Dining out: what to drink

Well, I may fall on the "less careful" end of the spectrum, and others her WILL disagree with me. We each plot our own course, and I drink coffee, tea, wine, soda, mixed drinks, even fizzy water. I don't boil my drinking water either - use a filter at home, carry spring water for travel. But then, I don't have GERD.

Sometimes I think we overthink the precautions we take. If you have lunch or dinner out, then wait several hours before lying down to allow your stomach to empty, I think the risk of potentially contaminated liquids getting into your lungs via aspiration is minimal.

Remember, MAC is everywhere, in the air we breathe, the soil we walk on, etc. The idea of staying safe is to minimize risks of MAC getting into your lungs - no matter what, some is going to get into your body unless you live in a bubble.

Terri, @windwalker, you have lived with this for a long time - what precautions do you take?
Sue

My personal rule that I sometimes allow myself to break is nothing from the bar taps and no ice cubes. I drink tap water when dining out and use my steri-pen to disinfect it. Sometimes I order bottled water.

I was tested five years ago and do not have gastric reflux, yet generally speaking, I still take precautions. If I am out for dinner, I’m going to have that wine, but only one glass!

I'm the rebel. I drink water at a restaurant and have ice in everything. If there is bottled water I do order it.

Love the LifeStraw bottle!

Everyone’s answers are individually good solutions for their lives…you will find your own comfort zone on dining out in the world of contaminants…and MAC. We do have a lung disease and we do not exists in a vacuum…so se make the best decisions, cope, and breathe on. If I am well enough to dine out with family/friends…I (and my gorgeous husband will before I open my mouth) order bottled water no ice; OR a bourbon straight NO ice, or a martini up NO ice, or that glass of wine…champagne…whatever that precious moment begs me to savor. I love my 65 years (not every year, but most); love deeply, live gratefully, practice precautions (do boil all my water 10 minutes at home) but have reconciled my mind (which if one allows can torture your soul) to let some things be. If practicing conscious efforts to stay healthy and keep MAC from flaring…I am good to be myself and enjoy all I can.

What is this all about??? New at this & behind the learning curve. This is the first thing I've heard about watching what I drink, except for alcohol while on the Big 3. Boiling water, Splain please Lucy.

@josey1 and @totty, good question. What's the deal with watching what you drink? I'm tagging @thorne @sueinmn @cmi and @bluesplashgirl to offer explanations.

Hello Thorne. It would depend on how colonized and serious your mac infection is, as to how careful you would need to be about drinking things at a restaurant. Like Sue stated, mac is ubiquitous everywhere; in the air, water, and soil. I am MORE concerned about touching the glass the server has brought to my table. If it is a bar drink, then two strangers have touched it; the bartender & then the server. Most server's hands are filthy with germs because they handle so many customer's dirty dishes. I swear, every cold I have ever had came on three days after dining out. How do I handle the glassware? For one thing, I do not eat out often, but when I do, sometimes I will wrap my napkin around the glass before picking it up. Most of the time I just order water and then don't even drink it. I usually do not drink liquids with my meals. I do that for two reasons: one, I do not like to dilute my stomach gastric juices so that digestion is optimal, and two, I can only eat limited portions at a time so I do not want to fill up on drink. It is hard to keep weight on with this disease, so, it is crucial to get as much nutrition in as possible. Bottom line for me is, I fear catching cold germs that can lead to more serious exacerbations more than catching more mac.

I follow a board similar to this run by NTM Info and Research and a doctor who specializes in NTM research is a frequent contributor. Almost everything you would order at a restaurant except for hot drinks could contain NTM bacteria that could them be aspirated into your lungs when bending over or sleeping. I carry a crazy cap bottle to restaurants, order water without ice and then use the bottle to sterilize it. It just depends how careful you want to be. If you want to see the research you can go to the NTM forum and put DR Falkinham in search box and his posts and published work will pop up

Well, there can be MAC/NTM in drinking water and ice. If you are a person with GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disorder) you could potentially aspirate this liquid into your lungs. Then you might get exposed to MAC/NTM in the lungs.
There is a professor who posts widely on some other forums, Dr Joe Falkingham, who encourages people with bronchiectasis to drink only sterilized water or bottled spring water.
Some people here follow this protocol, others are less cautious. I am in the second group, and have continued to drink filtered tap water and alcoholic beverages throughout my journey with MAC and bronchiectasis. My personal philosophy is that MAC is everywhere, all the time. I make sensible adjustments (keep my equipment clean, no hot tubs, no indoor pools, dig in the dirt only in a mask...) So far I have managed safely for over 4 years.
Other opinions may differ.
Sue