this post was submitted on 19 Jul 2024
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Is it safe to wash your ass with your hand after shitting? (discuss.online)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/medical_advice
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Is it safe to wash your anus with water and your (ungloved) hand after pooping, assuming (of course) that you don't touch anything with your hand until you wash it with soap and water?

I'm currently traveling in India. It's common here, instead of using toilet paper after deification, to pour water down your back and use your left hand to wipe your anus clean of feces. I googled to find information from medical professionals to understand if this is safe or not, but I (surprisingly) couldn't find any information on the Internet about this.

Of course, let's assume that we're doing this properly:

  1. You only use one hand (typically your left hand), so feces only contaminates one hand.
  2. You don't touch anything in the bathroom (eg pitcher, faucet, door knob, etc) with your soiled left hand until after you wash your hands
  3. You wash your hands properly, following best-practices: using soap and water, scrubbing vigorously for at least 20 seconds.

I'm less interested in your personal opinion, and more interested if any studies have been done analyzing the efficacy of safety in this scenario, using a proper scientific study.

Have any studies been done to analyze if it's safe to wipe your ass with your hand (and wash your hands properly with soap and water after)?

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[–] JeeBaiChow 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It's safe. The better question is, is it safe to eat with your hands after doing so and washing, as is done in many parts if the world. Fingernails can retain a lot of nastiness, even after washing.