Prevention tips
Practice Good Hygiene
- Help keep yourself and your loved ones healthy by washing your hands often with soap and water, especially during key times when you are likely to spread germs.
- Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are not effective against Crypto. Washing hands at key times with soap and water can help prevent infections.
Avoid Water That Might Be Contaminated
- Do not drink untreated water or use untreated ice from lakes, rivers, springs, ponds, streams, or shallow wells.
- Follow advice given during local drinking water advisories.
- If the safety of the drinking water is in doubt (for example, if water source is unknown), use one of the following:
- Commercially bottled water
- Water that has been previously boiled for at least 1 minute and left to cool. At elevations above 6,500 feet (1,981 meters), boil for 3 minutes.
- A filter designed to remove Crypto. The label might read 'NSF 53' or 'NSF 58.' Filter labels that read "absolute pore size of 1 micron or smaller" are also effective.
Avoid Food That Might Be Contaminated
- If you drink milkor apple cider, only buy if it has been pasteurized.
- Do not eat fruits and vegetables washed in water that might be contaminated.
Practice Extra Caution While Traveling
- Do not use or drink inadequately treated water or use ice when traveling in countries where the water might be unsafe.
- Avoid eating uncooked foods when traveling in countries where the food supply might be unsafe.
Practice Safer Sex
- Wait to have sex (vaginal, anal, and oral) for 2 weeks after you no longer have diarrhea. Patients typically stop having Crypto in their poop within 2 weeks after symptoms completely stop.
- Reduce your contact with poop during sex by:
- Washing your hands, genitals, and anus with soap and water before and after sexual activity.
- Using barrier methods during sex. Barrier methods include condoms, dental dams, and cut-open condoms. Sex includes oral (mouth-to-penis, mouth-to-vagina, mouth-to-anus), anal (penis-to-anus), and vaginal (penis-to-vagina) sex. Using latex gloves during anal fingering or fisting.
- Using condoms the right way, every time you have anal and vaginal sex, which will also help prevent other sexually transmitted infections.
- Washing your hands with soap and water immediately after touching a used condom or other barrier method.
- Washing sex toys with soap and water after each use and washing hands after touching used sex toys.
