhere where bottled water is served and I don't get sick. But you never know what the long term effects of the water might be but then that is the case with water anywhere in the world these days. Nothing is unpolluted anymore...
IP: Logged

newcomer
Member
Posts: 125
Registered: Jun 2002
posted 28 March 2003 04:19 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although I always drank filtered/boiled water I had about 4 months of very uncomfortable active amoebic dysentery after I had been here a few months, which was resistant to locally available medication (the specific one I needed was apparently in short supply here in Egypt at the time!) The symptoms eventually went into remission although they could flare up again at any time.
The main precaution against dysentery, according to the doctor I saw, who was a specialist in this field, was to wash or soak fresh fruit and vegetables in a vinegar solution before eating them as they are the main carriers of the amoebas and this is the best way to kill them. Also she advised me not to eat salads and uncooked fruit and vegetables from places where I felt that they might not take real good care of their hygeine.

According to a recent study about 25% of the population of Cairo are carriers of this disease and could potentially infect others if they aren't careful with their personal hygeine. So its worthwhile taking care, althought I must admit that once my symptoms reduced so did my level of precaution, as it is a real hassle having to soak fruit and vegetables for half an hour, and I am taking more chances now.

IP: Logged

njsurfer
Member
Posts: 47
Registered: Mar 2003
posted 30 March 2003 05:20 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by newcomer:
Although I always drank filtered/boiled water I had about 4 months of very uncomfortable active amoebic dysentery after I had been here a few months, which was resistant to locally available medication (the specific one I needed was apparently in short supply here in Egypt at the time!) The symptoms eventually went into remission although they could flare up again at any time.
The main precaution against dysentery, according to the doctor I saw, who was a specialist in this field, was to wash or soak fresh fruit and vegetables in a vinegar solution before eating them as they are the main carriers of the amoebas and this is the best way to kill them. Also she advised me not to eat salads and uncooked fruit and vegetables from places where I felt that they might not take real good care of their hygeine.

According to a recent study about 25% of the population of Cairo are carriers of this disease and could potentially infect others if they aren't careful with their personal hygeine. So its worthwhile taking care, althought I must admit that once my symptoms reduced so did my level of precaution, as it is a real hassle having to soak fruit and vegetables for half an hour, and I am taking more chances now.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Is Flagyl (Metronidazole) easily available in Egypt? I would think you could get it OTC. It's an excellent antiprotazoan which I believe also kills ameobas, and LOL, is also indicated for certain STDs, which I think must be prevalent in Egypt too given the remarks at these boards about the men!


IP: Logged

newcomer
Member
Posts: 125
Registered: Jun 2002
posted 31 March 2003 02:04 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi njsurfer!
Yes, both Flagyl and Furamide are are easily available here and are the drugs of first choice for dysentery, unfortunately, my strain was resistant to both of them!

IP: Logged

njsurfer
Member
Posts: 47
Registered: Mar 2003
posted 31 March 2003 02:50 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by newcomer:
The main precaution against dysentery, according to the doctor I saw, who was a specialist in this field, was to wash or soak fresh fruit and vegetables in a vinegar solution before eating them as they are the main carriers of the amoebas and this is the best way to kill them. Also she advised me not to eat salads and uncooked fruit and vegetables from places where I felt that they might not take real good care of their hygeine.
.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hmmm, I wonder if any acidic fluid will work, such as substituting lemon juice for the vinegar? Now I have to go see where the two are in relation to each other on the Ph scale. Lemon juice is widely used in Middle Eastern cooking, and it is reminiscent of the sliced fruit and vegetble cups sprinkled with fresh lime juice I frequently ate on the streets of Mexico. The women running the stands did not have running water, but spent the day cutting the produce with the same knife. I never once became sick from eating any of the street fruit, and I always ordered it with the lime juice squeezed over it.

LOL, since I am a biology major, I will look to see what chemical compounds are capable of rupturing the membrane of amoebas and protazoans or destroying their cytoplasm and nuclei. Maybe I can write an essay on this and get extra credit while educating us all on how to avoid the revenge of Ramses, Montezuma, and other ethnic legends!


