Playing devil's advocate again...remembering that NTM is everywhere - air water and soil, and that bronchiectasis is a disease I must live with for a long time.
Here is my inquiry for today - not meant to scare you, but rather to make you think about how far to carry caution - Do you sterilize every cup, glass, dish and utensil that comes into contact with every morsel of your food and every drop of your beverages? Do you sterilize every item that comes into your possession? Do you remove all clothing and footwear outside your home and discard it before entering? Is your home a sterile bubble with no outside air exchange?

If the answers are "No", you are exposed to NTM every day.

I have made the conscious decision that spending my life worrying about ...
sterile drinking water, NTM in the air, or germs on my clothes and belongings ... is not how I choose to live.

I largely drink bottled spring water, but if it is not available, I make do with the tap. I order beverages in restaurants or drink them in friends' homes - with ice from commercial ice machines.

So far (3+ years off the Big 3) it has worked for me, with only a few minor exacerbations. I consider healthy food, adequate rest and thorough airway clearance with saline are more important for my long term health, my sanity and my ability to live a satisfying life.

I have not yet seen a rigorous scientific analysis that demonstrates drinking only sterile water prevents NTM infection/reinfection. Can anyone cite such a study?
Sue

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