Keeping distilled water in the fridge

About a year ago, I came down with a severe attack of pneumonia (paramedic ride to hospital when I couldn't get up from the floor) and after that a nurse advised me to keep my distilled water in a fridge to prevent bugs from growing. So I did that. This may be because I have been blessed with a kidney transplant and take immuno-suppressive medications to prevent my extra kidney from being rejected.

But recently I have been moving and didn't have a fridge in my new place for a couple of weeks so used unchilled distilled water again.
And I came down with a mild attack of pneumonia again. Luckily this time I spotted it early so it was just anti-biotics and no paramedics.

My question is has anyone else thought that they might have come down with pneumonia as a result of using unchilled distilled water?
or
Is there anybody else taking immunosuppressive drugs and using unchilled distilled water?

John

I think maybe you need to look for pasteurized distilled water, if such a thing is made.
After all, it is never refrigerated BEFORE you buy it.
After you open it makes sense, but where you buy it may as well.
I got a moldy tub from Wal Mart distilled water.

chunkyfrog wrote:I think maybe you need to look for pasteurized distilled water, if such a thing is made.
After all, it is never refrigerated BEFORE you buy it.
After you open it makes sense, but where you buy it may as well.
I got a moldy tub from Wal Mart distilled water.

What you need is sterile distilled water. Normally the process of distillation will render the water sterile, but the bottling operation may introduce bugs back into the water. And the first time you open a sterile product it's no longer sterile. Certain bugs like Pseudomonas, spp. can live on just about nothing, kind of like I did in college, and will proliferate in a bottle of water. If you're immunosuppressed (take cyclosporine?) then you have to be extra careful. Don't know whether your doc will write you a prescription for Water-for-Injection, U.S.P., but that would be the best way to ensure that the water you're using is, in fact, sterile. Your pharmacy ought to have it, but it will be 'spensive, so if you can get a prescription for it that should help with the cost.

[Edit: On reflection, they might have Purified Water, U.S.P. which will be sterile and should be cheaper than Water-for-Injection, and it wouldn't require a prescription. Either one would work for your needs.]

If money is a problem or if the doc won't play, then keep a few factory sealed bottles of distilled water in the 'fridge, and open one at a time and use it for a week or so, then open a new one and use the remainder of the old one for drinking water. If there are any bugs growing in the water, drinking it won't cause any problem, even in your condition.

Best of luck!

JohnMudie wrote:nurse advised me to keep my distilled water in a fridge

Grand-PAP wrote:Normal CAVEAT, I have NO connections with this company!

Hi John,

You might want to consider: http://www.waterwise.com/productcart/pc ... illers.asp

For four reasons, I looked into purchasing a home water distiller:

1. Gonna' be using distilled water in the humidifier for the rest of my life.

2. We have a well and "who knows" what is in the water. Guess the same could be said for most city water systems.

3. We're not continuously throwing empty gallon plastic jugs in the recycle bins.

4. (Yeah, I'm a "little" weird), but the store bought bottles are not BPA free bottles.

From the above site I bought a one-gallon Waterwise 9000 distiller (Although, after the fact, I think I would have preferred the Waterwise 8800 instead, which is normally the same price.) for $399 and two BPA free gallon containers for $8 each. A friend who has used their product for about eight or nine years referred me to them. He purchased ONE distiller and has never had to replace it. We've used it for about three months and it works great. Some where I read the electricity costs are only about 20 or 30 cents per gallon. Considering better drinking and cooking water, we distill about 2 - 3 gallons per day. You would be VERY negatively impressed when you see the "crud" that is left in the machine after the distillation -- none of which goes into our bodies! Plus, I have a constant supply of "cold" distilled water for the humidifier.