IP: Logged

kimo_the_maniac
Member
Posts: 98
Registered: Jan 2003
posted 31 March 2003 03:17 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Can anyone believe that when I went to Europe I couldn't drink tap water because it tasted funny and made me sick!! It was much harder than Cairo water so it tasted chalky to me. After three months I could only make tea and coffee with tapwater but I never drank it cold. So, yes I think it depends on what you are used to.
IP: Logged

Deneen
Junior Member
Posts: 28
Registered: Feb 2003
posted 01 April 2003 08:07 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
njsurfer,
Be sure and let us know what you find out about lemon juice please. I have a nurse friend here in the USA and she says that a doctor she knows travels to Mexico often and says to squeeze lemon on everything and it keeps him from getting "Montezuma's revenge". The other thing this doctor swears by is taking Pepto-Bismol before he eats to coat his stomache, then after the meal taking a fiber laxative, such as Fibercon to push it on through. LOL Sorry to be so graphic. Another friend who travels to Egypt often says absolutely do NOT take an anti-diarrheal, she did this the first trip over in the 1970s and she said it just made the entire ordeal last that much longer, and she ended up hospitalized because the little germs didn't just go on through her system. YUK.
Regards,
D.
IP: Logged

njsurfer
Member
Posts: 47
Registered: Mar 2003
posted 01 April 2003 08:41 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Deneen:
njsurfer,
Be sure and let us know what you find out about lemon juice please. I have a nurse friend here in the USA and she says that a doctor she knows travels to Mexico often and says to squeeze lemon on everything and it keeps him from getting "Montezuma's revenge". The other thing this doctor swears by is taking Pepto-Bismol before he eats to coat his stomache, then after the meal taking a fiber laxative, such as Fibercon to push it on through. LOL Sorry to be so graphic. Another friend who travels to Egypt often says absolutely do NOT take an anti-diarrheal, she did this the first trip over in the 1970s and she said it just made the entire ordeal last that much longer, and she ended up hospitalized because the little germs didn't just go on through her system. YUK.
Regards,
D.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deneen, using the Pepto-Bismol or any Bismuth containing formula as prophylaxis prior to eating is an established means of preventing illness.

I have to confess, I was currently in the process of bidding adieu at every board I posted to, because I find a great deal of petty fighting going on at these threads, which is some persons' easy way of avoiding issues and saving face. In the interest of public health and science however, I will come back to this board with my answer about the effects of various acidic foods.


IP: Logged

Gatekeeperdi
Junior Member
Posts: 2
Registered: Apr 2003
posted 01 April 2003 09:06 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there,
My friend, who is a regular vistor to Egypt, recomends a broad spectrum intestinal antiseptic for any tummy trouble called, ANTINAL.
Supposedly a lot of the locals and regular vistors use it.
I`ve also heard that one of the common bottled water makes, Baraka, has magnesium init which can act as a mild laxative. If you have a dodgy tummy maybe stick to the SIWA brand of bottled water.
Hugs,
Di
IP: Logged

njsurfer
Member
Posts: 47
Registered: Mar 2003
posted 01 April 2003 09:55 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, I'm back from the Bio lab and I have answers:
First off, Lemon and Lime juice are close to table vinegar on the Ph scale, roughly between 3 and 4.

The way that they render food safe to eat is in two capacities: the acid acts on the cellular membrane of the single-cell organisms, essentially interfering with diffusion by blocking it as well as displacing the membrane. Cellular respiration is also essentially prevented, resulting in rapid death as well as membrane rupture.

The acid in the juices also affect the surface of the fruit itself, making it difficult for the the organisms to adhere to the surface of the fruit. They are easily dislodged. In the immune system, this is known as opsonization, wherein cellular surfaces are made too slippery for antigens to bind to them.

Salt is another means by which to cause a rapid death to single cell organisms, but there is the issue of sodium in your own cells to prevent using it extensively.

Citric acid is available for purchase in a crystalline form; it is widely used in home canning as well commercially to treat fruits served on salad bars. Definitely avoid sulfites, which are widely used in wines but which cause severe respiratory reactions in some people, particulary asthmatics.


IP: Logged

Jennifer
Member
Posts: 146
Registered: Oct 2002
posted 01 April 2003 10:46 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NJ, you are so cool. Ok, so should one rinse fruits and veggies after soaking them (I ask because you said 'easily disloged')? And what percentage solution should they be soaked in? I mean, if it's 100% that basically ruins the fruit. And can that be used as a pre treatment for drying fruits and veggies instead of using a sulfer treatment, which I have never done cause it didn't sound too healthy to me, lol. ummm, I think that's all my questions. I hope you've stuck around long enough to respond!
thanks,
Jennifer