[at-l] Re: long-term iodine

[Dan Grossman <danieljg@CS.Cornell.EDU>]

Disclaimer:  I am not a doctor.  I do not know what I'm talking about.  Do not
consider any of the following to imply any sort of recommendation.

I used Polar-Pur crystals almost exclusively for my two 11-week hikes on the
AT.  I like that with the crystals you can vary the amount of iodine you use. 
Factors I considered were: gut feeling about the water, time until I was going
to drink the water, temperature of the water.

I think time falls firmly in favor of iodine in most cases.  The "time" is
either while you're walking anyway or while you're in camp (and time is less
than an issue). Yes, occasionally I had to wait the 20 minutes despite being
parched, but usually I planned better than that.  (It's an advantage of having
two bottles.)

My parents (support crew) were not at all happy that I was using iodine.  In
the end I told them I filtered more than I actually did.

Nobody really seems to know how much iodine is too much.  However, I was told
that the iodine buildup is temporary -- after you stop it goes down.  So
having been off the Trail for almost a year now, I think I'm in the clear. :-)

Dan "Focus" Grossman
Ga->Pa 96
Pa->Me 97

-- 
|Dan Grossman		 Cornell Univ Computer Science H:607 256 0724 |
|danieljg@cs.cornell.edu 4132 Upson Hall	       O:607 255 1179 |
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