Thursday, March 29, 2018

You Either Trust Soap or You Don't


Sometimes after a particularly difficult shit, I find myself wondering, "How much do I trust this soap?" I smelled my finger and it definitely has shit on it so whatever I do I can't let that finger touch anything I don't want shit on including my face and mouth. Have you ever worried about unintentionally ingesting your own fecal matter? I have. But then I think, "Is it really that bad for you to eat your own shit?"

The following thread seems to be divided on whether it is safe to eat your own poop:

Quora.com
https://www.quora.com/If-a-human-ate-poop-what-would-actually-happen


I imagine that even if I accidentally ingested a fingertip of my own feces I would be fine. The thought of it is repulsive and if I can avoid it I will. So, the good news is I have soap. I trust soap. I have faith in soap. I clean my butthole with my hand and use as much soap as I can get down there. Then a few minutes later I brush my teeth fingers against my mouth to floss and brush my teeth. Then I go to work and eat nuts with my hands. 

How can you clean toilets if you do not trust soap?

What is soap?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap

More Links and Articles:

The effect of soap distribution on diarrhoea: Nyamithuthu Refugee Camp
F Anne Peterson Leslie Roberts Michael J Toole Dan E Peterson

https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/27/3/520/625454

Effect of washing hands with soap on diarrhoea risk in the community: a systematic review
Author links open overlay panelValCurtis(Senior Lecturer in Hygiene Promotion)aSandy

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1473309903006066

I suppose I am a little bit of a germophobe as most people probably do not think about the dirt on their hands as much as I do. I bit my fingernails constantly for around 25 years and so I was always sticking my fingers in my mouth and always assessing the cleanliness of my hands and I still think about it now. I wash my hands regularly and especially after the restroom and before eating. I take a break from my paranoia from time to time when I go camping or as an exercise in control. Sometimes I force myself to not wash my hands to make sure that I am not simply giving in to impulse and habit.

I think it is rational to be concerned about germs, especially those that can cause sickness but I also think that the modern, first world person is probably over sanitizing themselves and their environment. It is another example of overcompensating for the sake of safety. It is better to be overly clean than to risk sickness and death. Also, we do not only affect ourselves when we are unclean and so by being overly cautious of our own germs we can save others from the negative effects of poor our hygiene.

Whether you use soap to wash away the filth or antibacterial sanitizers to kill the germs you have to trust that the microscopic threats are being thwarted. We have to trust science and experience to help us lead healthier and happier lives and hopefully, we do not render ourselves weaker for it. With too much safety and sanitization we might take away from our natural abilities to deal with threats so sometimes we might need to eat some dirt.

Some parting thoughts:

I am worried about antibiotics and how they are becoming less effective.

The Antibiotic Resistance Crisishttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4378521/

I think a large part of the instinct to imagine strangers as threats are related to foreign diseases and their potentially fatal effects.




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