Really disgusting medical question. Not for the squeamish.

[Bunny]

Seriously, this is gross. But is it possible?

Can someone with a blockage in the intestine get so back-filled with feces that they begin vomiting it (feces, that is)? I had someone tell me this had happened to his mother, but since this person is known to be full of shit (seriously, no pun intended), I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not.

Does anyone know? And if it were true, wouldn't that have very grave medical implications?

[commander bunnypants]

1. I doubt but I am not a doc

probably would go septic first

CB

[silverlib]

18. Yes

my mother had an undiagnosed hernia. It eventually completed blocked her intestinal track and by the time they found what the problem was, it was too late to surgically correct this and it killed her.

Now, not for the faint of heart - they were pumping fecal matter out of her stomach so she would not have to throw it up. She did not maintain consciousness very long after this started.

[Bunny]

22. I am so sorry your mother went through that.

The loss of consciousness was probably a blessing, no?

[silverlib]

23. Thanks...

This was in 1979 and my mother had so many other ailments (this being the reason they missed the hernia) that the time had come for all the suffering to stop. I was only in my twenties at the time and had a hard time recognizing that her suffering had to stop, but years seem to bring the reality on and the doctors learned something and hopefully were able to help other people through the missed diagnosis. This is not a typical thing to happen. Thanks again.

[kmla]

2. I dunno...

but

Ewwwwwww!!!

[shraby]

5. They were probably told the person

vomited up bile and confused it with feces.

[skypilot]

3. People with such a condition...

...simply become conservative talk show hosts.

[commander bunnypants]

4. hahahah

great one

CB

[Phillycat]

6. Yes.

This happened to a friend's mother with intestinal cancer. They removed the majority of the intestine and toward the end, just before she died, she was vomiting feces. Black.

[paula777]

Noooooooooo, black bile, not feces, right?????

[paula777]

7. The little girl from Poltergiest died from a intestinal blockage

But I don't think she was throwing up feces. I think your friend was kidding you.

[redqueen]

8. Yes I believe it is.

Having a bunch of family members employed in the health care industry makes for some very strange and sometimes disturbing stories during get togethers.

[neweurope]

9. Somebody told me about this once and I swore the human

body wasn't built like this, it is impossible. But I have read it since. It seems to be true.

[commander bunnypants]

10. all right i am gonna go ask the doc down the hall

be back

cb

[Richardo]

11. I'd think your colon would rupture first - that's what 12-15 FEET?

You'd have to be 'non-productive' for a long long time to block up that much intestine.

I think we have a new one for 'Mythbusters'!!

[TexasBushwhacker]

20. It depends on where the blockage is ...

but yes, I've heard of this happening in end stage cancer. It's your small intestine that's 20 feet, not your colon. It's only about 5 feet, although it is bigger in diameter.

[radwriter0555]

12. My mother told me this when I was young and didn't poop precisely at

7:00 am every morning.

The consequences were dire.

[Richardo]

15. 'Dire' or 'diarrhea'?

Could not resist. :)

[commander bunnypants]

13. my doc says yes

while in training he had patients were he could smell feces on there breath

cb

[MichaelHarris]

14. yes called sepsis

if the intestine is blocked leakage can occur causing a bacterial infection in the blood stream. You could croak. You wouldn't vomit feces but you would vomit your stomach contents.
My wife is a doctor and has seen this happen, especially in newborns.

[paula777]

16. so the answer is no, you don't throw up feces

[MichaelHarris]

19. lemme ask her

she's right here. Ok here da poop, you toss the poop, it would be very very bad she said. I answered her by saying, "No shit it would be bad"

[Bunny]

17. Well, thank you and everyone for the info.

I did not see how that could be possible, but apparently it is. His mother has been very sick lately, and since she's 84 yrs. old this could be the end of the line for her. That is so very sad. Imagine vomiting your intestines out, literally.

[Zuni]

21. Yes and it can come out of other orifices too, like the skin

[Lydia Leftcoast]

24. I used to work in a medical liberary, where my job was copying

journal articles requested through inter-library loan, and I recall an article about someone vomiting feces.

(I learned so many things that I wish I didn't know in that job. Ewww.)

[prairie populist]

25. Gross but true

After being bedridden for several months with terminal cancer, my grandma developed an intestinal blockage and starting vomiting fecal matter. Switched her to a strictly liquid diet and she didn't live long after that. She didn't want to die in a hospital so all of her kids and grandkids took care of her around the clock. It was a rough time.