Why do we consider V so gross?

[mooki]

I've asked myself this and I can't figure out why. On a rational level, I don't understand people's reactions to it. Even people who don't have Emet are severely grossed out if they see it on the ground or see someone doing it. But why? When it comes down to it, it's just chewed up food, maybe with some stomach acid mixed in(which I think is clear anyway). The composition of it is basically the same as the stuff that's on your dinner plate. It's just that it's chewed up and partially liquified. But for someone reason, just seeing it in it's partially chewed and liquified state spooks people. I don't really understand why that is.

Just knowing that doesn't help though. There's nothing worse to see than seeing a person with projectile v. I'd rather watch someone defecate from close up than see them puke from a distance. I'd rather see someone covered in blood and maggots than see someone puke. I think seeing someone puke is right up there with seeing someone get shot or stabbed as far as shock of it.

None of this is rational and I for the life of me I just can't understand where this reaction comes from. Whether it's something in-born or learned, or whether it's a universal cultural trait.

[crd08]

It's just not visually appealing and it smells..ew

And nobody actually likes to vomit. I mean, normal people do it, but still..it's typically unpleasant because nobody likes to be/feel sick. Because of that we just find it aesthetically not pleasing in general.

[Francesca]

Probably the same reason why we're repulsed by the smell and sight of rotting food. Maybe it's a primal protective self-preservation thing that instinctively keeps us away from something that could make us sick. You know what I mean?

Imagine if people weren't repulsed by rotting food and ate it.... same idea with vomit, I guess. If we run TO people who vomit instead of instinctively wanting to stay away, we could catch something.

[gumdropper1]

Mooki, puke is not just regurgitated food. It contains butyric acid from the intestine which gives it that horribly nasty taste and smell. Also, by the time you puke, all of the sugar has been digested out the food making it taste way awful. Then there is the intestinal stuff that comes up with it, making it much more foul than simply urping up your last food would be. It is not at all irrational to want to keep that awful stuff out of your mouth.

Doug

[mvanessa]

for me its not only see it or smelling it, but how i feel when its happening, i literaly feel like i am choking and dying

[asianeko]

It's not just emets who find vomit gross. I'm sure it's the same thing as fecal matter. The looks and smell turn us off to it, and turn many stomachs. On a really primal level, it may be so we wouldn't re ingest whatever made us ill in the first place.

I don't think I know anyone, emet or non, that doesn't think vomit is nasty.

[mooki]

Mooki, puke is not just regurgitated food. It contains butyric acid from the intestine which gives it that horribly nasty taste and smell. Also, by the time you puke, all of the sugar has been digested out the food making it taste way awful. Then there is the intestinal stuff that comes up with it, making it much more foul than simply urping up your last food would be. It is not at all irrational to want to keep that awful stuff out of your mouth.

Doug

Really?? I didn't think any of it comes from the intestine. I thought it once food is passed on from the stomach, it's only way out is through your bottom, and what ever is expelled through the mouth is what was in your stomach. So I am wrong, guys??

[mooki]

It's not just emets who find vomit gross. I'm sure it's the same thing as fecal matter. The looks and smell turn us off to it, and turn many stomachs. On a really primal level, it may be so we wouldn't re ingest whatever made us ill in the first place.

I don't think I know anyone, emet or non, that doesn't think vomit is nasty.

True, everyone finds it gross and detests seeing it or doing it. The difference between the average person and us is that our fear of it has reached an obsessive level that can take over our lives.

[hairyfairy]

I find it repulsive on so many levels, not only the smell, sound, & loss of control & humiliation of V ing in front of other people, It`s the most primitive reflex that humans have. When someone V s, theyre`being like an animal. I think humans should have evolved out of this body function by now.

[gumdropper1]

Really?? I didn't think any of it comes from the intestine. I thought it once food is passed on from the stomach, it's only way out is through your bottom, and what ever is expelled through the mouth is what was in your stomach. So I am wrong, guys??

Mooki, you are wrong. Before you vomit, there is a sudden movement of material from the small intestine back into the stomach. It is called the retrograde giant contraction. It is believed this has three purposes:

1) When the body detects toxins in the GI tract, usually they are already in the small intestine;
2) More material in the stomach means it's easier to vomit;
3) The material from the small intestine neutralizes the vomit by mixing the less acidic material in the small intestine with the highly acidic stomach content.

