Social media users were horrified to learn about ‘waffle stomping’, which doctors called ‘unhygienic’ and ‘a mistake’.
The issue enraged the Internet when Andrew Carpenter, a lawyer in Australia, recirculated a post on Reddit in which a man details his wife’s disgusting showering habit.
In the post, which was originally published in 2022, the man said his wife ‘poops in the shower and throws it down the drain.’ It is not a joke.’
“He even broke the news to me while laughing,” the user wrote. “Do you know what a waffle stomp is,” he asked me while I laughed and laughed so hard that he started to cry. “I feel disgusted and betrayed.”
Doctors criticized the practice for risking serious bacteria and infections such as E. coli, salmonella and norovirus.
A Reddit post about ‘stepping on waffles’ or defecating in the shower circulated again on social media this week, prompting users and doctors to criticize the ‘disgusting’ habit as ‘unhygienic’ and ‘a mistake.’
Dr Stuart Fischer, an internal medicine doctor in New York, told DailyMail.com: “This is unhygienic and medically and cosmetically incorrect.”
A 2020 study by QS Supplies examined the bathing habits of 1,000 Americans and Britons, such as how often they bathe.
In addition to one in three people claiming to urinate in the shower, a surprising one in 30 admitted to stomping on waffles.
Dr. Fischer noted that, in addition to being “ridiculous,” stomping on waffles means you’re coming into contact with a variety of harmful pathogens. These can pass through toenails and open wounds on the foot, causing infections.
One of the main bacteria found in feces is E coli, as it lives in the intestines of people and animals. While many strains of E. coli are harmless, others can cause infections, such as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.
Symptoms of this infection include fever, diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting.
In some cases, patients can develop a kidney disease called hemolytic uremic syndrome. If left untreated, this can lead to kidney failure and death.
Additionally, feces have been shown to contain salmonella and norovirus, the number one foodborne illness in the US.
“There are a lot of bacteria in human feces that, in some people, can be fatal,” Dr. Fischer said.
“This is definitely a mistake.”
He also noted that if bacteria gets on the surface of a waffle masher’s foot, it would require vigorous scrubbing to remove it, which could cause it to remain for days or weeks.
‘We have to make the right health decisions all the time. Even in the shower,” said Dr. Fischer.
Social media users were horrified when they learned what stepping on waffles was like.
“Divorce and restraining order,” a user named ana_gwugwu said on Carpenter’s new Instagram post.
Paige Gregory said: ‘So you just do it while you’re in the shower OR you go to the shower to do it?’
“That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” shana.mamay said.
