Woman claims she beat superbug by transplanting her husband’s POO inside her at home on C4’s Health Detectives
Doctors told Catherine Duff that there was nothing else they could offer her, so her husband helped her carry out the method at home
TONIGHT’S episode of The Health Detectives includes a woman who claims that a DIY poo transplant helped he get over a debilitating super bug.
At the beginning of the show, Dr Pixie Mckenna described how the large intestine is usually home to loads of ‘good’ bacteria that keeps us healthy and helps to fend off infection.
But some people contract superbugs, like Clostridium difficile (or C. diff), that attack the good bacteria, which can lead to debilitating symptoms.
C. diff affects over half a million people across the globe and it can prove especially difficult to treat.
She added that many people have taken to the internet to testify that a stranger’s POO could be the answer.
C. diff sufferer Catherine Duff told the show: “My doctors told me that there was nothing else they could offer me.
“I was frantic and started researching and found out about FMT (Faecal microbiota transplant) in Australia.
“Of course, I couldn’t get there. My husband being, the intrepid soul that he is, said ‘we’re going to do this at home.’
“And within four hours I felt almost completely well.
And when asked if she was worried about the fact that she was transplanting her husband’s stool into herself, Catherine said: “I was at the stage where I would have tried anything.”
Dr Pixie went on to say that there isn’t a lot of hard evidence to suggest that FMT works, adding that we don’t know the immediate risk of not screening the poo and catching something – or the long term risks.
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WHAT IS A POO TRANSPLANT?
Faecal microbiota transplant, or FMT, is a recognised procedure, used by doctors in a small number of cases to treat recurrent superbug C.diff infections.
It is only used when other treatments, such as long-term antibiotics, have failed.
How is it performed?
The treatment should only ever be performed by a qualified doctor.
It involves collecting a stool sample from a donor, who is tested to ensure they carry no harmful bugs and have the correct bacteria in their digestive tracts to help combat the bug.
The sample is then mixed with saline, strained and placed into the patient via a colonoscopy, endoscopy or an enema.
How does it work?
FMT aims to replace good bacteria that has been killed or suppressed, often by the use of antibiotics.
This killing of good bacteria allows bad bacteria, specifically C.diff, to over-populate the colon.
The infection can then lead to a condition called C.diff colitis, which causes painful and sometimes fatal diarrhoea.
By restoring the balance of bacteria in the intestines, the idea is that the patient will be better able to fight infection.
Who can be a donor?
Donors can be family members, or others who are known to you.
But, they must:
- be tested for a wide array of bacterial and parasitic infections
- be free of health problems
- lead a healthy lifestyle
Donors are screened for a range of infectious diseases, including HIV, hepatitis A, B and C and syphilis.
Source: Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital
The method is not currently regulated here on in the US - so many sufferers are blending up their poo at home.
She added: “As a GP, I am always concerned when people take their health into their own hands without medical guidance – and without knowing the risks.”
She went on to investigate how people online are advising others to carry out the technique – adding that viewers should “not try this at home.”
Using a blender, Pixie adds poo and water, before whizzing up the ingredients into a dark, murky liquid.
She then pours and secures the mix into a transfusion bag, adding that the line into the bag is then placed up the patient’s “tail end”, while the bag is placed up high.
“Not something I’d fancy doing”, she adds.
The Health Detectives in on Channel 4, Mondays at 8pm.