It’s the ultimate taboo. Honestly, even typing the words feels like breaking a social contract we all signed in kindergarten. But the medical reality of eating da poo poo—formally known as coprophagia—is a complex intersection of psychology, biology, and occasionally, extreme nutritional desperation. While the internet mostly knows this phrase from a viral, decades-old Ugandan anti-gay propaganda video that became an early meme, the actual science behind the behavior is far more nuanced than a punchline. It’s gross. We know it’s gross. But why does it happen, and what are the actual health risks involved for a human being?
The truth is that for most mammals, this isn't even a big deal. Rabbits do it to get a second shot at digesting nutrients. Dogs do it because, well, they're dogs and they find the scent of undigested proteins interesting. But for humans? It is almost always a sign that something is deeply wrong, either neurologically or psychologically.
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The Medical Reality of Coprophagia
When we talk about humans eating da poo poo, we are usually looking at a specific subset of the population. Doctors typically see this behavior in patients with advanced dementia, schizophrenia, or pica. Pica is that strange disorder where people crave non-food items like dirt, chalk, or hair. In very rare cases, it manifests as coprophagia. It’s not a "lifestyle choice" or a culinary trend, despite what some dark corners of the internet might joke about. It is a clinical symptom.
According to research published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, coprophagia in adults is frequently associated with frontal lobe damage. This is the part of your brain that handles "executive function"—the stuff that tells you, "Hey, maybe don't do that because it's dangerous and socially unacceptable." When those circuits fry, the brain's "disgust" filter disappears entirely.
What Happens to the Body?
Let's get into the weeds. If someone actually does this, they aren't just facing social ostracization; they are playing Russian roulette with a chamber full of pathogens. Human feces are a primary vector for some of the nastiest stuff on earth. We are talking about E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, and Campylobacter.
Then you have the parasites. Pinworms, roundworms, and tapeworms use the fecal-oral route to find new homes. If you consume fecal matter, you are basically giving these organisms a first-class ticket to your intestinal tract. It’s a biological disaster zone. Dr. Mark Feldman, a renowned expert on factitious disorders and unusual psychological presentations, has noted that while the act itself might not be instantly fatal, the secondary infections can lead to sepsis or extreme dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea.
The Cultural Meme vs. The Fact
You can't discuss the phrase eating da poo poo without acknowledging its origin in digital culture. The phrase exploded in 2010 when a video surfaced of a Ugandan activist, Martin Ssempa, giving a graphic presentation to a church group. He used the term to demonize the LGBTQ+ community, making wild, unfounded claims about sexual practices. It’s a weird bit of internet history where a legitimate medical term was hijacked for political propaganda and then turned into a "remix" culture joke.
But peeling back the meme layers reveals a darker history of how we use "disgust" to marginalize people. Behavioral scientists often talk about "the ick factor" as a tool for social control. By associating a group with a behavior like coprophagia, it triggers an evolutionary response in the listener to stay away. It’s a powerful, albeit manipulative, psychological tactic.
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Is There Ever a "Healthy" Version?
Interestingly, there is a medical procedure that is technically a form of this, though doctors will hate that I'm calling it that. It’s called a Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT).
When someone has a Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infection that won't go away with antibiotics, their gut biome is basically a wasteland. To fix it, doctors take a sample of healthy stool from a donor, process it into a slurry or a pill, and introduce it into the patient's system. It’s incredibly effective. In fact, FMT has a success rate of over 90% for recurrent C. diff. But—and this is a huge but—this is done under sterile conditions, often via colonoscopy or specialized "crapsules" (yes, that is a real industry term). This is a far cry from the raw, dangerous act of eating da poo poo in an uncontrolled environment.
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Why the Disgust Response Matters
Evolutionary biologists argue that our visceral reaction to feces is one of our greatest survival traits. Before we knew what a germ was, we knew that being near waste made people sick. This "behavioral immune system" is what keeps us from touching things that carry cholera or hepatitis A.
If you find yourself or someone you know genuinely curious or compelled by this behavior, it’s time to stop reading articles and start talking to a professional. In children, it can sometimes be a developmental phase or a reaction to trauma. In adults, it's a massive red flag for a neurological check-up.
Actionable Health Steps
If you suspect someone is struggling with these impulses, the approach needs to be medical, not judgmental.
- Consult a Neurologist: If the behavior is new in an adult, get an MRI or CT scan. Frontal lobe issues or early-onset dementia can often be the culprit.
- Check for Nutritional Deficiencies: Sometimes pica is the body’s weird, broken way of crying out for minerals like iron or zinc. A full blood panel is the first line of defense.
- Behavioral Therapy: For those where the issue is psychological, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) or targeted CBT can help rewire the "reward" center of the brain that has become confused.
- Immediate Medical Intervention: If ingestion has already occurred, do not wait for symptoms. Go to an urgent care facility. They need to screen for parasites and bacterial blooms immediately. You don't want to wait until you're dealing with a full-blown Salmonella crisis.
The world of human behavior is broad and often unsettling. While the internet treats eating da poo poo as a joke or a shocking headline, the reality is a mix of high-stakes medicine and complex brain chemistry. Stay safe, stay clean, and keep the "good" bacteria where they belong—and the "bad" stuff as far away as possible.