Why Does Poop Smell Linger On Skin? Explore the reasons behind the lingering odor of feces on skin surfaces.
Uncover effective tips and solutions to mitigate and eliminate the unpleasant smell for improved hygiene and comfort.
It’s obvious that poop smell is the most unpleasant odor anyone can dare tolerate.
While you don’t have to worry about the disgusting smell once you’ve completely flushed the waste away, it can be very disturbing if the scent lingers on your skin.
This may happen even after washing your hands thoroughly after finishing your business in the bathroom! But don’t worry about it anymore as this article will provide an effective solution to this problem.
Also Read: What Happens If You Flush a Frog Down the Toilet?
Why The Poop Smell Is So Strong?
There are plenty of reasons why you may be experiencing a terrible smell when you poop. They include:
1. Eating Sulfurous Foods
When you eat lots of very sulfurous foods, like cabbage and broccoli, you will likely have stinky poop. However, the experience varies from person to person regardless of whether they partook in a similar amount of sulfurous foods.
2. Certain Medication
The drugs you take, prescription or not, can affect how your poop smells and how long it remains on your skin.
For instance, some people take a lot of antibiotics, which can cause their bodies to produce more sulfur gas. Drugs can cause different odors in different people, and this depends on how many pills they take daily.
If an individual takes antibiotic pills for four days, their stools will smell differently than if they took them for eight days.
3. An Infection
People with certain parasites or bacterium infections can produce different odors in their stools and change the consistency and frequency of their bowel movements.
Some diseases that cause people to have bad diarrhea for a long time can cause them to have stronger-smelling poop.
4. Excessive Alcohol
Consuming a lot of alcohol may mask the foul smell poop, but it can cause your body to have bowel problems that cause you to experience an extremely unpleasant poop smell.
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5.Lactose Intolerance
Symptoms of lactose intolerant people include producing very bad poop smells every time they eat icy products.
Icy treats of dairy products such as milk can cause some people to produce very strong odors when they visit the bathroom. If you feel strange every time you have an icy treat, it could be that you are lactose intolerant.
The lactase enzyme helps you break down lactose into small pieces that you can easily digest. Suppose your intestines do not have enough lactase enzymes or do not make enough.
In that case, bacteria in your bowels can cause fermentation of undigested lactose, which causes you to experience very smelly stools.
Therefore, you should avoid eating any dairy products or take a lactase-enzyme-containing medication such as Lactaid before taking an icy treat.
People have slightly different digestive systems, and what may be subtle for one person might be very powerful for another. Hence, people who are lactose intolerant may feel very uncomfortable after eating dairy products.
Also Read: Do Bidets Get Poop On Them?
What Causes Poop Smell To Linger On Skin?
When a stench from the smell of poop remains on your skin, it is most likely because of several reasons, including:
1. The smell is too strong
If the smell emanating from the poop is too strong, it’s likely to linger on your skin much longer. It is normal for unpleasant odors to start to fade after some time, but if the odor is very strong, it may persist for a while.
2. Poor cleaning after toilet visits
One of the reasons why poop smells on the skin is that people don’t properly clean their skin after using the restroom.
If you do not completely clean off the fecal matter when you go to the bathroom, it may take a long time to get rid of the horrible odor that smells like rotting meat from your skin.
3. The type of poop
There are different types of poop, and if you drink more water after meals, the smell will be less pronounced.
If you have diarrhea, it may take a while for the smell of poop to go away. Sometimes it takes several days for hydrogen sulfide gas to be completely absorbed by the skin.
Also Read: Is Sitting On The Toilet Backwards Acceptable?
4. Slow Breakdown of Hydrogen Sulfide Gas
Hydrogen sulfide gas is what makes poop smell horrible. It needs to be broken down by natural chemicals over time.
For hydrogen sulfide gas to fully disappear, it must be degraded by environmental chemicals, which happens slowly over time. So, if you’re in a room that is not properly aerated, the gas smell will linger on your skin for longer because the breakdown is also slower.
How Do I Get The Smell Of Poop Off My Skin?
People normally do not want to smell like poop! So when it stinks too hard and lingers on your skin for too long, it is best to go and get a good shower.
A long shower will wash away odors, feces, and germs on your skin. Make sure that you are using enough soap and water when you shower.
Also, ensure you wash your hands properly with soap before you jump into the shower. This will prevent you from transferring germs from your hands to your body parts, such as your eyes or mouth.
Also Read: Why Does My Bathroom Sink Smells Like Sewer
Can Poop Stick to Your Clothes?
Poop smell can get trapped in your clothes mainly because the fibers of your clothes are not porous. If a fabric contains some natural fiber like cotton or wool, odor molecules could attach themselves to the material’s surface, allowing odor molecules to stick there for a long time.
However, fabrics made of synthetic materials such as polyester and nylon are more likely to allow odor molecules to disappear and escape quickly.
If you think some of your clothing may have been contaminated by poop, you must change clothes. That will prevent you from transferring germs and the bad smell to your skin.
The Takeaway
Although poop smell can be so disgusting, it’s mostly harmless. If the smell doesn’t seem to fade away immediately, you shouldn’t fret, as it can’t harm you directly.
But, if the smell lasts, and perhaps you’ve noticed a few awkward symptoms, seek medical attention from your doctor or clinician immediately.
