My 5 year old just drank some water from a stream!

[Woollybobble]

We have a stream behind our house , it’s lovely and shady down here in the hot weather.
My 5 year old was collecting rocks, I turned my back for a few seconds and he was putting his head in and licking up some of the water.

I have attached a photo of the stream in question. Do I need to be worried? We go on holiday this weekend, I’ll be gutted if he ends up with upset stomach and diarrhoea from this!

I’m sure he will be fine. It will be a really small amount.
One thing to bear in mind though is the biggest concern in streams nowadays is flea and tick treatments from dogs killing off all the wildlife in them.
Just keep an eye on him OP, if he seems well don’t worry, any problems then ring 111 for advice and tell them about your concerns.

He's probably going to be more at risk swallowing swimming pool water on holiday to be honest ! I caught our 4 year old Godson drinking recycled water out of our green slimy water feature as if it was a drinking fountain once 😬He was fine.

Honestly? Most of Gen X would still be alive if that was any real danger! Kid will be fine… just watch out for tummy issues but me and all our friends and cousins etc grew up drinking out of streams, rivers, outdoor taps etc and survived.

Wouldn’t be …

I think rowers on the Thames have a can of coke if they swallow some water? Might be a better option for a five year old than the whisky?!

That's tame compared to the stuff most of us did as kids.

My DD ate a wood lice once like a snack

It'll build up his immune system if nothing else

However keep an eye on him obviously if he gets ill or flu like symptoms then talk to your GP

Just think of the Triathletes swimming in the Seine yesterday at the Olympics

The Seine wasn't even deemed clean enough for a few days so they had to clean it up

So a stream should be fine

It looks to be quite fast flowing so it's probably ok.

I have caught a nasty bug from falling in fairly stagnant water before. It was really nasty. It took a day or so for the symptoms to kick in, but oh my god was I unwell. I've never been so violently sick in all my life.

So keep an eye out, but don't panic. The water I fell in was murky and quite whiffy. This looks nothing like that!

That's definitely not true. He's definitely more likely to get sick from contaminated water than from his mother anxiety because that's how infections work.

Still he's most likely going to be fine.

😂😂😂😂😂

I've had a little drink from a very clean waterfall, it was lovely. Suffered no ill effects. The water is fast flowing, so its cleaner than stagnant water.

Yes he’ll be absolutely fine.

I’ve lost count how many times I’ve done this.
And how many times do people accidentally swallow water when swimming etc.

If he does pick up a bug it won’t be very serious and it’ll only last a few hours.

When my son was little he ate some strawberrys from my food bin he's ate a slug ( well half chewed) and also something else but I won't say 🤮me I was having kittens but he was fine kids eh.

Until recently all our drinking water came from a stream like that - it's not uncommon in Scotland. He'll be fine.

It’s probably fine, however drinking water downstream of sheep and cows is not a good idea because of fasciola infection ( liver flukes) . I have no idea how common/ uncommon it is - but foraging advice is generally not to harvest wild watercress unless it is near a spring for this reason.

Get a grip!

I’m a believer that guts need a little dirt, bugs, bacteria, and other gross stuff to keep in good working order.

The human body was made for this kind of stuff.

Now that doesn’t mean I’m out licking public doorknobs or anything but I am going to keep things in perspective. Another poster said it… but what are you going to do now? He’s already drank it.

That will be far from the worst thing he’s ever put in his mouth, nothing to worry about.

To follow on from a PP I know some open water swimmers and triathletes who drink a can of coke after swimming.

He can’t undrink it now anyway, but as a child who grew up in the countryside, I never got a bad belly from stream water.

I’m sure he will be fine in,Scotland we would brush it off with “oh well it will build his immune system” 😂 On a serious note I obviously wouldn’t encourage it but it’s highly unlikely him unleashing his inner dog will make him ill, all he has really done is stuck his tongue into the stream x

@Woollybobble Serious question… have you never been swimming in a lake or river and swallowed a gulp of water?

Someone I know, her mum caught polio from a stream , that was before immunisations for it.

He'll be fine.
The rule I had as a kid & my kids have now is walk 10 metres upstream to check (for anything revolving), fast flowing water & if possible water that is falling (mini waterfall - off a rock etc).

I spent my whole childhood drinking from burns & never got sick, my kids drink from burns & swim in rivers & haven't been sick from it either.

Yorkshire water is lovely iirc so why wouldn't he want to drink it!