4 ms·

My cynicism towards 'health experts' is not unjustified. The wiki page on giardiasis [1] gives a good overview of some data. Some random snippets: - According

My cynicism towards 'health experts' is not unjustified. The wiki page on giardiasis [1] gives a good overview of some data. Some random snippets: - According to a review of the literature from 2000, there is little evidence linking the drinking of water in the North American wilderness and Giardia - Treatment is not always necessary as the infection usually resolves on its own - It can result in weakness, loss of appetite, stomach cramps, vomiting, bloating, excessive gas, and burping. Wiki gives about 300,000,000 people with giardiasis. The article mentions 4,600 needed hospitalization. So a hospitalization rate of 0.000005 with the typical consequences being gassy and having the shits for a few weeks. Being afraid of this sort of stuff is simply irrational. Another datum I left off is that 3-7% of Americans already currently have it. There may be a reason for concern about 'natural' water, but this certainly does not seem to be it. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardiasis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardiasis

kurthr 9y ago
You have clearly never had Giardia or it seems known anyone who has. I have, and let me say that it gives you a deep and terrifyingly intimate knowledge of your bowels, the places available to relieve yourself, and the contents of your excrement. You can spend many hours each day in wonder and awe. Note that although you can live untreated you will become a vector for the disease... it may be that an immune response will allow it to pass in a few days (if you've had it several times before), but you can still pass it on to others. Often symptoms last for several weeks or months unless treated with flagyl (typical treatments last 1-2 weeks). It is quite bad for your liver. Many of the livestock around the world have it (or other parasites). I don't want to be near anyone else who has any of them, and I think immuno-compromised, elderly, children or pregnant women would be rationally quite afraid.
- indubitable 9y ago
  It's unwise to speculate of things you know nothing of. I've lived for years in areas where incidence rates of giardia push upwards of 30% - alongside numerous other 'sicknesses'. And there are literally enforced no sanitary standards on food establishments. A big part of the reason for my views is because of my own life experience. Have I had giardia? Almost certainly, though I couldn't tell you for certain. When I first started my travels stomach upset was typical though hardly intolerable. But as I adjusted to less than sterile conditions I'm vastly healthier than ever before - far moreso than my time before in the US where a million rules and regulations tryied to protect me from everything, yet inevitably failed. There was an interesting study a few years back [1] that sought to study a connection between dust/bacteria and asthma. The results proved to be completely the opposite of what they went in hypothesizing and perhaps even more remarkable. Want to have kids with healthy immune systems free of respiratory disease? Who doesn't? Then make sure they're exposed to all sorts of dirt, bacteria, dust, and all these sorts of fun things - because exposure there is linked to a substantial decline in the risk of later allergies/asthma/etc. Our immune system is, by far, the most sophisticated tool we have against illness. And priming it is not exactly a new idea - it is the fundamental basis of operation for vaccines. A vaccine is generally just injecting a weakened or otherwise 'handicapped' version of a virus into your body training the immune system to make it more likely to be able to resist the real thing should it encounter it in the world. [1] - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/keeping-too-clean-a-house-may-raise-kids-risk-asthma-allergies/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/keeping-too-clean-a-house-may-r...

kurthr 9y ago

You have clearly never had Giardia or it seems known anyone who has. I have, and let me say that it gives you a deep and terrifyingly intimate knowledge of your bowels, the places available to relieve yourself, and the contents of your excrement. You can spend many hours each day in wonder and awe. Note that although you can live untreated you will become a vector for the disease... it may be that an immune response will allow it to pass in a few days (if you've had it several times before), but you can still pass it on to others. Often symptoms last for several weeks or months unless treated with flagyl (typical treatments last 1-2 weeks). It is quite bad for your liver. Many of the livestock around the world have it (or other parasites). I don't want to be near anyone else who has any of them, and I think immuno-compromised, elderly, children or pregnant women would be rationally quite afraid.

indubitable 9y ago
It's unwise to speculate of things you know nothing of. I've lived for years in areas where incidence rates of giardia push upwards of 30% - alongside numerous other 'sicknesses'. And there are literally enforced no sanitary standards on food establishments. A big part of the reason for my views is because of my own life experience. Have I had giardia? Almost certainly, though I couldn't tell you for certain. When I first started my travels stomach upset was typical though hardly intolerable. But as I adjusted to less than sterile conditions I'm vastly healthier than ever before - far moreso than my time before in the US where a million rules and regulations tryied to protect me from everything, yet inevitably failed. There was an interesting study a few years back [1] that sought to study a connection between dust/bacteria and asthma. The results proved to be completely the opposite of what they went in hypothesizing and perhaps even more remarkable. Want to have kids with healthy immune systems free of respiratory disease? Who doesn't? Then make sure they're exposed to all sorts of dirt, bacteria, dust, and all these sorts of fun things - because exposure there is linked to a substantial decline in the risk of later allergies/asthma/etc. Our immune system is, by far, the most sophisticated tool we have against illness. And priming it is not exactly a new idea - it is the fundamental basis of operation for vaccines. A vaccine is generally just injecting a weakened or otherwise 'handicapped' version of a virus into your body training the immune system to make it more likely to be able to resist the real thing should it encounter it in the world. [1] - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/keeping-too-clean-a-house-may-raise-kids-risk-asthma-allergies/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/keeping-too-clean-a-house-may-r...