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Scientists Warn People Off Injecting Poo Into Themselves At Home

Scientists Warn People Off Injecting Poo Into Themselves At Home

People are resorting to DIY faecal transplants in an attempt to cure themselves of 'superbugs' like C. difficile

Chris Ogden

Chris Ogden

This has been a year for weird trends so far - most notably the Tide pod challenge which saw people jokingly chomp on laundry detergent to get to the colourful goo inside (spoiler: turns out it's a very bad idea).

But this latest one is altogether more disgusting, as people are taking to YouTube to blend human poo and inject it into themselves with enemas, in an attempt to give themselves faecal transplants.

Doctors are now warning that doing these 'DIY' fecal transplants could be putting people at risk of spreading a whole host of medical conditions, from HIV to obesity. They must get really tired of telling people to give their heads a wobble.

LEARN MORE ABOUT FAECAL TRANSPLANTS BELOW:

Before you wonder what on earth people are playing at, there is a rational reason behind transplanting poo from one healthy person to another - in clinical settings, of course.

Faecal transplants are commonly used by hospital to treat certain bacterial conditions, like the hospital superbug C. difficile, at times when antibiotics fail to get the infection under control. They essentially work by introducing a 'microbiome' - a community of bacteria - from a healthy person into a sick person's gut.

The problem is: with rumours flying around as to the good faecal transplants can do, people are having a go at performing themselves, leading doctors to get more than a bit worried.

Faecal transplants are used to treat nasty bugs like C. difficile.
PA

Speaking with the Guardian, University of California San Diego professor Rob Knight said DIY faecal transplants are 'regrettably something that are increasing in frequency'.

A microbiome expert presenting his latest research to the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference this week, Grant said that having a go at injecting poo at home risks exposing the recipient to a range of bacteria that could do more harm than good.

That isn't just the risk of a dodgy tum either - as research throws up more conditions that are linked to the microbiome, recipients could be leaving themselves at risk to aspects of conditions like MS and Parkinson's.

"Given that we know that these are things that in mice, at least, can be transmitted by the microbiome, it is not cause for panic yet, but it is certainly cause for concern that the same might be true in humans," the paediatrics professor told the Guardian.

HEALTH OFFICIALS SOUND ALARM OVER TIDE POD CHALLENGE:

At the moment, faeces donors are extensively screened in clinical settings for conditions including infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis. Obviously, if you're having a go on your kitchen table at home, the screening process is far less stringent.

Just one example of the unexpected dangers of the microbiome came in 2015, when a patient being treated for an infection of C. difficile received a fecal transplant from her healthy, but overweight, daughter and ended up becoming obese herself.

As research in this area grows, the more risky faecal transplants look. All the more reason for ill people to stay patient and just let the professionals try treating them instead.

Featured Image Credit: Michael Hurst/YouTube

Topics: News, Technology