Dumb Health Tips: Fecal Matter In Beards? Not So Much.
I have a beard. I've had a beard for around ten years now and I feel pretty strongly that it does not, nor has it ever, contained fecal matter.
There have been several articles flying around the internet lately touting this myth based on some loose testing. In terms of what I read, there was no mention of how they constructed their sample population or any indication that the study was carefully done. They may have just walked outside, found a group of 20 nasty looking dudes with facial hair, and run tests on samples from them. Possibly an exaggeration, but until I hear proof to the contrary, I'll remain skeptical.
The analysis of the swabs they quoted didn't even say there were traces of fecal matter in the samples. Why would an article claim that this was the case when the science they are referring to doesn't even say that? The smart money's on sensationalized clickbait. The quote I read from the analysis said that in their samples, there were traces of bacteria that were the kinds of bacteria you might find in fecal matter.
You know, over 90% of people who have serious illnesses also have water in their bodies. That's really the kind of statement this article is making to me.
Sure, there are plenty of people who don't adequately clean their facial hair, but I would hazard that head hair is equally as disgusting if unwashed. For that matter, if people are that concerned about nefarious substances in beards, I'd say you should probably be concerned about faces in general.
Really, people who resist washing their hands are the ones more than likely toting around some problematic bacteria.