Good evening gentlemen,

Thanks for dropping in to take a look at my topic here - hopefully it has something to do with the intriguing subject

This is a question geared for members who are living/have lived in countries with rather unsanitary tap water. In the US we are extremely blessed to have potable tap water; however, as we all know, many countries have water that we might consider less than sanitary. More to the point, we are lucky here in the Western world to have tap water that we can use to rinse cuts without risking (significant) exposure to parasites and other pathogens.

Given the fact that I have been known to nick myself while using a straight, I am wondering if rinsing said nicks with water in developing/emerging countries would endanger my health. While this may seem like an utterly absurd line of questioning, I am considering returning to China and plan on continuing to use a straight razor: even thinking about returning to disposable razors makes me shudder. Any thoughts on the matter?

I figure worst case scenario I could use bottled water like when I brush my teeth there, but it would be so much more convenient (and cost effective) to use the tap.....but I also don't want to contract some crazy Chinese parasite.

In closing I'd like to say that I'm not a hypochondriac; this is a sincere question. You're not supposed to drink the tap water, so my reasoning leads me to believe you shouldn't expose it directly to your bloodstream. Acknowledging this could be erroneous, I am hoping someone with experience abroad would be able to shed some light on the situation.

Thank you for your patience.

-Dave