Poop Smell
 

Hi Everyone

If onec can smell a distinct smell of poo, does taht mean that poo is present, even in minute quantities and hence a health hazard is posed, or can there be situations where there can be a strong smell of poo but no physical presence of poo?

Cheers

Kelvin

where are you smelling this smell?

because our ground is saturated we get a smell from our septic trench. a couple of fine days and it disappears.

A fart isn't poo.

Dr Karl covers farts pretty well, quite often. "Everyone" seems to think that farts contain poo.

Apart from that though, I think the smell has to come from something.

I do remember seeing a sign in the emergency ward at the local hospital.. in the toilet. "please close the lid before flushing to avoid the spread of aerosols"

My shit don't stink.

:-)

/* Dr Karl covers farts pretty well, quite often. "Everyone" seems to think that farts contain poo. */

If the compounds that comprise the smell are the same, then if one considers such compounds part of faeces, then the same component of flatulence is part of faeces.

Might be a big "if", I can't be sure.



It is not necessary for a tangible turd to be present locally, however, since smell is largely subjective, and even if objective, there are many places in 'ur smelling tube system for odours to be trapped and continue to stimulate the senses later on.

Is that the technical term?

Who nose?

On the TV show "Dirty jobs" the smell of soiled nappies was analysed by a company whose normal job it is to use chemicals to reproduce odours and place them in bits of plastic for distribution.

I can't remember what all the chemicals were, but hydrogen sulphide, skatole and indole were definitely among them, [putrescene?]. Mix in appropriate quantities and it will smell just like poo, without the health risk.

This episode:
"Spray Insulation Technician
Nov 27, 2007 Season 3 Episode 24
Mike Rowe gets dirty with a team of airport runway painters, examines dirty diapers for bad smells and then teams up with a group of spray insulation technicians that get dirty to keep our houses warm."

To view online see http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/dirty...eason-3/279523

On a semi-related note, I remember the day my teacher put one drop of butyric acid on the room...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miasma_theory

The miasma theory (also called the miasmatic theory) held that diseases such as cholera, chlamydia or the Black Death were caused by a miasma (Μίασμα, ancient Greek: "pollution"), a noxious form of "bad air".

The miasma theory was accepted from ancient times in Europe, India and China. The theory was eventually displaced in the 19th century by the discovery of germs and the germ theory of disease.

---------------------------------------------------

It's one of those things where they made an observation and came to a conclusion and although they were kind of right, they were right for the wrong reasons...

As I recall, the odour of faeces involves H2S, lower mercaptans, related sufur compounds, heterocyclics like skatole, indole, and variants on that molecular theme. (Putrescine and cadaverine are diamines originating from rotting corpses.) Such molecules can originate from other enzymatic degradations of proteins, and fat degradation also gives particular contributions to the odour. Faecal aromas can originate from rotting tissue, and some fungi and plants produce similar faecal odours, to attract certain insects for pollination and spore distribution. The smell of faeces (as for all aromas) comes from molecules entering the olfactory apparatus in the nose. The molecules locate onto particular sites of the protein surfaces, to send particular electrical signals via the neurones to the brain. That is the "smell", which occurs in the brain.

As odour is caused by volatile molecules, you do not need a solid particle to experience it. Of course, the volatiles are issued from the faecal surface, but a faecal aroma does not necessarily mean a faecal mass or particle. But it usually does, although not always, as shown by my comments about plants and fungi. In particular, a faecal aroma does not necessarily indicate the presence of an infectious material.

It is a common misconception that flatus (fart vapour, if you insist) contains actual, presumably infectious, and certainly noxious, particles of faeces in the air - just one of the myriadof instances of scientific ignorance. It's just that the general public has an imperfect conception of molecular reality.

As an aside, my observation is that, in general discourse, these days, if the speaker has a choice between the words poop or poo, rather than faeces, stools, dung, ordure, droppings, scat, manure, and such-like, they will go for the former, every time! That's especially true of ABC announcers, even in science shows. I wonder why that is. By the way, did you know that the singular of faeces is faex?

thanks Elfram. You really know your faex.

I am not sure but I do think that the current increase in usage of poop in media, is an Americanism.

// On a semi-related note, I remember the day my teacher put one drop of butyric acid on the room...

On the room?
I remember the smell though, quite a nice and sweet aroma.

I've noticed a few people who have breath that smells like poop :/ very unpleasant.
One person in particular has that smell...all...the...time :/

that is significant >:/ in the dim dark reaches of my memory.

joey to feed then I'll go looking...

Yep, it has rung a bell in my brain, but I am weary and will drift away for now :P

both sulfur based chemicals and putrescents like indole and skatole are associated with halitosis...

Maybe their diet is shit.

The smell is in my sons bedroom