Really, this matter from the small intestine is why we consider vomit so gross. In addition to giving vomit its unforgettable smell and taste, the matter from the small intestine changes the vomit from recognizable food we recently ate to unrecognizable glop.

You can watch this radiograph (x-ray) of a dog vomiting and actually see the retrograde giant contraction happen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6y5SykbqJE

Doug

[mooki]

I'm so tempted to click on that link but it would freak me out. Being able to see the mechanics of vomiting from the inside out would be very disturbing. So I wonder how far food can go in the small intestine before it can't come back up. Obviously it turns to poop at some point and nobody ever throws up turds.

[gumdropper1]

It's just a radiograph, Mooki. All you can see is how it looks on an x-ray. There is no actual puke visible. You wouldn't even know it's a dog unless someone told you.

The more you vomit, the farther into your small intestine the puke comes from. Each retrograde giant contraction draws stuff further toward the stomach. If you only puke once, then it is probably from the first couple of feet of your small intestine, but each additional upchuck brings another foot or so from the small intestine.

Indeed, it's possible to vomit feces. It even has a name: copremesis. Vomiting of feces is considered a medical emergency. It sometimes happens to people with an obstruction in the colon so that the material can't go down. It has to come back up.

OK, I think this might be the grossest message I have ever posted. Thanks a lot for starting me on that, Mooki!

[turbokinetic]

It's just a radiograph,......... OK, I think this might be the grossest message I have ever posted. Thanks a lot for starting me on that, Mooki!

He's becoming a bad influence on you, Doug!

Seriously - I watched the video and it was not "gross" because it is just grey shades and shadows.

It did however make me feel bad for the dog because they obviously did something to it to make this happen so fast. I understand it's just a dog, it was not permanently harmed, and it is in the name of science anyway. But still for someone who is such an empath as I am....

Anyway I'm still happy you posted it. Cool stuff!

David

[amarkham01]

Probably the same reason why we're repulsed by the smell and sight of rotting food. Maybe it's a primal protective self-preservation thing that instinctively keeps us away from something that could make us sick. You know what I mean?

Imagine if people weren't repulsed by rotting food and ate it.... same idea with vomit, I guess. If we run TO people who vomit instead of instinctively wanting to stay away, we could catch something.

This is close to what one of my physiological psychology professors said. It is a way the body protects itself. In our ancestors one person or primate in the group started to vomit, it was advantageous for the others to vomit as a precaution, as they had likely eaten the same spoiled food. There are still tons of people who will just puke at the sight of someone else puking. Not us, of course, but you still feel the nausea when you see it (and panic). That is completely normal.


And then there are my sisters dogs, who fight each other to eat it if one of them is sick. Nasty!

[mooki]

Speaking of dogs and pukes here is video that is gross and funny and ties into some of what is being said to the innate fear of vomit. The fear of it may be universal amongst the more intelligent animals.

Okay WARNING HERE! THE VIDEO BELOW IS GRAPHIC AND SHOWS A DOG PUKING WHILE HAVING SEX!!! DON'T CLICK IF THAT'S TOO MUCH FOR YOU!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOUUo769n0c

Now what makes this interesting is the reaction of the female dog. She looks at the puke then runs away. You can clearly see the dog is afraid of it. The dog might be emet!

[gumdropper1]

Turbo -

The dog in the radiograph had eaten rat poison.

Doug

[Jill in Apartment 413]

I agree that it must be an in-born fear. They have done tests on mice who have been raised in a lab and never even seen a large spider (that would normally eat them as prey) and the mice are scared of it because of some sort of inate fear of spiders that's genetically bred into them. Also, like it's been said, it's really nasty looking, sounding, and smelling, and now that I know a lot of it comes from the lower intestine...well that just freaks me out more LoL! (Don't worry I'm not angry or anything for reading that, in fact I am glad I know more, it's just freaky to me!)

[turbokinetic]

Turbo -

The dog in the radiograph had eaten rat poison.

Doug

Good reason to be sick!

