After reading the posts about the ingestion of feces here on the board, I thought it might be helpful to post something I read a while ago on another board (http://www.femmedomme.com/cgi-bin/ul...=000031#000011)

This was written by a person describing himself as a "physician" - and he certainly sounds like he knows what he's talking about:

I have been contacted for information and advice on the issue of safety in the oral acceptance of feces on several occasions, because whenever someone on the Max Fisch board states that the activity is safe I post information to the contrary in order to dispel such a myth. In the pre-HIV (and pre- "safe sex") era, there was something known as "gay bowel syndrome", a rather pejorative term, but one that was due in some cases to this activity.
Essentially, the issues are as follows. Feces contains approximately 10 to the 12th power (1,000,000,000,000) bacteria per gram and may contain viruses and parasites as well. In some cases, these organisms may be pathogens (microorganisms that are capable of causing disease). The absence of symptoms of illness in a person does not in any way exclude the possibility that a pathogen is present. Even analingus (rimming), a relatively common activity among heterosexuals (though one that is rarely discussed at business lunches), is associated with some risk of infection. Recall that the major public health achievement of the past hundred years is maintaining an uncontaminated public water supply-in other words preventing humans from ingesting the feces of other humans. This is also why they post those lovely signs in rest rooms in restaurants telling employees to wash their hands after using the toilet.

Specific organisms that may be transmitted via the fecal-oral route include:

Bacteria:
In general, stomach acid is somewhat protective against bacterial infection, so people who take antacids or medications that decrease production of stomach acid might be expected to have an increased probability of acquiring these infections.

Salmonella species can cause a self-limited gastroenteritis but can also cause serious infections, including life-threatening bloodstream infections. The number of organisms that must be ingested to produce clinical illness is relatively high. In some cases people can have no symptoms (be carriers) and excrete these organisms in the feces. The etiologic agent of typhoid fever is a member of the Salmonella genus and causes severe illness. The carrier state for typhoid fever is well known, as in "Typhoid Mary", a woman who excreted this organism in her feces for years.

Shigella species are the bacterial cause of dysentery, which is associated with severe clinical illness characterized by bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain. Very few organisms need to be ingested in order to cause illness, on the order of only 10 to 50 bacteria, so any oral acceptance of feces would have to be considered likely to cause this infection if the feces contains Shigella species.

E. coli O157:H7 is associated with severe clinical illness characterized by bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain and is also associated with kidney failure and a significant mortality rate. As with Shigella species, very few organisms need to be ingested in order to cause illness, on the order of only 1 to 10 to 50, so any oral acceptance of feces would have to be considered likely to cause this infection if the feces contain pathogenic E. coli.

Campylobacter species and Yersinia enterocolitica are other bacterial causes of gastroenteritis that are transmitted via the fecal-oral route and might be expected to be potential causes of illness in people who ingest feces.

Viral infections that might be expected to be transmitted via this route include many of the enteroviruses (some of which cause gastroenteritis, others cause clinical illnesses that are neurologic in presentation), hepatitis A virus (see the thread on "Prevention of Viral Hepatitis" from April by setting the properties to "Show all topics"), other hepatitis viruses, and (in the worst case scenario if there is blood in the feces) HIV virus (the cause of AIDS).

Parasitic infections that are transmitted via the fecal-oral route are too numerous to name. These tend to be more common in developing countries than in the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe. As a result, it would seem to me to be foolhardy to engage in activities that involve oral-anal or fecal-oral contact with someone from Latin America or a developing country due to a very high prevalence of parasitic disease. Some of the more common ones that can be transmitted by someone who does not appear to be ill include:

Amebic dysentery, which is caused by Entamoeba histolytica. This can present as bloody diarrhea but can also result in invasion of the liver (amebic liver abscesses) and other complications;

Giardiasis, which is caused by Giardia lamblia, typically manifests as a chronic diarrheal disease;

Cysticercosis, due to the ingestion of the eggs of the pork tapworm, Taenia solium, can result in parasitic invasion of virtually any organ in the body. In Mexico, this is the leading cause of seizures in adults due to the invasion of the brain by the parasite;

Intestinal roundworm infection, due to Ascaris lumbricoides, is estimated to infect approximately one billion people worldwide. Numerous eggs are excreted in the feces by carriers which, upon ingestion, transmit the infection which may cause abdominal pain, intestinal obstruction, or invasion of the bile ducts;

Whipworm (hard not to include this one given the nature of Thor's board) is so called because it looks like a single-tailed whip (to see this single-tail whip appearance, go to an image at http://www.parasitology.org/Images/Imgbank/498.jpeg). It is caused by a parasite, Trichuris trichiura that is about as common worldwide as is roundworm. In heavy infections, there may be abdominal pain, diarrhea, and rectal prolapse.

Many, many other parasitic infections are transmitted via the fecal-oral route.

So, in summary, this is not a "safe" activity. Nevertheless, people certainly engage in other unsafe activities. Each person who considers engaging in such an activity should be well informed on the risks, so that a well thought out decision can be made.


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This posting is intended for informational and educational purposes and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by a medical professional. Always consult a physician if you have specific, personal health concerns


This is probably a pretty good resumee of the health issues involved - I have read other sources that back this up. So is it SSC? I dunno...
After hearing from a couple of people who practice brown play regularly with no significant ill effects, I'd say that if all play partners are completely healthy, the risks are not all that great. A lady who I know ingests regularly from differing partners told me in her opinion, the body gets used to it. The poster above also mentions that one of our great advancements is hygine. If we (westerners) go to a 3rd world country and drink a sip of water, we end up sick for weeks. Meanwhile the natives drink gallons a day and are fine. Maybe only people from 3rd world countries should try this at home.