Survival - Finding Water. Finding water is a top priority in the wild. An adult can survive only a few days without water, but many weeks without food. Dehydration About 3/4 of the human body is water. Your body loses 0.5-1 gallon (2-3 liters) of water each day through sweating and urination, more if you are hot, exerting a lot of energy or are at high altitudes. This water must be replaced. Finding water is critical, if not, dehydration will inevitably occur. To prevent water loss, rest, keep cool, stay in the shade, and seek shelter. Waterborne contaminants In most parts of the world, surface water is seldom pure.
Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of the water. A common parasite is Giardia lamblia. Water purification There are three ways to treat suspected water: filtration, boiling and chemical waterpurification. · Filtering water doesn't purify it, but it reduces particles and sediment and makes the water taste better. . · Boiling is the most certain way of killing all microorganisms. Purification filters. How To Find Water & Make It Safe To Drink By Robert Wayne Atkins. How to Find Water and How to Make Water Safe to Drink Copyright © 1998, 2010, 2012 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E. All Rights Reserved. For Fair Use and Educational Purposes Only. Click Here for a Microsoft WORD printer friendly copy of this article. The three basic necessities which sustain life are: 1. air, 2. water, and 3. food. The Rule of Threes states that a person can live for: three-minutes without air, three-days without water, and three-weeks without food.
Without water or any other fluids, a person will die in about three days. Therefore, since water is one of life's most basic necessities, it is a subject we should not take for granted. Some Interesting Facts About Water and The Human Body The Human Body: 60% of our body is water. 75% of our brain is water. 83% of our blood is water and it transports nutrients and oxygen to the cells of our body. Water is necessary to properly digest food. Our urine is almost all water and it is how our body flushes and rids itself of toxic wastes. 1. How To Purify Water – Water Purification Process. “Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink,” as the old saying goes.
A more apt statement for these times might be, “water, water everywhere, but is it safe to drink?” And if it’s not, what is a reliable water purification process? Sadly, in this day and age there are few, if any, places where the water is safe to drink without treating, no matter how pristine and inviting it may look. Water in the wild often contains harmful microorganisms, bacteria and parasites that can cause a variety of ailments, such as giardia, dysentery, hepatitis, and hookworms.
Luckily, however, we’re going to learn a few simple ways how to purify water to make it safe for consumption. I. How to Purify Water — Water Purification Process: boiling The simplest method to purify water is probably boiling. You need to bring the water to a full, rolling boil for at least five minutes to be safe, with some experts recommending an even longer time. II. There are also several chemical purifiers on the market. III. That Water is Unsafe to Drink.
In this Survival Topic we will discuss why it is important that you consider ALL sources of drinking water as contaminated with disease causing organisms until you properly treat it. We will also touch upon the best method to make water safe to drink. Water Born Disease Organisms I want to hammer home to you the importance of always always always (did I say “always”?)
Treating any water before you use it for anything you will ingest into your body. In short, before you use water for any purpose that ends up in your body including drinking wateroral hygiene such as rinsing your mouth or brushing your teeth.cleaning of vegetables and other foodscleaning of cooking and eating utensilsdouching and enemas if you are into such things best left unsaid the water must first be de-contaminated so that all water borne pathogens are destroyed or rendered inert. Contaminated Water You Are Likely Drinking Feces Water can contain a range of nasty organisms you would do well to avoid. Escherichia coli (E. Water Purificaiton Methods for Survival, Emergency, & Backpacking | HowToTo.com. Water is a top priority as you can’t survive beyond three days without it. Unclean drinking water can have harmful bacteria, protozoa, cryptosporidiums, viruses, and chemicals in it.
Waterborne illnesses can cause flu-like symptoms, watery diarrhea, loss of appetite, substantial loss of weight, bloating, increased gas, nausea, fever, chills, coughing, muscle aches, cramps, blurred vision, difficulty breathing, seizures, paralysis, and even death. You don’t want to mess around with water that has not been purified. Take the necessary precautions and purify your water before you drink it. Simple rules like drinking clear water or water that is moving quickly don’t always apply. These are the most common methods to purify water in survival or backpacking setting. Tips for Improving Taste If the water is murky or cloudy first filter the water through a clean cloth. Survival Purification Methods Sterilize with Sunlight – Ultraviolet rays can kill micro organisms if exposed for enough time. Better than Bleach: Use Calcium Hypochlorite to Disinfect Water. Knowing how to make your water safe to drink can not only keep you healthy – it could save your life.
We often take for granted access to safe, uncontaminated, potable water. So much so that many people do not have the means or knowledge necessary to destroy disease causing organisms that may be lurking in their water supply. Many outdoorsmen, survivalists, and households preparing for emergency disasters rely upon common household bleach as a disinfecting agent to make water safe to drink. Bleach will destroy most (but NOT all!) Disease causing organisms (boiling water to make it safe to drink is always the best method). However there is a readily available chemical that far surpasses common household bleach in terms of the amount of water it treats per unit of volume and weight AND in terms of shelf-life, which is perhaps it most important advantage of all. What is not well known is Calcium Hypochlorite is far better for chemically disinfecting water.