Many people share water bottles, whether it be at school, the park, or at a pickup basketball game. However, many should be cautious about who they let drink out of their bottles, as many viral illnesses are spread from sharing a drink. 

Here at Los Osos, students tend to stay hydrated, which is a positive. However, nowadays, when looking around campus, many will notice that sharing water bottles isn’t something students think twice about; it’s socially natural in this current age. However, sharing drinks inevitably leads to an increase in the spread of germs.

Some students on campus spoke out about this issue, stressing the health concerns behind sharing drinks. 

“I stopped sharing my water bottle recently after thinking about how I don’t know what everyone else has or carries in their mouth, so I stopped letting people drink from mine recently,” Sophomore Malcom Moore said.

Students across the world are reminded to bring their own water bottle to school so they can stay hydrated during the heat from the sun. However, as seasons shift and flu season spikes, hydration is important as well to remain healthy. 

Often, students forget to bring their own water bottles – and when desperate times call for desperate measures – they ask their peers for some water. 

When a drink is shared among people, there’s a transfer of saliva; the chances of germs and viruses being spread increase every day. This affects many students as they can catch something like mumps or the common cold. Cold sores can also occur when people share the same water bottle, and it can also result in the transfer of other mouth infections, such as mononucleosis and meningitis. 

Mononucleosis, also known as the “kissing disease”, is spread through saliva. However, it is very rare for someone to be diagnosed with this infection. Mononucleosis isn’t as contagious as a cold. However, one could catch this from kissing, sharing utensils, or even drinking from the same water bottle. 

There are water fountains at school for students. Tragically, not many students use the water fountains, a phenomenon that has become a social norm at many high schools across the country. As an alternative, students are also provided with their own water bottle refiller

“When I walk around school, I don’t really let anyone use my water bottle at all,” said Junior Danny Morales. “I do let people I know well drink out of it. The only thing is they just have to do a waterfall, but if it were a random person from school asking me, I would tell them no.” This opinion is based on the notion of trust, a common behavioral misconception when it comes to this issue. A friend is just as likely to come down with a cold as a stranger.

Students will share water bottles in ways where their saliva doesn’t touch the water bottle; students call it a “waterfall,” as referred to by Morales. 

It’s not an actual waterfall, but students hold the water bottle up to their mouth and pour it from an angle, making it seem like a waterfall. This method makes it so the student who’s doing the “waterfall” can get a drink of water from the bottle without getting their germs on the tip of the cup/bottle. Waterfalling also prevents the students from receiving germs from the owner of the water bottle. 

Despite the precautions of this technique, many still consider waterfalling risky to try. The student who owns the water could backwash or wash their mouth out. 

It is important to stay hydrated and remember to bring a personal water bottle to school, especially during the fall/winter season, so the school doesn’t have to worry about mouth diseases at all!