We're drinking it! What are we going to do??
By JenInTN
@JenInTN (27514)
United States
July 16, 2011 8:27am CST
I was researching some stuff and ran across a news report I remember watching a few years ago. It disgusted me and now that a few years has passed, I wonder how bad it is now?
Ok..so in the larger cities here, some studies were done to the drinking water. There was this one thing that our filtration systems were not prepared for....prescriptions. They found traces of prescription medicines in the water. Some were where people flushed unused medicine and some were just where they were passed through our bodies...much the same manner as a drug test is given...that kind of leftover stuff.
SO...we are drinking prescription medicines..oh my...I am feeling ill from the thought.
I am providing a link to a story but I would say research it further.
What do you think? Why haven't they thought of a new filtration method? Is there one? What can we do? Have you heard this claim before?
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6040196&page=1
SO...we are drinking prescription medicines..oh my...I am feeling ill from the thought.
I am providing a link to a story but I would say research it further.
What do you think? Why haven't they thought of a new filtration method? Is there one? What can we do? Have you heard this claim before?
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6040196&page=14 people like this
15 responses
@celticeagle (189880)
• Boise, Idaho
18 Jul 11
I would hope that there is not enough to hurt us and we flush it out of our body the same time. Maybe that is why we have those weird feelings sometimes(Or is that just me?)
. I REALLY do not think there is enough in the water to hurt us. I would think they are deluted enough they can't hurt us and then we flush it out. I hope so anyway!
. I REALLY do not think there is enough in the water to hurt us. I would think they are deluted enough they can't hurt us and then we flush it out. I hope so anyway!2 people like this
@celticeagle (189880)
• Boise, Idaho
20 Jul 11
That is really scarey! It adds to the preservatives that we need to wash out and/or not consume. Ya, the chicken with the hormones? Ugh! I saw a Moore doc about food production in America and part of it showed the life of a chicken. It was pretty sad/sick.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
19 Jul 11
It is a scary thought. The article I posted is actually the less shocking of the articles that I read about it. There are actually scientists that believe alot of the issues that people are facing with their health could be directly related. There were some hormonal issues mentioned affecting children because of it too. They said it was the chicken too though.
Thanks for responding.
1 person likes this
@purplealabaster (22085)
• United States
16 Jul 11
This is actually very concerning for a number of reasons. You have mentioned a few, but the biggest one that springs to my mind is allergies. I know people that are severely allergic to certain medications ... so allergic, in fact, that even minute amounts can cause them to have a severe allergic reaction and need immediate medical treatment. If these medications are found in the drinking water, even if the amounts are so small and dilluted that they will not cause an immediate reaction, they could build up over time and cause an allergic reaction so severe that emergency medical treatment might not be enough to save the person's life, especially if they do not know that they have been exposed to the medication.
2 people like this
@Orson_Kart (8273)
• United Kingdom
16 Jul 11
You have now got me concerned about it too! I am rubbing my chin here. Which makes a change :P
@dpk262006 (58679)
• Delhi, India
16 Jul 11
Hi Jen!
Good Post!
I am not aware that you also face this problem. Drinking potable water is even not safe in the capital city of India. Most of the houses have their own 'filtering systems' so that they could drink clean and clear water to avoid water borne diseases.
@dpk262006 (58679)
• Delhi, India
16 Jul 11
Viji - It is very true that ever increasing population and limited supply of potable drinking water makes it difficult to get pure water. Also, people use potable drinking water for gardening and washing their cars etc., which is not less than a crime.
The filtering system of Government authorities/bodies supplying water and the main water lines/pipes carrying water to our homes are faulty and rusty, therefore, private companies manufacturing 'water filters; are thriving day by day.
@dpk262006 (58679)
• Delhi, India
17 Jul 11
Is it possible for you or me to change the system? I think not.
@carolscash (9491)
• United States
20 Sep 11
My husband used to be in charge of a city water system and you would be amazed at the things that just do not get filtered out of the water. It almost makes me sick to think of the crazy things that are in our water. All water has traces of arsenic in it and we all know that arsenic is poison, so each time that we take a drink of water we are ingesting some of it.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (230350)
• Chile
16 Jul 11
I must be thankful for our water. I live near the Andes mountains and the water comes clean in that respect. It is treated to make it potable, but essentially it is of a good quality. There are other places in the world, and also in my country, where water is terrible and can´t be treated enough as to be potable. In the north, there is a city where mining throws arsenic into the water and not everyone has the money to buy it bottled.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
17 Jul 11
I bet your water tastes wonderful. As places become moe and more populated I think we will be seeing more of a problem. It's not so bad where I live..I live in the mountains, but in the bigger cities like New York...well...that is where they really saw the problem.
