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We don't know how to break this to you gently, so we'll just come out and say it: There are now poop pills being used to treat bacterial infections. We know it sounds gross, but it's actually a super-exciting innovation in a world where antibiotic-resistent bacteria are becoming more and more common.
In a recent Canadian study, researchers gave 27 patients pills containing, not poop exactly, but the cleaned bacteria from a donor's healthy poop. Each of the participants suffered from recurrent C-diff infection, a bacterial infection that's both debilitating and very difficult to treat with antibiotics. Half a million Americans get C-diff each year and 14,000 of them die.
When you take a very powerful antibiotic, unfortunately it kills both the good and bad bacteria in your body, often leaving you more susceptible to future infections. But, new successes in using healthy bacteria to combat infection could represent a whole new approach to healing the body more naturally, with fewer side effects and less long-term damage.
The major drawback? Participants had to swallow 24-34 capsules (all in one sitting) for the treatment to be effective. Yikes. (The Huffington Post)