[mooki]

I agree that it must be an in-born fear. They have done tests on mice who have been raised in a lab and never even seen a large spider (that would normally eat them as prey) and the mice are scared of it because of some sort of inate fear of spiders that's genetically bred into them. Also, like it's been said, it's really nasty looking, sounding, and smelling, and now that I know a lot of it comes from the lower intestine...well that just freaks me out more LoL! (Don't worry I'm not angry or anything for reading that, in fact I am glad I know more, it's just freaky to me!)

Yeah freaks me out too. That's why I can't click on the video. I'd rather not have known that. I always thought once the food passes to the lower intestine, then you are ok and have nothing to vomit up. I thought intestines only move food in one direction.

It's not often that I have smelled puke, but the times I have, it smells very sour.

[turbokinetic]

.... I always thought once the food passes to the lower intestine, then you are ok and have nothing to vomit up. I thought intestines only move food in one direction....

Just to clarify some functional anatomy here.....

The small intestine absorbs nutrients and a some water from your food. It works fast and is the most important part of your digestive tract. Food goes through it in just a few hours. In fact a person can live with nothing but a small intestine. It's really long and all folded up inside your belly. If your body beleives it is seriously being harmed, this it will send out the faulty food both directions, down and up. The part that goes down will come out as diarrhea, and the part that goes up will be V. There is some point along the small intestine where it must decide up or down, and I have no idea where that is! And I hope never to find out, either! According to what I learned in school, the material in the small intestine only gets thinner and more diluted the farther it travels, because the solids in it are being absorbed. It never turns to "turds" in the small intestine. I think when Doug said "lower intestine" he may have meant the lower half of the small intestine.

After the small intestine, the food enters the "large intestine" or "colon" as the scientists call it. It spends the rest of the time in here, where the water and some trace nutrients are absorbed. This is where it turns to "poop" so to speak. Material will NEVER reverse back from the colon to the small intestine unless your colon is completely obstructed. You would be totally about to die and have gone to the hospital before this point. None of us need to worry about that happening unless we have colon cancer, a birth defect causing a blockage, or some other major and exceedingly rare problem.

Hope this puts your mind at ease a little bit.

Respectfully,
David

[hopefuel]

OK, I think this might be the grossest message I have ever posted. Thanks a lot for starting me on that, Mooki!

lol...yeah.... thats a good one.

I have observed a number of dogs over the years, that if given the opportunity, will readily consume their own puke. I remember as a child finding that very confusing. I have also seen dogs walk away from it.
Perhaps the difference between a sick dog versus an otherwise well dog puking (because it ate too much, or too fast, of something)?

[Jill in Apartment 413]

All I know is we had a dog (Smokey) Who would eat out of the litterbox like it was chocolate or something. Then one time the cat puked and my sister didn't want to clean it up so she called the dog in the room and he ate it! I actually felt sick after watching that LoL!

[Rebecca85]

That is not only gross, it could be dangerous. Firstly if the cat was ill or eaten something poisonous the dog would have then got it. But even if the cat puked from a hairball or eating too fast or something, there are things that cats can eat that are very harmful to dogs.

[JustLacey]

Uuuurgh. Yuk....

[Silivrin]

It may be on a more subconscious and instinctive level, we're afraid and grossed out by it because we know it means sickness and discomfort, and we're worried we might catch it?

[hairyfairy]

I think with me, it seems like when someone vts, it`s as if they`re defecating out of their mouths, well, in a way they are, bcause their digestive system has gone into reverse. gross!!!!

[kellybeth]

Wow. I found this thread so interesting. I had no Idea that stuff came out of the intestine back into the stomach. As groos and strange as it is, the human body is just plain amazing!!

[KaydeeJayde]

Reading this thread has been rather interesting. I actually think it might have... eased my worry a little bit...

[gumdropper1]

^ Always glad to help, KDJD!

[Silivrin]

@HairyFairy EXACTLY! just like defecating out of your mouth! That is exactly why I don't understand why people put such graphic v*ting in movies and music videos. For added dramatic effect? Pah! If you won't show someone graphically going to the bathroom, you shouldn't be showing them v*ting!!!!!
... If you haven't guessed, it makes me mad when people just do that in videos... It comes as a surprise and scares me. I hate it.