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bottled water

You might have seen on the news that there is an outbreak of Legionnaires disease in South Wales. I live very close to the big cluster of outbreaks and am concerned, mainly for myself and DS as he is so young and I have diabetes which can be a major problem in terms of complications.

I have decided to switch us all to bottled water until the source is identified. Trouble is DS has 1 bottle of formula a day plus drinks cooled boiled water from a beaker. Obviously all this water is boiled first. Will the boilig be sufficient to kill any bugs? If I decided to use bottled water for him, what is suitable/not suitable. I know some of them have sodium etc so what do I need to look for on the label to ensure it is safe for him to drink? He is just shy of 5 months.

Replies

  • hello there, i prob wouldnt risk boiling it for your LO just incase it doesnt kill everything, nor would i use the water for the steriliser either

    this is a quote from the NHS website

    In the UK, there is no legal definition for what is meant by 'spring', or 'natural' water. Some bottled water labelled as 'natural mineral water' may have high levels of sodium that are not suitable for infants. When buying bottled mineral water, check the label to make sure that it does not contain more than 200mg of sodium (Na) a litre.
  • Mitxi posted about bottled water a few weeks ago. Here's the link to her thread:

    http://www.babyexpert.com/chatroom/topic/191704
  • Another idea - for his one bottle of formula a day - could you switch to a ready made carton??? I know its not good cost wise - but might stop the immediate worry of whether or not to boil water and / or give him too much bottled water?

    I think as the other posters have said - bottled water is ok as long as the sodium content isn't drastic. T had bottled water for a week when we were on hols (his formula and drinking water), plus he often has a drink from our bottles of water if we're out and about as he likes having what Mummy and Daddy have.

    Keep everyone well!

    xxx
  • Just to say that I think PP means less than 20mg/l not 200mg!
    xxx
  • We have to use bottled water over here (italy) and the water where we live is to hard. We just use water with a low sodium level - less than 20mg/l.

    We dont boil it for drinking water, and never have done - I check with my doc that, that was OK. To be honest it doesn't taste very nice!
    We do boil it for bottles and have never had any problems, my LO is 8 months.

    HTH
  • Just to say that I think PP means less than 20mg/l not 200mg!
    xxx

    oh i dont know, it was copied and pasted straight from the web x
  • I *think* that the risks of Legionella have been a bit over-dramatised lately, (We love a good drama in this country don't we!?) yes it is serious, especially in a baby, but from my understanding of it, you should be able to keep yourself and LO safe by taking simple precautions.

    Boiling the water will kill any legionnaires bacteria (from my, limited, understanding of it) as there are very very few bacteria that can survive at high temperatures, and your steriliser will also kill any bugs (I think the only thing a steam steriliser won't kill is Thrush - you need milton to get rid of Thrush) and soap and hot (not scalding!) water is enough to keep your hands clean as well as cuttlerly, crockery, pots and pans (a dishwasher would be fine too).

    If you run your taps/shower with very hot water for a few minutes (turn your themostat up if you can) every now and then, this should kill any bacteria in your plumbing system - just remember to turn it back to normal again though, so you don't end up scalding yourself/OH by accident!

    I'm not a fan of using bottled water for formula (unless you're going abroad), as it's unnecassary, costly, and there is no garuntee that it doesn't have it's own bugs in it (so you'd need to boil it anyway - so you may as well just use tap water) but if it makes you feel better then it wont hurt (as long as you check the sodium levels - like others have said).

    You might find it cheaper to just switch to carton milk (as it's not that much more expensive than powder, and then you factor in the cost of the bottled water as well). and they are just so convienient!

    Hope that helps.
    Nx
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