In our part of the globe, except for the hilly areas, summer in general and May in particular are regarded as months of discomfort for a host of reasons, the diseases not being the least of them.

Most of these diseases are caused by contaminated water and carelessness on part of the patients.

Water is a life sustainer. In the human body, water is present in all tissues. Even the seemingly hard tissues like bones and teeth contain 10 per cent to 20 per cent water. Thus we need water almost all the time, since we lose water even as we breathe. And in the summer heat, we lose even more water and to quench thirst, we tend to any water that’s readily available.

But water being a life sustainer, if we forget that bacteria and viruses too, thrive in it, we have to pay the price.

So what can you do to avoid dehydration and water-borne diseases? Here are some golden rules:

• Drink water for bodily nourishment

Water acts as a carrier in the human body and needs to be replenished regularly.On an average, an adult requires 13 glasses of water daily.

• Drink water regularly, not just when you are thirsty

A modest deficiency in the level of our body fluids can cause a critical difference. With a loss of just 5 per cent of body fluids, perceptible symptoms of dehydration appear. Such a small loss can also surprisingly reduce our capacity for work by 20 to 30 per cent.

So the water level must be kept up by drinking water regularly, and not only when we are thirsty. Thirst and satiety govern water intake, but unfortunately, there is a time lag between the actual loss of water and signals of thirst. It is thus vital to be alert and more so in summer.

• Avoiding heatstroke

If you are sweating excessively, drink water even if you are not thirsty. Loss of water as sweat is the body’s mechanism to keep cool. This is what happens in the daytime in summer and we maintain body temperature in the normal range.

Excessive loss of water can take place in two ways due to the heat. In very dry and hot weather, any outdoor exposure to heat causes immediate and excessive water loss, for cooling purposes, through sweating.

But not only heat, humidity too, can cause the body to lose water. Humidity does not allow the evaporation of sweat, so the body is not cooled. As a compensatory mechanism, more sweating takes place in a bid to cool the body.

In both the instances of water loss, adequate and timely ingestion of water as compensation is critical. The danger is that the signals for thirst may occur much after the need for water, so that the body stays heated for some time. This compels the body to react to the build-up in body temperature. The early symptoms are likely to be dry mouth, rapid pulse, fever or increased internal temperature and fainting spells. This is referred to as a heat stroke/sun stroke and is a potentially dangerous condition.

• Do not quench thirst with colas, tea or coffee

The best way to effectively quench your thirst is to drink water that is free from contaminants and has an adequate amount of minerals. Another effective method is to drink nimbu paani with some sugar and a pinch of salt in it. In summer, water melons and musk melons are also great thirst quenchers.

• Ensure the quality of the water you are drinking

To prevent being struck with deadly waterborne diseases, it is important to drink clean and safe drinking water. This means that the water must not have contaminants in the form of deadly micro-organisms and chemicals. The quality of tap water is not necessarily adequate, particularly in summer. To ensure quality, the water must be filtered with one of many inexpensive devices and then boiled for more than 5 minutes. It may be filtered again to remove residual impurities.

Another way is to attach to water taps fairly effective readymade filters that also expose the water to safe but effective levels of iodine.

• Avoid packaged drinking water if you can

In our fashionably fast-paced times, most of us resort to bottled/packaged water. It is convenient and handy and has therefore spawned a huge market with clever marketing that preys on health and safety concerns. Consumers are ready to pay 250 to 10,000 times the cost of tap water for this product.

But packaged drinking water, unless it says otherwise, is nothing but ordinary tap water treated, in most cases, with ozone to meet certain quality standards. Not surprisingly, several surveys in India and the USA have found that most packaged water is akin to tap water and many brands were found to be contaminated and unsafe.

Packaged drinking water is not to be confused with genuine mineral water. Water drawn from an underground source or a spring and containing dissolved solids is termed mineral water. The minerals present in the water impart a distinctive taste to the water. Sometimes minerals such as calcium and magnesium are added to bottled water, but that is not the same as natural mineral water.

• Water purification systems for the home must be chosen with care

In addition to the methods mentioned above for water purification at home, there are two fairly common and effective methods: the charcoal filter cum ultraviolet light treatment systems and the reverse osmosis (RO) systems.

These systems must be chosen when tap water is not good enough.

Any ultraviolet light cum charcoal filter system must be chosen with care by ensuring that it confirms to some reasonable standards of quality. In general, such systems do not eliminate many chemicals and some micro-organisms.

An effective RO system can eliminate most impurities but the danger here is that it will also deprive the water of many essential nutrients. However, when tap water has dangerous chemicals or microbes present, then an RO system can be very useful. Once again, any such system must confirm to accepted standards. Water softeners are being sold aggressively today but are not recommended for drinking water.

There are many home water purifier/systems available in the market.

Here’s what they claim to do. And what they cannot:

Zero B ( RO Plus)

Many stage purification system

• Pre-filter (removes suspended particles),

• Sediment filter (removes fine sand and clay),

• Silver coated carbon filter (removes odour and organic impurities and chemicals)

• Disinfectant and resin carbon cartridge (iodine released here kills bacteria and viruses)

• membrane (removes heavy metals, pesticides, excessive salts, bacteria and viruses)

Kent (Mineral RO)

Dual stage filtration

• RO

• Ultra violet light (penetrates micro-organisms and its DNA- inactivating/ killing bacteria, viruses)

Special feature: Dissolved solids in water can be controlled

Aqua Guard

• Has a range of products using different combinations of purification methods

• Includes electronic boiling, which is purification in a UV chamber

Online Filters

• Filtration (removes impurities)

• Purification (iodine disinfects)

• Purification (activated carbon, also removes bad taste)

• Easy to maintain, cheap and can be self-serviced. But does not remove pesticides and heavy metals. Does not reduce the total dissolved solids in water.

AquaPura (Chlorine tablets/ solution)

• Kills bacteria. Does not kill viruses or remove heavy metals, pesticides and dissolved solids

But before installing a home water purification system, it is a good idea to get your tap water tested. That will help you decide what system you require and help save unnecessary expenditure.

Portable water testing kit

Jal-TARA: This kit can test 14 essential parameters for drinking water. These include tests for physical characteristics (pH and total dissolved solids), biological characteristics (Coliform bacteria ) and some chemicals such as nitrates. The kit is from Tara Environmental Monitoring Facility, (www.devalt.org).

The CPCB also offers water testing facilities. Check www.cpcb.nic.in. There’s also Delhi Test House (www.delhitesthouse.com).