A doctor had divided opinion online after claiming we should never sleep naked for one very disgusting reason. Find out why in the video below:
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Anthony Youn MD (@tonyyounmd) is a 'holistic plastic surgeon' based in Detroit, who regularly posts TikTok videos about medical matters.
In one of his latest posts, he explained why he believes people should 'never sleep without underwear', saying: "This is why you should never sleep in the nude.
"The average person passes gas 15-25 times a day, and this can happen while you're sleeping.
"And a scientific study proved that every time you pass gas, you are spraying a tiny amount of fecal material.
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"This is true, even if it's not a real shart [s*** and fart, for those not blessed with the knowledge of that portmanteau].
"And the same study showed that your tighty whities will catch all of these particles. So for the sake of your bed partner, please sleep with your underwear on."
He added: "And change your sheets regularly you disgusting animal!"
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Youn's video racked up 10 million views on TikTok and more than 680,000 likes - along with thousands of comments from a very divided public.
While some people seemed pretty grossed-out by the revelation, others remained nonplussed.
One horrified user wrote: "So. We basically air s****ing."
Another wrote: "I will sleep alone."
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A third said: "My husband and I will just keep air s****ing on each other I guess."
Another added defiantly: "Listen I've farted happily into my bedsheets for 39 years. You ain't gonna change me."
After some people argued that gynecologists had told them it's better for their 'lady parts' to sleep 'sans underwear', Youn added in the comments: "For women - if your gyno tells you to sleep without underwear then listen to them.
"For guys - put your tighty whities on before bed!"
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Youn did not specify the study he was referring to, but one article from 2001 - published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) - seems to echo similar ideas, discussing the story of a nurse who 'wanted to know whether she was contaminating the operating theatre she worked in by quietly farting in the sterile environment during operations'.
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki conducted an experiment with Luke Tennent, a microbiologist in Canberra, asking a colleague to 'break wind directly onto two Petri dishes from a distance of 5 centimetres, first fully clothed, then with his trousers down'.
The results of the unusual experiment indicated that 'skin bacteria' could be blasted onto other surfaces by farts, but not if someone was clothed.
"Overnight, the second Petri dish sprouted visible lumps of two types of bacteria that are usually found only in the gut and on the skin," Kruszelnicki explained.
"But the flatus which had passed through clothing caused no bacteria to sprout, which suggests that clothing acts as a filter.
"Our deduction is that the enteric zone in the second Petri dish was caused by the flatus itself, and the splatter ring around that was caused by the sheer velocity of the fart, which blew skin bacteria from the cheeks and blasted it onto the dish.
"It seems, therefore, that flatus can cause infection if the emitter is naked, but not if he or she is clothed."
Kruszelnicki said the results of the experiment should 'not be considered alarming' as neither type of bacterium is harmful, comparing them to the 'friendly' bacteria in yoghurt.
He added: "Our final conclusion? Don't fart naked near food."
Dr. William Schaffner, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and infectious diseases professor at Vanderbilt University, also told USA Today it's true that fecal matter can be found in passed gas - on a microscopic level.
Featured Image Credit: Pexels
Topics: Doctor, World News, News, Medicine, Health, TikTok