Body Fluids Fight it Out in the Hygiene Olympics

[spots]

Is there anything intrinsically unhygienic about fresh baby poo (or pee?) I find myself much quicker to put something in the washing machine if it has been poo'ed on than other body fluids. Is this just conditioning? Surely breastmilk and dribble are just as liable to harbour developing bacteria?

Maybe to complete the picture I should add fresh adult poo and pee to the spectrum, but reckon that the argument for relaxing about those is lost before it's begun because they are more smelly.

Suppose sick, blood and sperm ought to go in the mix too.

Yum!

Unless you have a bladder infection, or some other part of the urinogenital tract, urine will be sterile.

Faeces is made up of waste products that include dead bacteria. Dead bacteria make up between 1/3 to 1/2 of the mass of your poo! Most of these will be dead, but not all of them. So poo can be a health risk.

There is also a risk of bacteria in vomit and blood, and semen (if someone has an infection of the genital tract).

If urine is sterile, why do you have to wash your hands after having a wee?

Poo is visible 'dirt', whereas baby wee, dribble, etc are not so visible. I imagine we're more conditioned to think of something as dirty if we can see that it is dirty, IYSWIM.

So it doesn't smell? No idea. But it is sterile.

Yuk, that's revolting about dead bacteria. Imagine me not knowing that! Have been a bit blase about the 'clean' poo of breastfed baby but shall review that attitude, perhaps with the assistance of a pair of Marigolds...

eughhhhhhhh.......

Don't forget snot!

I bet you're the life and soul of parties, hmb.

Ewwwwwwww!

To be brutal about this if you don't have enough dead bacteria you can be consipated! Lactulose worked by getting the bacteria in our bowel to multiply to healty levels to 'bulk out' the stool and make it nice and soft. Yum Yum [grin}

That's me coppertop! LOL!

I'm a great biology teacher tho! They never forget the gross things I tell them!

please don't start the "drinking urine" conversation again! I still feel a bit queasy.

PMSL! (In a sterile manner of course!)