Do coprophiliacs not get horribly ill?

Factual Questions
1

Hi there,

Please excuse the disturbing nature of this question, but I was visiting http://www.somethingawful.com and the awful link of the day featured a site catering to this, uh, “taste”. ( If you decide to visit somethingawful please don’t make the mistake of clicking the link to the awful site of the day like I did. )
I’ve wondered about this in the past and finally have the guts to ask: to people who engage in this sort of " activity " get ill? I would think they must, considering what I’ve heard about bacteria and excrement, and even the possible dangers of anal sex ( elsewhere on this board ) which seems infinitely safer. Thanks for your time. I have to go and wash my eyes with Borax and weep uncontrollably now…

2

Pardon my ignorance (and lazyness) but what is a coprophiliac and how can I use that term in an insult?

3

Oh, uh, well here’s the Webster dictionary definition:

**Main Entry: cop·ro·phil·ia
Pronunciation: "kä-pr&-'fi-lE-&
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin
Date: 1923
: marked interest in excrement; especially : the use of feces or filth for sexual excitement

  • cop·ro·phil·i·ac /-lE-"ak/ noun **

I expect a web search would come up with some frightening results, but I’m not gonna do one.

4

Not to pooh-pooh this thread (I hate to dump on people) but I’m wondering if this might not have an element of Urban Legend.

I think what’s at issue is “application versus ingestion”. If people merely wallow, a good shower (in strong hot vinegar, say) might keep you safe. But if you’re going to go as far as coprophagia (I saw a picture once … ick), I think it’s almost guaranteed that you’d get very ill.

5

I’m having trouble getting through to somethingawful.com, dunno whether it’s them or me.

I think it’s safe to say that there is no topic so awful that there isn’t a thread (or two, or three) around here somewhere, discussing it. We won’t think worse of you. :slight_smile:

I believe (although I can’t speak from personal experience :rolleyes: ) that as long as you keep the stuff away from mucous membranes like vagina, eyes, and mouth, and as long as you wash thoroughly with soap afterwards, if you want to spend some time smearing shit all over yourself and looking at yourself in the mirror or something, you probably won’t get sick.

Maybe I should add the official SDMB disclaimer: “Don’t go by me, I’m not an expert, do not try this at home, consult your family physician, your results may vary.”

Twist, I don’t think there’s any way to use this as an insult. An insult is meaningless if you have to stop and explain what it means to the insultee, and people who know what the word means are probably devotees anyway. I thought he was talking about eating fecal matter.

Timothy, um, no, it’s not an UL, but it’s pretty to think so. Yes, there are people like this in the world. The rest of us just try to work around them. (And don’t shake hands with them.)

6

/Eddie Murphy voice/ “Ooooh, das NASTY!” /Eddie/

7

Actually I was referring to the eating of it; I might have used the wrong term. Although I expect if you’re rolling around in it then maybe it’s a small step to actual ingestion. A " gateway fetish " if you will. Anyway as if it weren’t revolting enough to begin with ( in my opinion anyway ) I would think the side effects should deter anyone. I guess I’d be wrong.

8

Common sense tells me this:

If my body doesn’t want it and gets rid of it, then it’s probably not a good idea to put it back in.

Then again, I eat paper, and my doctor said that it was fine as long as it didn’t make me sick. He then went on to say that I may have some sort of mineral deficiency and this compels me to eat paper.

So maybe there’s something in poop that other people are running short on, so they’re compelled to eat it.

9

Egad, the word you’re looking for is coprophagia. Soft g.

Timothy, would that it were a UL. I’ve seen videos of such fetishes for sale in Amsterdamn and, when unwarily journeying into the seamier side of the Net, caught sight of photos detailing these sort of acts.

Not only did I wash my eyeballs, I took a couple emetics and had my stomach pumped as well. shudder

10

" do people who engage in this
sort of " activity " get ill?"

That’s probably the least of what they think about.

11

I’ve got a coprophagiac dog and it doesn’t seem to make her sick at all. On the contrary, it seems to make her very happy despite the fact that I yell at her when she does it.

Ick.
“No licking! NO LICKING! Augh!”

12

Having said that, I must admit that human sexuality takes on a variety of forms that would never have occurred to me without someone else bringing it up. As long as they don’t ingest the stuff or bring it in contact with mucous membranes (as has been mentioned above) I suppose the likelihood for infection or other ill-health effects would be minimal.

