# fecal stuff **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2013, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210 "2013-11-06T02:31:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ydaltak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ad7895/32.png) [@ydaltak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ydaltak)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/1 "2013-11-06T02:31:02Z")
i know you’re supposed to wash your hands after using the bathroom. but can you get sick from your own fecal matter? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/2 "2013-11-06T02:37:01Z")
Yes, you can. Your poop has bacteria in it, called e.coli, that doesn’t hurt you as long as it stays inside your intestines, but if you get it in your mouth, it can make you really sick with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever…it’s one of the more common causes of really bad food poisoning. But even if you haven’t pooped, you should wash your hands after you use the bathroom. All day long, you’re picking up bacteria and viruses and molds off everything you touch. Washing your hands a few times during the day is the best way to prevent yourself from getting sick from all this stuff. Since you happen to be right next to a sink several times a day when you’re using the toilet, it’s the best habit to get into; that way you don’t have to think about going to a sink and washing throughout the day. ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/3 "2013-11-06T02:53:46Z")
I guess this is the origin of the phrase “Eat shit and die.” ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/4 "2013-11-06T03:34:45Z")
[Is coprophagia dangerous?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2600/is-coprophagia-dangerous) from [Straightdope.com](http://Straightdope.com). ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/5 "2013-11-06T03:51:04Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > [Is coprophagia dangerous?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2600/is-coprophagia-dangerous) > > from [Straightdope.com](http://Straightdope.com). Note, though, that most of the dangers Cecil writes about are dangers from eating someone else’s poop. If you already have giardia in you, then you’ve got the illness giardiasis, or you could develop it at any time even if you never get it on your hands and into your mouth. Eating your own poop won’t give you the illness, 'cause you have it already. So while it’s true that all those things may be in your poop, it’s not very likely, and they won’t make you sick from not washing your hands, exactly. They may make other people sick if you don’t wash your hands, though. E Coli is special because it will make you sick if you swallow it, even though it’s certainly already in you but not making you sick already. It’s also a weird one for Cecil to have left off… ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/6 "2013-11-06T04:00:22Z")
Where do people get e.coli from? Is it possible for them to not have e.coli in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/7 "2013-11-06T04:16:22Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Where do people get e.coli from? It seems to get transmitted at birth for most people.Failing that you’ll be exposed withing the first few weeks of life. > [@](#): > > Is it possible for them to not have e.coli in the first place? Not unless they have been delivered via C-section \*and \*lived their entire life in a bubble. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/8 "2013-11-06T04:25:46Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Where do people get e.coli from? Is it possible for them to not have e.coli in the first place? A microbiology professor I once had worked early in his career in a meat packing plant. He once said “You hear about e.coli contamination in meat killing people. I used to test for it all day long. Do you know how many samples were infected with e.coli?” Answers ranged from 1% to 50%. They were all wrong. The real answer is 100%. That is a bacteria that everyone has and your immune system already knows how to deal with in moderate doses. It is only when you overwhelm it with large concentrations of e.coli or have a weakened immune system that you will have a health issue because of it. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/9 "2013-11-06T05:06:56Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > That is a bacteria that everyone has and your immune system already knows how to deal with in moderate doses. It is only when you overwhelm it with large concentrations of e.coli or have a weakened immune system that you will have a health issue because of it. There are literally hundreds of different types of _E. coli_. While what you say is true for most of them (see [this PDF](http://www.meathaccp.wisc.edu/prerequisite_programs/assets/E%20coli%20Monitoring.pdf) for an overview of acceptable levels of _E. coli_ in meats), some are [a lot worse](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escherichia_coli_O157:H7) and can make you seriously sick even in small doses: > [@](#): > > Infection with E. coli O157:H7 follows ingestion of contaminated food or water, or oral contact with contaminated surfaces. It is highly virulent, with a low infectious dose: an inoculation of fewer than 10 to 100 CFU of E. coli O157:H7 is sufficient to cause infection, compared to over one-million CFU for other pathogenic E. coli strains. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/10 "2013-11-06T13:34:04Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Yes, you can. Your poop has bacteria in it, called e.coli, that doesn’t hurt you as long as it stays inside your intestines, but if you get it in your mouth, it can make you really sick with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever…it’s one of the more common causes of really bad food poisoning. > > But even if you haven’t pooped, you should wash your hands after you use the bathroom. **All day long, you’re picking up bacteria and viruses and molds off everything you touch. Washing your hands a few times during the day is the best way to prevent yourself from getting sick from all this stuff.** Since you happen to be right next to a sink several times a day when you’re using the toilet, it’s the best habit to get into; that way you don’t have to think about going to a sink and washing throughout the day. The bolded part is what I want to discuss. I wake up in the morning, take a shower, washing my private parts with soap and rinsing them, then I put on clean underwear. My genitals stay inside my clean underwear. I don’t touch anything with them. All day long, my hands touch everything: The coffee pot in the 7-Eleven, the gas pump, the same steering wheel of my truck that I drove to the dump two weeks ago, the door handle of the office that who knows how many people have touched, the keyboard of my computer at work. By time I get up to go to the toilet they’re covered with bacteria. Meanwhile, my genitals are sitting clean in my briefs. If I’m just urinating and not wiping my butt, shouldn’t I wash my hands \*before \*I go to the bathroom? ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/11 "2013-11-06T13:42:36Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Yes, you can. Your poop has bacteria in it, called e.coli, that doesn’t hurt you as long as it stays inside your intestines, but if you get it in your mouth, it can make you really sick with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever…it’s one of the more common causes of really bad food poisoning. Do you have some source info on this (_E. coli_ from your own fecal matter causing food poisoning)? It’s just a little surprising to me. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/12 "2013-11-06T18:34:56Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Where do people get e.coli from? Is it possible for them to not have e.coli in the first place? Not if you’re a mammal. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/13 "2013-11-06T19:33:19Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Not if you’re a mammal. Especially not if you were born the old fashioned way. Mother’s routinely poop on newborns during childbirth and it isn’t a mistake, it actually gives the baby a jump-start on hosting its own colon bacteria garden which it needs to be healthy. > **[5 Insane Explanations for Stuff Your Body Does Every Day](https://www.cracked.com/article_19913_5-insane-explanations-stuff-your-body-does-every-day.html)** > > It's weird: Much of what is going on inside our own bodies is still a complete mystery to us. And the theories as to why we do some of these things are downright bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/14 "2013-11-06T20:06:21Z")
How does this topic tie in with the fact that one’s own scat doesn’t stink? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Stana\_Claus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stana_claus/32/13874_2.png) [@Stana\_Claus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stana_Claus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/15 "2013-11-06T20:29:48Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > The bolded part is what I want to discuss. > I wake up in the morning, take a shower, washing my private parts with soap and rinsing them, then I put on clean underwear. My genitals stay inside my clean underwear. I don’t touch anything with them. > All day long, my hands touch everything: The coffee pot in the 7-Eleven, the gas pump, the same steering wheel of my truck that I drove to the dump two weeks ago, the door handle of the office that who knows how many people have touched, the keyboard of my computer at work. By time I get up to go to the toilet they’re covered with bacteria. > Meanwhile, my genitals are sitting clean in my briefs. If I’m just urinating and not wiping my butt, shouldn’t I wash my hands \*before \*I go to the bathroom? Chop up some jalapeno or habenero peppers without wearing gloves, then tell me whether you should wash your hands before or wait 'til after using the bathroom! My hands frequently get dirty from whatever I’m doing to the point that I will often wash them before handling my junk, but I still wash again after just because it surely won’t hurt anything to do so. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/16 "2013-11-06T20:33:24Z")
> [@Stana\_Claus](#): > > Chop up some jalapeno or habenero peppers without wearing gloves, then tell me whether you should wash your hands before or wait 'til after using the bathroom! My hands frequently get dirty from whatever I’m doing to the point that I will often wash them before handling my junk, but I still wash again after just because it surely won’t hurt anything to do so. And that’s where the question comes from. I spent a summer tearing down motorcycles at a junkyard, and my hands got so filthy I washed them before handling my wedding tackle. I understand that it’s a good idea to wash after wiping, but my johnson is the cleanest part of my body. Clean enough to put in my wife’s mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/17 "2013-11-06T21:19:12Z")
> [@Stana\_Claus](#): > > I still wash again after just because it surely won’t hurt anything to do so. This is not true. I have really dry hands in the winter due to the low ambient humidity. Washing them too often leads to pain, cracking, and bleeding. Lotion and oil can only do so much. ---
**Author:** ![Geezer1948](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7feea3/32.png) [@Geezer1948](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geezer1948)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/18 "2014-11-09T00:15:59Z")
My daughter is a doctor and I asked her, “If urine is relatively sterile, why is it so important to wash you hands after urinating?” And she said it is because of the typically warm moist germ friendly environment of your groin and the likelihood of rectal bacteria migrating to your urinary apparatus. ---
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/19 "2014-11-09T00:37:24Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Yes, you can. Your poop has bacteria in it, called e.coli, that doesn’t hurt you as long as it stays inside your intestines, but if you get it in your mouth, it can make you really sick with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever…it’s one of the more common causes of really bad food poisoning. > > But even if you haven’t pooped, you should wash your hands after you use the bathroom. All day long, you’re picking up bacteria and viruses and molds off everything you touch. Washing your hands a few times during the day is the best way to prevent yourself from getting sick from all this stuff. Since you happen to be right next to a sink several times a day when you’re using the toilet, it’s the best habit to get into; that way you don’t have to think about going to a sink and washing throughout the day. Like the story of the little kid washing his hands after peeing and another kid walks out of the bathroom without washing. Kid one says “My mommy taught me to wash my hands after peeing.” And the other kid answered back “My Mommy taught me not to pee on my hands.” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210/20 "2014-11-09T01:55:34Z")
> [@Geezer1948](#): > > My daughter is a doctor and I asked her, “If urine is relatively sterile, why is it so important to wash you hands after urinating?” And she said it is because of the typically warm moist germ friendly environment of your groin and the likelihood of rectal bacteria migrating to your urinary apparatus. [Cecil agrees.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1043/why-are-men-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fecal-stuff/673210.md?page=2)