# Home faecal transplants - is this a thing now? (TMI, NSFW, BYOB) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 1, 2014, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-faecal-transplants-is-this-a-thing-now-tmi-nsfw-byob/682587 "2014-03-01T13:08:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-faecal-transplants-is-this-a-thing-now-tmi-nsfw-byob/682587/21 "2014-03-02T00:41:35Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > This smoothie [smells like shit!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxD2VmZiLJ0) > > What I don’t get is that if it’s all to do with the gut flora is why you need the actual…poop rather than just a culture of the bacteria which would seem just easier all round. Not everything will grow in a lab, is my guess. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-faecal-transplants-is-this-a-thing-now-tmi-nsfw-byob/682587/22 "2014-03-02T01:42:32Z")
The Cracked article on the Shit Transfusion: > **[The 5 Most Insane Modern Medical Procedures That Work](https://www.cracked.com/article_19905_the-5-most-insane-modern-medical-procedures-that-work.html)** > > Medicine is unique in that every radical advance is simultaneously exciting and terrifying. Very, very terrifying. ---
**Author:** ![yawuntz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a5b964/32.png) [@yawuntz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yawuntz)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-faecal-transplants-is-this-a-thing-now-tmi-nsfw-byob/682587/23 "2014-03-02T02:03:04Z")
Creepy though it be, it works like a hot damn for some IBD sufferers; and it can’t be any more disgusting than [helminthic therapy](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20054982) …can it? ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-faecal-transplants-is-this-a-thing-now-tmi-nsfw-byob/682587/24 "2014-03-02T02:37:36Z")
When I first read about fecal transplants, I assumed that they went into the small intestine which is where most of the digestion is done and most of the bacteria resides, and, from one of the above posts, that seems to be correct. I wouldn’t think it would make much sense for it to go into the large intestine since very little, if any, digestion is done there, and the absorbed into the body there is very limited. Bob ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-faecal-transplants-is-this-a-thing-now-tmi-nsfw-byob/682587/25 "2014-03-02T03:06:43Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > What I don’t get is that if it’s all to do with the gut flora is why you need the actual…poop rather than just a culture of the bacteria which would seem just easier all round. there are all kinds of things living in there. it is a balance of different micro-organisms that exists. when things get unbalanced is when you get sick, very sick in a life threatening way is possible. if you made a mixture from separate cultures then it would have to be the right ones in the right proportion. you get it wrong then the person stays sick. you get the mix from a healthy body, a relative is good, then you know it’s tolerable to a body. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-faecal-transplants-is-this-a-thing-now-tmi-nsfw-byob/682587/26 "2014-03-02T03:24:27Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > in people with Clostridium difficile that isn’t resolved by other methods it can be the best and only successful treatment. Some articles I’ve seen on it seem to suggest that it’s really a very effective treatment – suitable to be used as a first resort rather than a last resort. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-faecal-transplants-is-this-a-thing-now-tmi-nsfw-byob/682587/27 "2014-03-02T03:36:01Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > in people with Clostridium difficile that isn’t resolved by other methods it can be the best and only successful treatment. > [@Senegoid](#): > > Some articles I’ve seen on it seem to suggest that it’s really a very effective treatment – suitable to be used as a first resort rather than a last resort. once it gets tried for a while that may be true. the best treatment will come out in the end. ---
**Author:** ![buddy431](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@buddy431](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddy431)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-faecal-transplants-is-this-a-thing-now-tmi-nsfw-byob/682587/28 "2014-03-02T03:39:35Z")
How segregated are the gut flora colonies between the large and small intestine. In other words, are these people doing it at home giving themselves poop enemas eventually getting bacteria to the right place? I mean, on the one hand it makes sense to have this done by a trained professional who’s accessed your situation and thinks it will help you, but on the other hand, if the procedure is really this simple, why not cut out the middle man and do it yourself? Unlike many medical treatments, you don’t need access to expensive medical equipment that has the potential to harm you if used incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-faecal-transplants-is-this-a-thing-now-tmi-nsfw-byob/682587/29 "2014-03-02T09:06:21Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Did anyone but me read the title as “facial” transplants? This. And it would have been even stranger than the actual one. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-faecal-transplants-is-this-a-thing-now-tmi-nsfw-byob/682587/30 "2014-03-02T20:23:10Z")
> [@buddy431](#): > > How segregated are the gut flora colonies between the large and small intestine. In other words, are these people doing it at home giving themselves poop enemas eventually getting bacteria to the right place? Some articles I’ve seen seem to imply that the small and large intestine do have very different livestock. It stands to reason, as they have quite different chemical environments, I think. These transplants are done via a naso-gastric tube, rather than via an enema. Why would they do that if they were simply inserting plant life into the large intestine? I think it’s the small intestine they are aiming at. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-faecal-transplants-is-this-a-thing-now-tmi-nsfw-byob/682587/31 "2014-03-02T21:38:40Z")
Reading more current literature, it appears that some are done by nasogastric tube (through the nose/mouth) and some are done by enema. I’m not clear if that’s because we’re still figuring out if there’s an optimal way to do it, or if it’s because a doctor who thinks there’s a problem in the small intestine will do ng tube and if she thinks there’s a problem in the large will use enema. No idea. But here’s why, even if it turns out that enema works just as well as ng tube, I wouldn’t DIY this one: because I can’t test my donor’s poop. It’s de rigeur to check the donor stool for a whole lot of bactera and parasites that you don’t want to give someone. It’s entirely possible for someone to be an \*asymptomatic \*carrier of things like giardia, whipworm, or even ascaris (don’t google it. Just…don’t.) If I need a fecal transplant, it’s because my intestines are already out of whack and not fighting off invasion well. I \*really \*want to minimize the risk of introducing a new nasty to be as very low as I possibly can. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-faecal-transplants-is-this-a-thing-now-tmi-nsfw-byob/682587/32 "2014-03-02T22:06:23Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Also, medically supervised fecal transplants aren’t done from the bottom up, but from the top down, as I understand it. The small intestine can’t be accessed from the ass. I was under the impression that you did not want the bacteria from the large intestine (which would be included in any fecal sample) to be placed in the small intestine. I thought that was what happened in bacterial overgrowth. The bacteria digest the food before it has a chance to be absorbed in the small intestine. As for why people do it at home: as an experimental treatment, I would assume it would be hard to get insurance to pay for it. And that’s even if you can get your doctor to try it. When something costs a lot of money to get done correctly, there are always people who are going to try to do it at home. The bigger the price difference, the more risks they’ll take. If not for the lack of testing that you’ve mentioned, I’ve even considered it myself. Even though my doctor can’t seem to figure anything out, I know there’s something wrong down there, as [TMI warning]My poop hasn’t smelled like poop for the past two years. I can even sometimes smell the food I recently ate, like you can in vomit. I wouldn’t care, but I’ve also had problems with fatigue for that same time period. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-faecal-transplants-is-this-a-thing-now-tmi-nsfw-byob/682587.md?page=1)