Bottled Water

@n4seth At home I use filtered water and never the fridge ice/water device. ( The unit has to heat up to cool down causing bacteria). When we go anywhere we always take bottled Poland Spring water or our own home good filtered well water in a water bottle. We did this long before Covid19. irene5

@n4seth Are you asking because you are concerned about MAC in your water, or something else? I don't think (nor does my ID doc) it is likely to get infected with MAC through drinking water, but I don't have any sort of reflux disorder, so if you fear you will aspirate water, you may feel differently.There is currently no evidence Covid-19 can be transmitted through water.

Some people in this group are very diligent, always boiling their water, shunning water in restaurants, etc. Others are less so. I fall in the second group - I make sure our water filters at home are changed monthly (MAC grows very slowly, so I figure that minimizes risk.) I am cautious about carrying that water with me for prolonged periods because the chlorine is removed. I am diligent about cleaning our bottles thoroughly all the time, mostly because I fear contamination from other bacteria. I drink bottled spring water when out and about. This above pretty much describes my life approach - cautious but not fearful - I have too much to do to be spending all of my time thinking about MAC.

Sue

Very helpful! I am a silent aspiration suspect, but the test won't be done for a couple of weeks so I'll just play it safe until then. Thereafter, your approach sounds like one I can live with. Thank you!

I drink flavored spring water. Since I've kicked Diet Pepsi, I've replaced it with this. I think it's a much healthier alternative. I clean all my breathing devises with distilled water so I also use it for my coffee. I figure it won't hurt and I have it sitting on the counter.

Spring water makes sense to me! I actually checked with my beloved Polar Water and found that their water, like many bottled waters, comes from a municipal source. If well water is less likely to have avium maybe that is true of spring water as well.

Do you think that your aspiration issues happen mainly while you are sleeping? That is when it would happen to me. I found that not eating or drinking 3 hours prior to bedtime really helped. My esophagus used to burn incessantly and hasn't now for several years. I also took omeprazole anti acid for the first month. That seemed to retrain my stomach because I have not had to use that medication since then.

Yes, my guess is it happens while sleeping and I already use omeprozole, never drink after 6 pm, and sleep with wedges under my mattress that are so steep I slide down......not sure what other strategies to use.

Hello n4seth, You said "silent aspiration", did you mean "silent reflux" ? It is my understanding silent aspiration happens during the act of eating either solid or liquid foods, and can certainly be an underlying cause of MAC/Bronchiectasis. Silent reflux aka laryngopharyngeal reflux or LPR, can happen while upright but tends to cause greater symptoms if refluxing while lying down/sleeping. You are already not eating before bed and using wedges, you might also add other lifestyle changes such as weight loss if needed, a healthier diet with less fat, acidic foods and alcohol. Reflux (acidic or non-acidic) that gets in your airways is a known pre-disposing factor for MAC/Bronchiectasis also. Another point that is not well known is drugs such as Prilosec do a good job in reducing acidity in your reflux but does nothing for non-acidic reflux (such as Pepsin, bile acids etc), it actually does not deduce the total amount of reflux that could cause problems in your lungs. Please read this excellent video from National Jewish Health that explains all of this in detail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZwM3fsTIIY&feature=youtu.be

Thank you!