Sick/Drinking water

[Helen Clayton]

Has anyone experienced any sort of tummy bugs whilst in Florida. I've just been reading the family disboard and there is a thread where many people say they have had really bad sickness (v paranoid here as am really phobic) which has either been from drinking the water or a rotavirus caught due to being in crowds of people.

We have been twice before and not had a problem and I'm sure we drank the water but I can't recall exactly. We now have a child who is 2 and a half and the last thing I want is for her to get a tummy bug - the last time she was ill it lasted a whole week and I couldn't find anything to give her to stop the sickness.

Am I just worrying over nothing?

 

[GO2209]

I would expect the tap water to be 'fine'. The US likes it lawsuits and I am sure if the water quality was poor all hell would break loose.

The water is 'different'. The smell and taste. It's a bit, erm. sulphery? People can have an adverse reaction to things that are 'different'.

On occasions I have felt a bit off-colour, but I think that is more to do with going in and out of frigid air-conditioning to blistering heat, than anything I have consumed.

I stick to bottled water, but then again I wont drink the tap water at home!

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

The drinking water is perfectly safe . . . because of the little things that are added to make sure it is Because of these, some of the more British delecate tummies can have a bit of a reaction - never heard of any sickness though, more little difficulty with going to the toilet and a "glass like" feeling (am I making myself clear here ).

We have friends who live on the Atlantic Coast in florida, in fact Jo is an ex-pat who moved 26 years ago and she says it's perfectly safe.

We have tended the last couple of years to use bottled water for our coffee machines and water bottles, only using drinks fountains in the parks if necessary. The bottled water is SO cheap, it's not even worth the hassle of comparing free -vs- couple of bucks for a 5 litre container.

Don't worry - my feeling is at the end of the day the water over there is an acquired taste, I always think it tastes kind of chloriney (if there's such a word ).

 

[Shuttle Fan]

We've just come back from our third trip and until this time no-one has ever been ill.

This time, on our third day, a particularly hot one at Epcot, our DD came out in a rash - prickly heat. Then four days she developed a sickness bug. The hotel staff said there was a 24 hr bug going round, but their best advice was to continually keep washing hands. They thought the germs were most easily spread by handrails -all the time we stand in line we are touching the handrails etc., which everyone else has touched. Also she hadn't really drank any tap water only bottled.

 

[Mpet]

Hi Helen

I can't add much to the previous posts - only to confirm that in all our visits we have never had problems with drinking water. We usually buy bottled so we can put it in the fridge but we have drunk tap water with no problems. But, it does taste 'different'.

With virus tummy bugs, there's not really a lot you can do to avoid them. With so many crowds, if there is a virus going around it's bound to spread quite rapidly. Washing hands regularly and avoiding standing too close to people may minimise the risk.

If DD has a delicate tummy, you may want to take some re-hydration sachets with you. From past experince with childrens tummy bugs, they usually run their course and there's not much in the way of medication to stop them, but plenty of fluids - especially in the Florida heat are vital

Maxine

 

[Kenbar]

One of the biggest problems facing Brits abroad is dehydration. We are not used to drinking when we're not thirsty. (Beer and cocktails excluded!)One of the symptoms of dehydration is nausea and a "fragile stomach." I have come across scores of people with this symptom and if they invariably blame the food or the water.
In a hot climate evryone should take lots of water/soft drinks even if they don't feel thirsty.

Ken

 

[Mazzy]

On both our trips in 99 and 2000 we used drining flasks filled up frequently at the fountains in the parks with no problems. The water tasted OK, the only water we found tasted awful was at Sea World - YUK!!!

As the weather won't be as hot this trip (or I may be wrong as I know it is unpredictable!) I don't know whether we will bother carrying water bottles and just drink with our meals.

We all know how fast tummy bugs spread round schools, so with the crowds at WDW there is a high chance of catching the dreaded germs I would guess!

 

[Olaf]

I always buy bottled water. The only thing I do at the tap is brush my teeth. Our water is heavily chlorinated and has flouride added.

The "drink a lot of water" advice is spot on. It's really hard to tell when you're getting dehydrated, and plain water is the absolute best thing for that.

 

[Hilary]

I very rarely drink anything BUT the water from drinking fountains in the parks and so far haven't suffered any ill effects from it. However, I agree that it doesn't taste the same as at home!

It would seem more likely that this tummy bug was spread through more conventional airbourne / contact routes.

A lot of people will have an 'upset stomach' when away from home and out of their usual eating habits, so I'd suggest going prepared (with Dioralyte sachets, for example) incase your DD feels a bit out of sorts. Try not to worry - it may never happen

 

[Helen Clayton]

Think you're all right thanks - it isn't the water, although if it was it would be much easier to avoid.

Lets just hope we can avoid the germs this time. I'm sure once I get there I won't have time to worry about it.

Thanks
Helen

 

[elisebutt]

I also read an article about the water, and the main reason that Orlando water tastes 'funny' is that there is a lot of naturally occurring sulphur in it. We always get loads of bottled anyway and take loads with us in the parks.

 

[WDWfan uk]

I agree with Ken - a lot of the time upset stomachs are caused by dehydration and it's a mistake to try and quench that thirst with highly carbonated drinks/coffee/alcohol.

The Florida water is very safe but our relatives who live there buy bottled water because they simply don't like the taste. I don't have a particularly strong stomach but I'll happily drink tap water there but prefer to have bottled, again, because of the taste. My sons always drink the park water and none of us has ever had bad stomachs whilst out there.

Another source of stomach problems is food that has been kept out a long time at room temperature, cold buffets etc but in Florida, the instances of tummy trouble from this is comparatively rare compared to somewhere like Spain.

 

[abaldacci]

If I may add something to this water topic....
Only Florida water taste that bad not all over the US, and I would bet my life the water is safe to drink their is less clorine in my moms pool than in the drinking water there. nothing can survive that much clorine. It does taste bad, but will not hurt you

 

[bengunn]

We have just come back from 3 weeks in Florida we were not ill at all. The water in the Orlando area does taste a bit supherous but you get used to it - you must drink a lot of water to avoid dehydration - I would NOT advise bottled water as then you will not get used to the local water taste and will not drink enough thus getting ill through dehydration. If you chill the wate and add lots of ice it tastes better.

For what its worth, the water on the Gulf coast tastes a lot better.

 

[floridalol]

We only drink bottled water anyway, even at home, ice cold water is sold everywhere at the theme parks and it makes sense to keep drinking throughout the day - previous replies are correct in saying that a lot of illness is due to dehydration.