Thanks for responding and I hope you have been doing well.
@krajibg (11922)
• Guwahati, India
16 Jul 11
Hi marguicha,
That is much better or to say best when we compare with water supply in other large cities.
And yes, arsenic in water is that which proves fatal in the long run. Certain part of out city has this problem. Who will better it? Public themselves or the public representatives who are a little lesser than gods ?
@marguicha (230350)
• Chile
17 Jul 11
Hi,
My city is surrounded by mountains, so I don´t think we will have water problems. But because we are literally smothered by the said mountains, we have a lot of smog. There´s no way the foul air can go elsewhere and even if measures have been taken ( like we can´t have fireplaces and industries have to meet certain standards) it is still terrible. Cars cannot all circulate the same day (there are numbers and we must stick to that). Fortunatly, the Metro is reaching many parts of town and that´s clean and fast. That is a blessing because our city has several millions of inhabitants.
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
1 Sep 11
I have heard this before I am pretty sure. The best way to be safe and know that you are getting good clean water is to buy spring water. Being in a position to bottle and test your own is the only way that we can know for sure that we are safe from chemicals or harmful bacteria, but any spring water company should be fairly safe.
There are a number of companies around here that supply water fairly cheaply as well as some free springs and I know that there are lots more springs in the USA. Maybe one is nearby to you? http://www.findaspring.com/
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
1 Sep 11
Thanks RawBill! I will be checking that link out. I don't even think the filtration options help alot against this one. Bottling companies aren't regulated here like the food. They can take it out of the tap..stick it in a bottle and say it came from anywhere they want...sad. I think the spring is the best option..thanks.
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
23 Jul 11
Are you saying that you are drinking treated sewage? There was talk of doing that here in my country as a choice between desalinating sea water or treating sewage and everyone pretty well said no. Where I live it is not ever going to happen because believe it or not we only have septic systems still...hard to believe isn't it?
I do vaguely recall hearing something along the lines of the point of your article some time ago and yes, I'm pretty shocked. It is indeed a sickening thought.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
23 Jul 11
Not entirely..there are different means for different areas. There is a mixture I guess. It is all treated no matter where it comes from and there is the chance that water will be reused. Depending on the source for that area I guess. When you get into the bigger cities..yes there is a greater chance of using treated sewer water...gross...it's terrible when you think about it.
There are still areas here that have septic systems. The house I lived in before here had one. BUT they are becoming more and more scarce.
I hope that your area does stay safe of this issue...it is a scary thought. I am glad I live in a more rural area too.
Thanks for responding.
@derek_a (10873)
•
18 Jul 11
I have heard this before. I read an article about 20 years ago about tests done on drinking water then. I don't know whether it's me or not, but there does seem to be a lot of different sicknesses and medical problems that weren't around when I was a kid. Food sensitivity seems to be a particularly bad problem these days. Making me wonder whether it is that or if we are getting poisoned in other ways. We alway use water filters, for all water that we use for drinking or cooking. We filter three times, and I must admit the taste is so much different. My family think I am crazy, but I have been doing this for the past 20 years or so. 
_Derek
_Derek1 person likes this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
19 Jul 11
They might think that now, but I bet they will take that habit into their lives. No water will taste the same to them.
20 years...wow...makes you wonder how bad the problem actually is now. People are being prescribed more and more medications that would stay in the water.
Thanks for the response!
@bunnybon7 (50970)
• Holiday, Florida
18 Jul 11
thats not all. ive heard horror stories for years like that about water plus the fact that my 3rd husband used to say, how are we sure they are cleaning water that much when theres cancer patients, etc. all using it and reusing it? i dont know a lot about it but this was his idea as why there is more and more of some illnesses like cancer as time goes on. i know there is not much can be done unless you drink bottled all the time and is it safe either. ?
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
19 Jul 11
I hav actually heard that there is very little regulation where bottled water is concerned. I could grab a bottle of tap water and swear it was from the Andes and no one would know any better. I think there was an investigation on 20/20 once where they busted a bottled water company tricking everyone.
It is scary and who knows what illnesses we are ultimately getting from the water.
Thanks for the input...great points!