I would hope that people who indulge in such a “hobby” would very scrupulously clean themselves when they’re done.

~~Baloo

“Coprophile: Someone who should definitely wash his hands before making a sandwich.”

13

Those unfamiliar with The Stile Project might want to look for that fine site and check the archives for “Japscat.” It is a detailed documentary film showing exactly this type of behavior.

I haven’t seen that damned clip in over a year and it is still making me gag. View at your own risk.

14

Egad, I do not know about dogs (although I know that coprophagia is not rare in them), but in humans it is considered pathologic, and is a symptom of a severe mental disorder. Therefore, by definition, they do not “think” of consequences. They may get “sick”, although no outright pathogens are present in “normal” feces. Just normal inhabitants of the lower gastrointestinal tract get into the upper one.

15

The popular term for wallowing in feces or playing with it is called ‘Scat-play’. (That’s such a cool word. ‘scat’, ‘scatology’)

I dunno if there -is- a popular term for actually eating the stuff other than ‘shiteating’. ‘Brown Shower’ might be another one.

But there is an element of slang involved. Partners who engage in this behavior will usually refer to the ‘receiver’ as their ‘toilet’.

Since I have almost no sense of self-shame anymore, I’ve researched a little of this stuff. I wish I had the URL right now (I don’t remember it off the tip of my paw), but people who have done it usually describe the taste as very much akin to whatever the person was eating in their diet, but with a noticeable ‘burned’ quality to it.

The fecal matter itself has properties that are, like previous posters said, rather harmless as long as you don’t actually get it inside any orifices (eyes, nose, mouth, vans deferens, ears maybe?) the anus is probably pretty safe, I imagine. :stuck_out_tongue:

The ecoli bacteria thrives in the stomach and intestines–and I imagine must be plentiful in fecal matter. Of course, most ecoli, except for the mutation you’re all aware of in cattle products, is harmless, I believe. I invite anyone to correct me please if I am wrong.

There -is- a risk of contracting Hepatitis through the ingestion of feces. Urinary tract infections if you get any into yer yiffer. I suspect the overall high content of bacteria in itself might make you sick unless you have a powerful stomach.

Since human sexuality can take on a whole slew of interesting fetishes in any one person (as if -you- don’t have any!), it’s important to look on people who engage in this behavior with a compassionate mind. We might think it’s weird and icky, but at least it’s a fetish that doesn’t really harm anything unwillingly. (Like those ‘crush’ videos you hear about.)

-Ashley

16

This certainly isn’t new, as the Marquis de Sade himself wrote about coprophilia/coprophagia in the 18th Century. In his work, Juliette, many scenes contain this kind of behavior, perhaps to illustrate the levels of depravity that his characters (and himself) have gone to. IIRC, he even mentioned that the best diet for someone engaging in this was chicken and rice.

Who knew that chicken and rice gave you good poo?

17

Actually I’ve heard the scat term before. Heh, no I’m not trying to imply that I don’t have any fetishes, I’m not even suggesting there’s anything morally wrong with it, whatever I might think about it, but it does give one pause. Well it gave me pause anyway.

peace,, I found what you said about mental disorders interesting. But it would then appear that there’s enough people with this disorder to create a sort of niche market. It seems like kind of a lot. But thanks, I’ll have to look into that aspect if it.

18

Augh! This brings memories of walking into the wrong video store on 42nd street, NYC. I don’t think I’ll be able to listen to Ella Fitzgerald sing without gagging.

19

I believe that dogs eat other dog’s scat because it allows them to diversify the bacterial soup in their digestive tract. Perhaps people can get the same benefit? (I saw something about dogs on PBS.)

I do know that people drink urine, so it would not surprise me.

Playing with fecal matter is something that primates like to do, so perhaps people that don’t throw poop at each other are the stuck up ones…

Blah!

20

Usually I stress the incidences of giving my own definitions and/or opinions here, as such. When I said that C. “is considered pathologic”, I did not mean by me. The definition of C. is “psychopathologic interest in filth, especially in feces and in defecation”.
Personally, I agree, it is not normal. But psychology is borderline branch of medicine; as such it is heavily influenced by cultural perceptions. Cf. “liberation” of mentally ill from mental institutions in the '50s, removal of “homosexuality” from psychiatric manuals in the '60s.