I got a horrifying 7-year infection after my boyfriend farted in my face – docs were stunned when they looked up my nose
Exclusive
NO JOKE
Christine reveals the painful symptoms she was left with following the 'joke' from her ex-partner - which she says the 'worst thing she has ever smelled'
- Eliza Loukou, Health Reporter
A WOMAN says she was left with a seven-year infection after her boyfriend farted in her face.
Though the pair parted ways, Christine Connell was plagued by a stuffy nose and facial pain for years afterwards.
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She traced her symptoms back to a fateful night spent in a hotel room.
Christine was lying in bed recovering from knee surgery when her boyfriend broke wind while he was changing in front of her.
The content creator claims she's been battling sinus infections in the seven years since.
But she didn't think to connect her health issues to the gassy incident until doctors took a culture sample from her nose.
Sinus infections are inflammation of the sinuses - cavities in the nose, cheeks and forehead - and are common after a cold or a bout of flu.
They can be caused by a virus and tend to clear up on their own in a matter of weeks, though they can linger for longer if caused by bacteria or a fungus.
Christine - known as @christinexploring online - said in a video on TikTok: "I realised that my ex-boyfriend got the best possible breakup revenge that anyone could ever get.
"I've had a persistent sinus infection ever since he and I stayed in a hotel one night after I had surgery and he farted terribly."
"I couldn't breathe," Christine added, saying she'd never smelt gas so vile.
"There's not anything that even compares to that."
Christine grappled with constant sinus infections - which cause facial pain, a stuffy nose, thick green snot and fever - in the years afterwards.
She even had a barrage of tests and scans to try to get to the bottom of it.
But her doctors - including four ear, nose and throat specialists - seemed unable to figure out the cause of her infection.
The travel influencer took to TikTok to reveal the results of her sinus tests, in a clip captioned "I wish I were joking".
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"It is E.coli," she announced.
Escherichia coli - most often referred to as E.coli - is a group of bacteria that normally lives in the gut without causing harm.
But some strains can make people sick, causing gut and urinary tract infections.
E.coli infections happen when you ingest bacteria from poop that are too small to see, whether through eating contaminated foods and drinks, touching germ-laden surfaces or not washing your hands properly after using the loo.
Most E.coli strains are harmless but some can cause serious food poisoning.
That is the case with Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (Stec), a bacterium that can cause severe foodborne disease.
Some people who are exposed to STEC do not become ill. Others develop stomach cramps and bloody diarrhoea.
Symptoms can also include vomiting, fever, and chills.
In severe cases, the infection can damage organs, such as the kidneys.
Symptoms can appear anywhere from one to ten days after exposure but usually appear around three to four days after exposure.
Most of those affected by the bug will get better without treatment within a week. Sufferers are advised to drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.
Are you at risk of getting it?
People can become infected by:
- Eating contaminated food
- Contact with infected animals either directly or through inadvertent contact with animal faeces, for example at farms, petting farms and campsites
- Contact with other people who have the illness (through inadequate hand hygiene after using the toilet, before food handling - particularly in households, nurseries, infant schools, or both
- Drinking water from inadequately treated water supplies
- Swimming or playing in contaminated water such as ponds or streams
STEC are very infectious because very few bacteria are needed to cause illness.
This means that disease can spread easily within families and in other settings such as day nurseries, primary schools, nursing homes and hospitals where there are young children and others who might have difficulty keeping clean.
How can you protect yourself from STEC?
An STEC infection can be prevented by taking the following precautions:
- Cook all minced meat products (burgers, meatloaf, meatballs) thoroughly, until the colour is the same all the way through, and no blood runs from them
- Ensure refrigerators are working correctly - bacteria grow more quickly at temperatures over 4oC
- Only leave cooked foods, meat and dairy products out at room temperature for a short time
- Store uncooked meats below-cooked meats and salad vegetables to avoid dripping juices onto ready-to-eat food
- Store uncooked and cooked meats on different plates, and avoid all contact between raw and cooked meats
- Thoroughly wash all salad vegetables and do not prepare them with utensils that have also been used for raw meat
- Children and the elderly who are particularly susceptible to the severe effects of STEC should avoid eating or drinking unpasteurised dairy products
- People who have been ill should not prepare food for others for at least 48 hours after they have recovered
- Boil any drinking water if you are unsure of its source
- Do not swim in water that you think may be contaminated by cattle and sheep in nearby fields
- Wash your hands thoroughly after using the toilet (or helping others including changing nappies), handling raw meat, before meals and after contact with animals
Source: PHE + USCDC
"You usually don't get E.coli in your sinuses because E.coli is from poop," Christine said.
"So I don't know, how does that get in your sinuses unless you have a boyfriend who farts disgustingly and you are forced to inhale it because you are immobile after ankle surgery?"
In a follow up video, Christine described the fart incident in more detail, explaining that she had been in bed with her ankle raised while her boyfriend was undressing, preparing to get into the bed next to hers.
"He was not clothed and standing between the two beds," she said.
"His butt was facing me and that is when the fart happened."
Christine stressed that "he was not intending to fart in my face, he was just getting in bed and [her] face happened to be in the path of the fart that was released".
When I say it was the worst fart I have ever smelled in my life, I truly mean that
Christine Connell
She went on: "I had just had ankle surgery that I was recovering from, so I imagine that my immune system was focused on healing that.
"Maybe in another circumstance, if I had been healthy, it wouldn't have happened.
"And also, when I say it was the worst fart I have ever smelled in my life, I truly mean that.
"So, I think there were just a lot of factors combined that made this possible."
But Christine added that her bizarre ordeal was "definitely rare".
"I think it's actually more common to get pink eye from someone farting in your face," she said.
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In the comments of her initial video, Christine acknowledged that the poo bacteria could have entered her sinuses some other way, during the surgery she'd just undergone, for example.
One viewer pointed out that E.coli is a common cause of nosocomial sinusitis, which is sinusitis that develops in a hospital setting.
"The infections often occur after medical procedures like nasal intubation or nasogastric tubing," they wrote, to which Christine replied: "I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse."
Professor Franklin Joseph, consultant physician, head of Dr Frank’s Clinic, shared his thoughts on the clip.
He told Sun Health: "While it certainly makes for an eye-catching TikTok, the idea of developing a sinus infection from someone passing gas is, scientifically speaking, extremely unlikely."
The doctor - who shares health advice on his own TikTok - added: "E.coli is a type of bacteria that lives naturally in the gut and is commonly passed through contaminated food, water or direct faecal contact - but not through air in the way flatulence works.
"The gas itself doesn't carry bacteria.
"For E.coli to reach the sinuses, it would need to travel through a direct route such as via the bloodstream or through contaminated hands or objects coming into contact with the nasal passages - not from breathing in someone’s flatulence in a hotel room.
"That said, finding E.coli in the sinuses is rare but not impossible.
"In immunocompromised patients or following trauma or poor hygiene, unusual bacteria can occasionally colonise areas where they don’t belong.
"But it’s far more likely this individual’s sinus infection had a more conventional cause - and the E.coli result was a surprising secondary finding, not the origin story.
"Ultimately, while this story has gone viral for its shock value, it’s not something the average person should be concerned about.
"You can share a room - or even a bed - with someone and not worry about developing a seven-year sinus infection from their digestive habits."
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