Home Education Center High Risk Groups

Many of us are even more vulnerable to contamination of our drinking water.  Their defenses are weak or impaired, and good water quality is essential to protecting their health and well-being.

Particular dangers for these at-risk groups are below:

 

Infants & Chidren

Did you know that infants drink more water pound for pound than adults? An average one-year old drinks more than twice their body weight relative to their size as adults! An adult would have to drink 35 12oz cans of soda per day to match that drinking habit!

Very young children’s immune systems are not yet fully developed, making them less able than healthy adults to fight microbes in drinking water.  These microbes may induce diarrhea and vomiting, which may cause children to become dehydrated more quickly than adults. 

Children may also be more susceptible to chemical contaminants that affect learning, motor skills, and sex hormones during important stages of growth.

 

Pregnant Mothers

There is an obvious symbiotic relationship between a pregnant mother and her unborn baby.  Many contaminants are transferred from the mother to her fetus during pregnancy.

Water is a vital part of pregnancy. Water helps the body transport nutrients through the blood to the baby and flush out waste from the mother’s body.

The importance of keeping hydrated during pregnancy cannot be understated

  • Water is used in the amniotic sack, which protects the fetus in the womb, and amniotic fluid needs to replenish itself every hour
  • Blood volume – mostly water - doubles during pregnancy
  • Dehydration can cause premature labor, bringing serious health risks to the newborn bab

Elderly and Immuno-Compromised

Many groups, including the elderly, are potentially immuno-compromised:
  • People undergoing chemotherapy
  • Transplant or dialysis patients
  • People living with HIV/AIDS

The elderly have lower levels of natural immunity, often exacerbated with poor nutrition.

If you have a poorly performing digestive tract, you are more likely to experience digestive distress from high levels of some contaminants

 

3circles_sm
 
Bacterial Contaminants
  • Dangerous bacteria such as E. coli, giardia and cryptosporidia can be in your drinking water.  They can lead to dehydration from diarrhea and vomiting which may be more severe and rapid than in adults.  In some instances, these contaminants can cause death
  • In children under 5 years of age and the elderly, E. coli can also cause serious complications such as hemolytic uremic syndrome, in which the red blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys fail
  • Even though children are vulnerable to microbial contaminants, people with weakened immune systems are even more at risk
Nitrates

  • In moderate amounts, nitrates are a harmless (colorless, odorless, and tasteless)
  • In higher amounts, nitrates can cause methemoglobinemia ("blue babay syndrome") in infants
    • In infants 0-4 months taking baby formula mixed with nitrate-contaminated water, the exposure reacts with red blood cells, depleting oxygen and potentially suffocating the baby
    • An obvious symptom is bluish skin color, especially around the eyes and mouth.
  • If detected at this early stage, methemoglobinemia is rarely fatal, readily diagnosed, and rapidly reversed with clinical treatment
    • If your baby has a brownish-blue skin tone, take him/her to a hospital immediately. A medication called "methylene blue" will quickly return the baby's blood to normal
    • After the age of six months, methemoglobinemia is not a threat since the nitrate converting bacteria are no longer present in the baby’s stomach
  • Pregnant women can pass methemoglobin on to developing fetuses, and low birth weights have been attributed to high nitrates in water.   However, nursing mothers do not pass nitrites to infants via their milk.
Do not attempt to remove nitrates by boiling water. This will only concentrate the nitrates making their level even higher.
Lead
  • Lead can affect anyone, but children ages 6 and younger face special hazards because of their rapid development at this early age.  Lead exposure can harm babies even before they are born.  Even children who seem healthy can have high levels of lead in their bodies
  • Even exposure to low levels of lead can permanently affect children
  • Nervous system and kidney damage
  • Learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and decreased intelligence
  • Speech, language, and behavioral problem
  • Poor muscle coordination
  • Decreased muscle and bone growth
  • Hearing damage
  • While low-level exposure is most common, exposure to high levels of lead can have devastating effects on children, including seizures, unconsciousness, and in some cases death

Do not attempt to remove lead by boiling water. This will only concentrate the lead making their level even higher.


Copper

  • Children under one year of age are more sensitive to copper than adults
  • Long-term exposure (more than 14 days) to high levels of copper in drinking water may cause kidney and liver damage in infants
  • People with liver damage are also highly susceptible to copper toxicity
Arsenic
  • Arsenic can be devastating to a developing fetus.  Arsenic can cross the placenta potentially resulting in low birth weights, spontaneous abortions and other problems
  • Arsenic may harm also the body’s ability to fight disease
  • In general, exposure to elevated levels of arsenic can lead to skin damage or problems with circulatory systems, and may increase risk of getting cancer
Disinfection Byproducts (DPBs)

DPBs form in drinking water as a result of the unintended consequences of water treatment. Disinfectants like chlorine, added to kill pathogens, react with naturally-occurring organic matter (e.g., decaying vegetation).

There are some uncommon circumstances under which DBPs will get into private well water:

  • When shock chlorination is required to kill harmful bacteria in the well
  • In household septic systems when organic material reacts with chlorine-based cleaning products
  • Leaking in-ground swimming pools

Women consistently exposed to high levels of DPBs are at greater risk of having children with birth defects of the brain and spinal cord (e.g.,  spina bifida), and of early-term miscarriages

While DPBs may potentially cause serious problems for unborn babies, it is not recommended that pregnant women drink water that has not been disinfected.  Non-chlorinated water can cause a host of other problems that are much more likely to occur

How to remove DPBs from your drinking water.