Water is a force for good. It always has been. Without it, we would fall ill and die. That is why we are always urged to drink plenty: stay hydrated is the mantra in daily life, and in cool climates as well as hot ones. But what if this wonderful nectar we are putting into our bodies contains harmful substances? The immediate effects can be clear: stomach cramps, nausea, and diarrhea. For the most part, we can deal with these, even if ironically it requires us to drink more water (pure, healthy water, that is). With medical advice and perhaps in extreme cases, antibiotics, we can get back to normal soon enough.
What Are the Health Effects of Drinking Unclean Water?
There is another kind of damage that impure water can cause: it can reduce the efficiency of our immune system, that inbuilt protective force that fights off illness. If there are immunosuppressants in the water supply, what is supposed to be doing us good can be undermining us.
Before we run away with the idea that Immunosuppressants are, by definition, bad, let’s look at what they can be used for in a positive way. They are used in transplant situations to help prevent rejection of the organ by the host body. They are even used in certain cancer treatments, even though one of the effects of chemotherapy is to weaken the immune system. It is one of those counter-intuitive facts that only a specialist can really understand. These are some of the good points of immunosuppressants, but they are far outweighed by the bad ones.
Having a weakened immune system makes us prone to viral, bacterial, and fungal infections. It can lead to a situation where it seems every time you leave the house, you catch a cold or a cough. People become afraid of being in a public place, let alone the enclosed space of a bus or an airplane.
Cancer survivors who have been helped by chemotherapy have also been damaged by it, because it kills healthy cells as well as cancerous ones. That means when the treatment is finished, the patient faces a long road back to full fitness, with reduced energy and strength, and likely to catch any bug that is going around.
Corticosteroids can lead to immune system weakness, as can diabetes and kidney disease. Lifestyle choices such as alcohol abuse can compound the problem, so why take the chance of your water getting in on the act?
If your water contains immunosuppressants, you could be in a similar position.
Wastewater treatment plants can be culprits in this, along with the more obvious villains, such as raw sewage. It can be a horrible cycle, with one body excreting immunosuppressants, only for them to find their way into someone else, and the only way to prevent this is to have your water regularly tested. Water purity companies will analyze a property’s supply and remove toxins as well as less harmful impurities that can affect the taste and smell of water: iron and sulfur, for instance.
How Does Water Affect Your Immune System?
Clean, pure water is good for the body in general and helps to flush out undesirable chemicals. That is why when we receive a treatment that involves putting a potentially harmful substance in our system to do a specific job, we are encouraged to drink plenty of water to get rid of it when it has done its work. This applies to chemotherapy and also more common occurrences, such as vaccinations, where traces of diseases such as measles, shingles, and flu are introduced to stimulate the body’s natural reaction to fight them.
If your water is pure and free from anything that may have a harmful effect, it is good in this respect, but if it contains an immunosuppressant, the reverse is true.
Screening water for immunosuppressants may not be something everybody needs, but when it is necessary it can be done very effectively, and the technology is advancing all the time. Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used by water treatment companies because it can create a virtual model of a water treatment plant, with algorithms able to not only spot but also predict trouble.
As residential, commercial and industrial properties become ever more sophisticated, AI is being introduced in them too, with the same aims: to monitor water quality and purity in real time and to anticipate trouble so that steps can be taken to prevent it.
One day, perhaps all properties will have water monitoring going on 24/7. We already have smart meters that allow occupiers to see how much energy they are using, rather than waiting for someone to read the meter and send them a bill. In the meantime, to guard against weakened immune systems, the sensible option is to bring in a reputable water purity expert to keep tabs on your own situation.
What Happens if You Drink Unfiltered Well Water?
Having a private supply of water from a well may seem to have a kind of romantic side. It makes some people feel one step closer to nature. Rather than getting their water from a government-sponsored source that supplies everyone else as well, they have this stuff that came down as rain and was filtered through soil and rock before arriving in the well, as it has done for centuries. But what exactly did it travel through to get there? Dirt, fertilizers, random chemicals, and who knows what else, that’s what. If you wouldn’t put your food on the ground in a field or some factory yard and eat it from there, why take the chance of consuming the same kinds of impurities from the water that takes that route?
Clean water is everyone’s friend, but if it is contaminated and is causing your immune system to be compromised, that is contributing to your own downfall. It is shooting yourself in the foot, not deliberately but through lack of foresight and action. This is something that can and should be avoided.
