What are the dangers of drinking water that has sat stale for up to a week uncovered in my kitchen?

Question

Well actually a friend of mine left out a bunch of water in cups and pitchers for up to a week because he had to return the 20gal jug the water came in. I drank lots of it. He has fruit flys everywhere in his kitchen, and the other day we noticed some fruit fly eggs sitting on top of some of the water. We threw all the water out, but now about 3 days after drinking it i woke up with shooting pains in my stomach. Is this anything to be worried about?

Answer 1

post this same question in the health section.  But I would think that the water got contaminated when it was sitting out at room temp.   The fruit flys probably don't have anything to do with the water being bad.

Answer 2

Rule of thumb: If you are having "shooting pains" of any sort, anywhere in your body, it would often be wise to seek medical attention from a doctor, not the internet.

If your worry is that you have flies growing in your belly, or that you've been "poisoned" by accidental ingestion of fly larva, that should not be a concern. The acids in your stomach are powerful enough to kill any living thing that should happen to find its way in there.

However, having insects in your home is extremely unsanitary and can cause multiple health problems depending on where you live. Insects carry bacteria and disease, spreading to absolutely everything that they land on. If your friend doesn't remedy the problem, I would be extremely careful about what you eat and drink in his home from now on. Also, wash your hands frequently while there, or use hand sanitizing lotions or gels.