# Can you get sick from your own poop or just other peoples? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 27, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697 "2014-03-27T18:04:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/21 "2014-03-28T10:54:03Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > How could you possibly know this? “_Here - I made you a sandwich. By the way, I just did an epic shit and forgot to wash my hands_”? I **ass** umed either there was macroscopic evidence on Chef Boyardee’s hands, or the sammich stank. Which was it, **OP**? ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/22 "2014-03-28T11:23:27Z")
> [@sara20](#): > > Perhaps I was not clear enough, I have gone poop, forgot to wash my hands and made food for myself and eaten and was fine. How in the hell do you forget something like that? > [@](#): > > I have had others go poop, not wash their hands and make food for me and I was sick and had bad diarrhea. So I think maybe you can not get sick from your own poop. Again, how would you know this? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/23 "2014-03-28T12:03:54Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I have perfected the art of never, ever getting shit on my hands while shitting. I perfected this when I was about, say, four. I even managed to change the diapers of some people I gave birth to without getting shit on my hands although that was a bit trickier. Wiping, you’re doing it wrong. Are you wearing disposable rubber gloves when you do this? Do wrap your entire hand in tissue? Please explain the “art” you learned at age 4 that allows you to stick your hand right up your arse and on to the evacuation point without the\*\* possibility\*\* of getting any fecal matter transferred to your hands. And please, while illustrations are not required they may helpful. :eek: Also, Please assure us that you don’t work in the food service industry. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/24 "2014-03-28T12:53:51Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I **ass** umed either there was macroscopic evidence on Chef Boyardee’s hands, or the sammich stank. Which was it, **OP**? > [@PlainJain](#): > > How in the hell do you forget something like that? > Again, how would you know this? Furthermore, there’s usually an incubation period for this category of food poisoning - making it hard enough to identify the source when multiple people all get poisoned from eating at the same restaurant/cafe - and having identified the source, it’s harder still to nail down what actually went wrong to cause the incident. The claim made by the OP in post #4 just doesn’t stack up at all. There are kinds of food poisoning that can make you ill within minutes of ingestion, but they are not caused by contamination of the kind being discussed here. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/25 "2014-03-28T12:59:43Z")
Laughing so hard my co-workers are walking over… ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/26 "2014-03-28T14:42:36Z")
> [@tapu](#): > > Look, really, just don’t eat poop. Is that too much to ask? I’m going to need a cite that I shouldn’t eat poop. ---
**Author:** ![jfreakofkorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jfreakofkorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jfreakofkorn)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/27 "2014-03-28T14:46:09Z")
its a waste by product of the body … the cells exhaust remains of fuel they use to survive so no, and as quoted, ewww ---
**Author:** ![MostlyUseless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MostlyUseless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyUseless)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/28 "2014-03-28T15:59:46Z")
Well, this turned out to be a shitty conversation. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/29 "2014-03-28T16:37:08Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > I’m going to need a cite that I shouldn’t eat poop. Go get yourself a burrito or something and when you get back I’ll have something for you. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/30 "2014-03-28T17:06:50Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I usually do wash my hands, but I have perfected the art of never, ever getting shit on my hands while shitting. I perfected this when I was about, say, four. I even managed to change the diapers of some people I gave birth to without getting shit on my hands although that was a bit trickier. Wiping, you’re doing it wrong. > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Are you wearing disposable rubber gloves when you do this? Do wrap your entire hand in tissue? Please explain the “art” you learned at age 4 that allows you to stick your hand right up your arse and on to the evacuation point without the\*\* possibility\*\* of getting any fecal matter transferred to your hands. And please, while illustrations are not required they may helpful. :eek: > > Also, Please assure us that you don’t work in the food service industry. 😃 I must apologize as I didn’t realize that at four years old you must have invented the [Comfort Wipe](http://www.neatorama.com/2009/06/13/comfort-wipe-extension-arm-to-wipe-your-behind/#!BJ6zA). This is obviously a vast improvement on the[Roman method of wiping ones rear](http://www.objectlessons.org/health-and-beauty-romans/sponge-on-stick-ancient-rome-replica/s69/a349/). I would shake your hand, but I’m still not certain that this is what you meant. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/31 "2014-03-28T19:33:25Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Are you wearing disposable rubber gloves when you do this? Do wrap your entire hand in tissue? Please explain the “art” you learned at age 4 that allows you to stick your hand _right up your arse and on to the evacuation point without the possibility_\*\* of getting any fecal matter transferred to your hands. And please, while illustrations are not required they may helpful. :eek: Er…I think you may be doing it wrong, too. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/32 "2014-03-28T20:14:35Z")
> [@tapu](#): > > Look, really, just don’t eat poop. Is that too much to ask? _You’re not my supervisor!_ ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/33 "2014-03-28T20:49:24Z")
> [@Knuffle](#): > > How come no one is addressing the pillow fart statement? TSTM [Too Stupid To Mention] ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/34 "2014-03-28T21:13:24Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Some people believe that fecal-oral transmission from poor hygiene is how Third World vegans get their vitamin B12. That may be a factor, but truthfully, it’s because their food contains insects. We have much to learn from them. ---
**Author:** ![Athabasca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Athabasca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athabasca)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/35 "2014-03-28T23:30:49Z")
My dog eats his own shit, esp in winter (we call them Poopsicles) and it doesn’t make him sick. So there’s that. OTOH, he eats the cat’s shit and becomes really ill. We keep the yard and cat litter pans as clean as we can, but our dog loves the seemingly endless buffet of poop offerings. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/36 "2014-03-29T05:49:38Z")
> [@sara20](#): > > I know you can get sick if you eat food made by people with poop on their hands. Say that 10 times fast. In public. While wringing your hands. I’ll explain why later, just do it. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/37 "2014-03-29T11:49:33Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Er…I think you may be doing it wrong, too. > :dubious: Hard to find a fresh corncob this time of year. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/38 "2014-03-29T15:25:47Z")
> [@Athabasca](#): > > My dog eats his own shit, esp in winter (we call them Poopsicles) and it doesn’t make him sick. So there’s that. > > OTOH, he eats the cat’s shit and becomes really ill. > > We keep the yard and cat litter pans as clean as we can, but our dog loves the seemingly endless buffet of poop offerings. Animals lick their own arses. I dont think we can infer safe human protocol from them. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/39 "2014-03-29T21:43:29Z")
Mange-tout? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697/40 "2014-03-30T02:37:33Z")
> [@tapu](#): > > Mange-tout? I had so hoped we wouldn’t tread there.☹ ETA: I can totally accept it if this is some sort of personal shortcoming. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-sick-from-your-own-poop-or-just-other-peoples/684697.md?page=3)