Distilled water should be free of inert matter and I believe the one from the store qualifies (down to a negligible amount). If bacteria have made their way into it, why not just heat up the amount for the night in a microwave and pour it in the humidifier tank right after it cools a bit (to avoid damaging the tank or scolding yourself)? That will guarantee it is close enough to clean as it will get, because even if you were to pour lab-grade pure water in the tank, it will immediately get (somewhat) contaminated by the air that is pumped through the tank. Having said that, I think store-bought water that is about a couple of weeks old (I go through a gallon in about that long), should be clean enough because bacteria can't grow that much in pure water (nothing to eat). If you are truly getting contamination and your infection is not a coincidence, maybe you should rather take a closer look at the environment around you.
McSleepy

this idea of refrigerating the distilled water is just a little bit over the top. but then, if sticking it in the refrigerator floats your boat, go ahead. it hurts no one. for me, my distilled water comes from walmart, will always come from walmart, and sits on a shelf til it's empty.

greatunclebill wrote:this idea of refrigerating the distilled water is just a little bit over the top. but then, if sticking it in the refrigerator floats your boat, go ahead. it hurts no one. for me, my distilled water comes from walmart, will always come from walmart, and sits on a shelf til it's empty.

Read the O.P. The guy had a kidney transplant and is on meds to keep his body from rejecting it. Therefore his immune system is weakened. Bacteria that your body wouldn't even notice would land him in the E.R., or worse.

DH scored big on his bargain hunt several years ago.
A couple of Sears counter-top distillers for CHEAP!
I think he trashed one trying to make a home-made beverage, but the other works like a dream.
Paid for itself several times over.
--and yet I would go for the medical grade sterile distilled water if on immunosuppressives.

I'm skeptical about bacteria multiplying in distilled water to any extent, because there's very little to feed on. When you open the bottle, some bacteria, mold, or other germs might get into the water, but if they can't multiply, there will be the same amount of germs in the water when you use it whether it's been chilled or not.

However, you could figure out a container that you can use to boil water in. Put your distilled water in the container, and in the morning, boil a night's supply worth of water, and let it sit and cool for the day. Make sure you seal it up reasonably well after boiling the water to keep germs out.

By the way, there are a few bugs that can survive being boiled. That's why many types of canned foods need to be sterilized in a pressure cooker. Most of the dangerous bugs will die when boiled, though.

Of course, keep your water tank scrupulously clean. I'd recommend having two of the dishwasher safe S9 tanks, hoses, and mask, and letting one sit dry for a week or so between thorough cleanings while you use the other one. A thorough drying kills a lot of bugs.

After an bout of pneumonia, I'd also probably go ahead and try a hot water disinfection on water tank, hose, and mask. There are some ResMed links in my signature line about disinfecting the mask and hoses. I've personally done the 90C water for 5 minute thing on the S9 water tank, even though I haven't seen a ResMed statement on doing that.

archangle wrote:I'm skeptical about bacteria multiplying in distilled water to any extent, because there's very little to feed on. When you open the bottle, some bacteria, mold, or other germs might get into the water, but if they can't multiply, there will be the same amount of germs in the water when you use it whether it's been chilled or not.

Until I saw what Pseudomonas could do to a closed deionized water loop in my employer's laboratories, I was skeptical, too.

Quote from: http://textbookofbacteriology.net/pseudomonas.html
•Pseudomonas aeruginosa has very simple nutritional requirements. It is often observed "growing in distilled water", which is evidence of its minimal nutritional needs. In the laboratory, the simplest medium for growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa consists of acetate as a source of carbon and ammonium sulfate as a source of nitrogen, yada yada yada.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19484589

"Epidemiology
Most people assume that the hot water in their house is pretty safe. Unfortunately, even here lurk Mycobacteria,
Legionella, Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter and other potential pathogens. Thus they can easily
reach high concentration in water: up to one million colony forming units (CFU) in tap water for some
Pseudomonas.
In a moist environment they can survive for a long time: 300 days for P. aeruginosa in water; 150 days on
a dry filter paper.
These organisms can be found in almost every moist area of a hospital. They have been found in distilled
water, tap water, sinks, drains, faucet aerators, water fountains, ice machines, hydrotherapy tanks, humidifiers,
mouthwash, skin creams, detergents, soap dishes, soaps, antiseptics, mops, contact lens solution,
food mixers, kitchen appliances, potted plants and in water baths used to warm solutions. Very strict
antiseptic practices are the only methods that can keep these bacteria in check."

http://new.dhh.louisiana.gov/assets/oph ... Manual.pdf


The slick film that grows in your xPAP humidifier is probably pseudomonas, since they form such a film on surfaces.