@Shellyann36 (11383)
• United States
16 Jul 11
That is a scary thought. I had considered all sorts of problems with our local drinking water but never even considered prescription meds as being one of them. Gives a whole new meaning to contamination. I will have to further research this and take proper precautions for our family.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
17 Jul 11
I know! It's a trip for sure. I wouldn't have thought about it either. I think the bigger cities are the ones seeing it mostly now..but it is just a matter of time. Almost everyone I know takes some type of prescription. That means they are all passing it to the water.
Thanks for the response and come back and tell us what you find.
Thanks for the response and come back and tell us what you find.
@Lore2009 (7378)
• United States
19 Jul 11
I've heard of this before. I read it in an article and I was disgusted. It said that there are prescriptions from anti-depressants to who knows what else. That means we're like overdosed if we are already prescribed. My family bought a really expensive filter system and we use a lot of money on it. So hopefully that is clearing our waters but who really knows.. the air we breathe is already medicated with so much toxins already.
@gdesjardin (1918)
• United States
19 Jul 11
Wow! That article just turned my stomach!! I never even thought to think that there could be traces of medicine in my drinking water! Not to mention human waste! Yuck!! I drink a lot of water each day. I do have a water filter at home, however, I wonder how much gets through the filter. Not to mention, I do drink a lot of water at my parents house and they don't have a filter. I know they say in the article that the small amounts won't really hurt you, but how can they be sure over the lifetime of a human. They are just now starting to discover this and people are now drinking more water than what they were doing 20+ years ago. I wonder what they might find out the effects are in 10+ more years. The do need to have a place to recycle your old medicine. I do know that we toss a lot of old or expired medicine, there needs to be a safe place to dispose of these.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
19 Jul 11
The article I posted the link for was actually one of the kinder and older articles where this subject is concerned. If you research it..you are going to find some pretty crazy information about this and how they do feel like it is effecting us. I don't think anyone considered the fact that medicines could be lingering in the water even after it was treated. I guess the thing is that it is not something that needs to be "killed" to keep us safe....it is a danger that is altogether different.
The article did say that a home filter system helped some. I probably need to invest in one.
Thanks for responding and it grossed me out too.
@bounce58 (17380)
• Canada
20 Jul 11
I think I've heard of this before. And I believe that no matter how sophisticated the filtration system, drinking stuff like these is unavoidable, specially in big cities.
Did I just hear the water bottle companies cheering?!
We just hope that our bodies, and our immune systems are strong enough to fight off any effects of these 'garbage' in our drinking water.
We just hope that our bodies, and our immune systems are strong enough to fight off any effects of these 'garbage' in our drinking water.@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
23 Jul 11
Well..the bottle companies might be cheering wildly but there was this report on 20/20 that I saw calling out those companies. Apparently they are not regulated and can fill up a bottle with tap water and pass it off as being from the Andes if they want too. Scary really.
Thinking about the different medicines in the water now is crazy scary too.
Thanks for responding.
@hardworkinggurl (37062)
• United States
16 Jul 11
Hi Jen 
Oh my is right as I am a big water drinker. I consume almost a gallon daily as I have supplemented water for any type of sugar juice and or any colas. Hmm, I do have a filter here at home though I do not think it is enough. Sadly there really is no sure way of looking at what we do to prevent the infiltrations in the water systems as I understand that bottle water is not any safer then it is from tap these days. So what are we to do when water we think is safe and it really isn't. Lot's think about here but really what can we do differently.
Oh my is right as I am a big water drinker. I consume almost a gallon daily as I have supplemented water for any type of sugar juice and or any colas. Hmm, I do have a filter here at home though I do not think it is enough. Sadly there really is no sure way of looking at what we do to prevent the infiltrations in the water systems as I understand that bottle water is not any safer then it is from tap these days. So what are we to do when water we think is safe and it really isn't. Lot's think about here but really what can we do differently.1 person likes this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
17 Jul 11
There are a few programs that are encouraging people t turn their unused prescriptions in to a pharmacy or a doctor..but unless people actually take the time..it's not going to matter. As far as the things that are passed through ones system....that makes me sick everytime I think of it....anyway...that is stuff they have to figure out how to filter it...sheww...gross.
Thanks for the response.
..that makes me sick everytime I think of it....anyway...that is stuff they have to figure out how to filter it...sheww...gross.
Thanks for the response. @krajibg (11922)
• Guwahati, India
16 Jul 11
Hi Jen,
This is too much man. Is it filtration anyway? And we are to use such water in our daily chores.
Water problem is one of the main issue in the bigger cities as the residents are supplied water - potable or not potable.
Few months back in my home city Guwahati there came out earth worm from the tap. Now will you drink water there? Actually there is need for scientifically tested and approved water. 
1 person likes this
