When my family and I were traveling through India, Nepal and Thailand in 1985 and 1986 we had to be sure we boiled whatever water we drank. At first we relied upon people to sell us bottled water until we saw people refilling bottles at one place with a hose connected to a building. Then we realized there was no policing at all most places of water in Asia at that time. Has this changed since Then? I'm not sure at this point.
So, when we were traveling then we only drank Campos Orange soda(one of many Coca Cola owned names around the world like Fanta) which was sold then everywhere because we knew it had been boiled before bottling. Then when we arrived some place like Dharmshala, India in the Himalayan foothills at 6000 feet we bought a kerosene portable stove to boil water and then we would let it cool and carry plastic army canteens tied to our belts and only drink that during the day while traveling around meeting people or sightseeing wherever we were. Many people get sick if they just drink the water in Asia wherever they are and also many die from various water born illnesses. So, it is important to be prepared in these ways when you tarvel overseas to places you have never been before so you don't get sick. We also knoew then to never eat tomatoes or lettuce, but it usually was safe to eat hard boiled eggs, baked potatoes and lentils (dal Bhat) with curry. But, while traveling it usually wasn't safe to drink water most anywhere then unless you could boil it yourself and be sure you were going to be okay drinking it.
I have no experience with having Cryptosporidium in my intestines that I know of presently. However, I have had the India and Nepal version of giardia which is more difficult than the American one,especially if you an American and have never been exposed to Asian micro-organisms.
It took 4 members of my family 6 months including myself(4 of those months back in the U.S.) until the giardia problems subsided and we could once again gain weight and not look like we were from a World War II concentration camp anymore. Another problem having had giardia is likely my hypothyroidism is cause by my exposure to giardia as well. IN other words your body no longer produces enough Thyroid to keep your hormones in balance and if this is never treated you likely won't live past 50 or 60 years of age. So, in ones 40s I would recommend getting a T3 and T4 blood test for thyroid to make sure you aren't having this problem even if you never had any giardia symptoms while traveling to 2nd or 3rd world countries during your younger life (before 40 or 50)
However, luckily I have not had the Auto immune problems that many people who have been exposed to giardia around the world also have years later also.
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