One of the top reasons why homeowners choose to install residential water filtration systems is to protect the health of their families. Since filtering your water can decrease your risk of developing serious and chronic illnesses, you might also think that drinking filtered water could help out with run-of-the-mill colds and flus. But is that actually the case? Today we’re going to answer that question by talking about the relationship between filtered water and colds and flus!
You should drink a lot of water when you’re sick
You’ve probably heard the advice that you should drink lots of water when you have a cold or a flu. That’s because water is an essential nutrient that helps loosen congestion and prevents dehydration when you are sick. This is good advice that can also be a catch-22 if you don’t filter your water at home. That’s because the more water you drink, the more you’ll expose yourself to the contaminants in the water that might negatively affect your illness.
How water contaminants can worsen colds and flus
Colds and flus are typically brought on by viruses, but they can last for much longer and get more severe when bacteria gets involved. Bacteria can be found in various different forms in your home’s water if you don’t have a filtration system, so drinking water with bacteria while you are sick might actually make your symptoms worse.
In addition, we rely on our immune systems to help fight colds and flus in order to get us healthy again. Contaminants like cryptosporidium, perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) and trihalomethanes (THMs) are all known to weaken immune systems. If you drink a lot of water that contains any of those contaminants, you might be limiting your body’s ability to recover from your illness as quickly as it could.
How water contaminants can bring on colds and flus
In addition to possibly worsening symptoms of colds and flus, certain water contaminants can also bring on the illnesses themselves. These are typically the “hidden contaminants” that are not visible and do not give off any tastes or smells, making them difficult to detect. If you or someone in your family is having more colds and flus than usual and you can’t figure out why, get your water tested to see if there are any viruses, bacteria or other contaminants that might be a contributing factor.
Filter your water to give your body what it needs during colds and flus
By adding a water filtration system to your home, you can remove all of the contaminants in your water that could possibly worsen or bring on symptoms of colds and flus. This will allow you to drink all the water you want while you’re sick, giving your body the boost it needs to recover, without having to worry about the possibility of certain contaminants making the situation worse.
If you have any questions about filtered water for colds and flus, or if you’d like a water system serviced or installed in your home, contact North Carolina Water Consultants, your water softener and water filtration system dealer in North and South Carolina. We provide service all over the Carolinas, including towns like Davidson, Kannapolis and Mooresville, NC.