SC - reasonably safe water at Pennsic

[Elaine Koogler]

I really think that the whole water thing has to do with one's own
constitution...some folks are really sensitive to such things and others are
not.  I normally drink well water here at home, and therefore am not used to all
of the chemicals I encounter in city water when I travel for business or
pleasure.  I have a natural propensity toward "Pennsic Revenge" or whatever you
want to call it,having lost most of my "processing equipment" in two bouts of
colon cancer.  Therefore, I assume that unfamiliar water (and also food, on
occasion) can cause me problem, so I plan accordingly:  I use only bottled water
when I travel, and take plenty of Imodium with me!

I think we all need to be as careful as possible about water at Pennsic, but the
level of care (bottled vs filtered vs straight water) will depend on our own
resistance to this type of illness.

Kiri

"Alderton, Philippa" wrote:

> Beatrix skrev:
>
> >Perhaps this is the answer - Philippa, you're from Ohio, which is not to
> far
> >from where pennsic is held, therefore your body is used to the local bugs
> in
> >the water system. However, if someone from a farther area, say the Outlands
> >or Caid, come to Pennsic, their body is used to compleatly different flora
> >and fauna in the water and their intestines get the shock of their life at
> >the first swallow.
>
> Actually, I rather doubt that would apply, since I'm 4 hours from Pennsic,
> meaning at least 200 miles, and I'm on the opposite side of a major drainage
> system, the Ohio River. I'm also not insenstive to nasty bugs- I've been
> exposed to a couple of situations involving mild food poisoning, and I
> rejected the offending substances within an hour and was fine, where other
> folks kept them down and were very sick for quite a while- trust me, if
> there were something seriously wrong with Pennsic water, I'd be the first to
> know ;-)
>
> On the other hand, I've seen quite a few digestive upsets caused by stress-
> add traveling, new foods, new situations, unaccustomed times to eat, and a
> sensitive system, in addition to an unfamiliar combination of chemical
> substances in your water, and you're likely to get a reaction- for that
> reason, many horse people will take along the animal's familiar water and
> feed to shows or other events.
>
> Many people in the West have, for example, a fairly high, compared to here,
> asbestos content in their water (no, ingested it's not harmful- just when
> breathed by smokers- there's a synergistic effect) and their bodies might be
> used to dealing with it and over -compensating for it. I've also seen things
> happen like that with different iron, floride, sulpher and chlorine levels,
> among others. It doesn't mean the water is bad, just different- and if you
> were to remove all the other stress levels from the change, for example,
> drink the water in your own living room at home, chances are that there'd be
> no reaction at all, other than to the different taste.
>
> Pennsic water is OK. If you know you're sensitive, drink bottled water-
> that's only good sense. If you're sensitive to sunlight, use sunscreen. If
> your feet or joints have never been toughened up by constant barefoot
> outdoor walking, wear good shoes. If you're allergic to mushrooms or nuts,
> don't eat them. If you're allergic to bee stings, get and carry your epi-pen
> with you at all times. In short, you know your system- we don't. Apply the
> same good sense you'd use at home at Pennsic, and you'll be just fine.
>
> Phlip, who often wonders what it is about Pennsic which makes people who are
> normally perfectly sensible forget to pack their brains.....
>
> Nolo disputare, volo somniare et contendere, et iterum somniare.
>
> phlip at morganco.net
>
> Philippa Farrour
> Caer Frig
> Southeastern Ohio
>
> "All things are poisons.  It is simply the dose that distinguishes between a
> poison and a remedy." -Paracelsus
>
> "Oats -- a grain which in England sustains the horses, and in
> Scotland, the men." -- Johnson
>
> "It was pleasant to me to find that 'oats,' the 'food of horses,' were
> so much used as the food of the people in Johnson's own town." --
> Boswell
>
> "And where will you find such horses, and such men?" -- Anonymous
>
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