Eproctophilia: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Summary of the characteristics of eproctophilia and the problems it causes as a paraphilia.

The repertoire of sensations provoked by flatulence includes disgust, embarrassment and, let's face it, a bit of humor.

But there are people who find flatulence very arousing, so much so that it is an indispensable part of their sex life. They need their partner to throw it in their face or, on the contrary, they need to be the ones to throw it to someone else.

It may be the smell, the sound or the sensation of something that has been inside someone else that excites them, all of them tastes belonging to the fart paraphilia, eproctophilia and we are going to deepen in it.

What is eproctophilia?

Eproctophilia is a type of paraphilia in which sexual arousal occurs in the presence of gas. In other words, the person with this particular paraphilia only feels sexual pleasure when someone, either he or his sexual partner, farts.

It usually occurs in heterosexual men, attracted by the flatulence of the women they sleep with, although there are all kinds of testimonies of homosexual eproctophiliacs interested in the farts of other men. There are even curious cases of men who claim to be heterosexual but feel real excitement when another man produces a suction cup.

There is some debate about how to classify this paraphilia. In some circles it is considered a mild form of coprophilia, the sexual attraction to human excrement. However, many people with fart arousal claim that they have no interest in human feces, and it can even take away their sexual arousal altogether. Be that as it may, as with all paraphilias, eproctophilia should only be considered pathological when it makes farting the only way for the person to enjoy sexual intercourse.

Symptoms

The main feature of the paraphilias is the person's association of sexual pleasure with the object or situation of his or her obsession. In this case, the eproctophilic person's main symptom is getting aroused when he or she is in a situation in which flatulence is involved, either someone farts on him or her, or he or she is the one who farts on his or her sexual partner, or both.

We should not confuse a person who shows a simple interest in human flatulence, even if it is an extravagant taste, for someone who would present eproctophilia. Although there are no criteria on how to diagnose this condition, what can be said is that an eproctophilic person could be considered as one whose association between pleasure and gas is so great that it interferes with his or her sexual life. This situation can become extreme, so much so that the affected person is unable to enjoy sex at all unless he or she is exposed to his or her partner's gas.

In fact, this is the most important indicator of any type of philia, ie, only feeling sexual arousal from a single practice or situation. As a consequence, all kinds of personal and relational problems can occur, due to the inability to enjoy a conventional sexual relationship and, as a general rule, there are few potential sexual partners who can show the same interest in flatulence.

Specific practices of eproctophilia

The form in which this paraphilia occurs can vary greatly from person to person, but always with the presence of flatulence in the background. For example, there are eproctophiliacs who say they feel arousal when they see an attractive woman release flatulence, because it is a break from social norms.

There are also cases that say that smelling another person's flatulence is sexually arousing because they consider it a kind of display of affection and trust. Those who argue this say that, as a rule, they don't know what other people's farts smell like, and when they release them on purpose, they interpret it as opening up to them. They also see it as a gesture of social relaxation, a way of breaking the ice when meeting someone whose presence is intimidating.

There are extreme cases in which the person with eproctophilia is unable to become aroused if their sexual partner does not fart, or even if that same partner is unwilling to receive it. As in the case of many other paraphilias, the obsession of the affected person tends to focus on more and more specific situations. The obsession tends to focus on more and more specific situations, to the point that it is really difficult and complicated to reach arousal. In the case of eproctophilia, the time may come when the patient not only needs his partner to fart, but will only feel arousal if the fart makes a particular sound and smell.

Causes of this paraphilia

Eproctophilia is an understudied paraphilia. This is not because there are few eproctophiliacs, but rather because there are few who dare to acknowledge that they feel aroused by smelling other people's gas or throwing it at another person. It is not a behavior that can be considered socially accepted and, for that reason, scientific research to find out what are the causes behind this particular sexual attraction is rather scarce. However, several possible causes have been put forward to explain why eproctophilia occurs.

Let us look at some of the theories that try to explain why eproctophilia occurs.

1. Behaviorism: classical and operant conditioning

Some concepts from behaviorism have been used to try to explain the origin of certain paraphilias, among them eproctophilia. This branch of psychology argues that all our habits are formed through learning, associating Pain and pleasure with specific practices.

This association can occur in two ways:

• Classical conditioning: when the associated situation occurs at the same time as some kind of pleasure.
• Operant conditioning: when after carrying out a specific behavior we receive some kind of reward or reinforcement.

Relating it to eproctophilia, the explanation would be that the person associates sexual pleasure to his or her sexual partner's gas after having experienced that he or she has farted on several occasions when they have had sex. If it happened so many times, it would reach the point where the person would not be able to feel sexual arousal without farting during intercourse.

2. Psychoanalysis: childhood traumas

Psychoanalysis has its own explanation for the origin of paraphilias. In this case, it is believed that paraphilias arise as a consequence of childhood traumas childhood traumas that remain engraved in the subconscious. These childhood traumas would almost always be the result of sexual abuse or deaths of important loved ones, especially parents and caregivers, which were poorly handled or not managed appropriately.

According to psychoanalysts, it would be these highly disturbing situations that would profoundly alter the way in which the child, and later adolescent, discovers his or her sexual pleasure. As a result, as he/she grows up, he/she would begin to show all kinds of abnormal behaviors and attitudes towards sex that could be diagnosed as paraphilias. It is necessary to say, nevertheless, that in spite of the fact that this explanation possesses certain sense and has enough followers, there is not too much evidence that gives him endorsement.

Neurobiology: neurotransmitters

An increasing number of scientists have become interested in studying the role of the brain and neurotransmitters in sexual arousal. Substances such as testosterone and dopamine play an important role in determining what turns us on.

Some theorists have hypothesized that when a person is addicted to pornography or sex, he or she may develop a tolerance to dopamine, a neurotransmitter that is very important in regulating sexual arousal. The higher the tolerance, the more difficulties the person will have in feeling arousal and will require exposure to more and more extreme situations or hypersexualized objects and people.

Extrapolated to people with eproctophilia, what would happen is that initially their brain would be flooded with dopamine and testosterone when they hear or smell flatulence. Gradually, they would become more dependent on farting, feeling the dopamine rush only when someone else releases gas or they do it themselves. As time went by, they would present tolerance for that same condition, requiring that farts be released in a very specific way or that they smell a certain way in order to feel sexual arousal.

Treatment

Paraphilias are patterns of sexual behavior, not necessarily mental disorders. Therefore, their treatment will depend on how severe they are or how they interfere in the life of the affected person. In general, the treatment of the most severe paraphilias is not simple and requires a multidisciplinary approach, but with the understanding that there may be several origins behind the appearance of the abnormal sexual behavior.

As it is a problem related to sex, it is essential for the person with eproctophilia to see a sexologist in order to learn new, less particular and healthier sexual practices and healthier sexual practices. This professional will work with the patient on his or her sexual flexibility, in the sense that he or she will be able to be more open with respect to the practices that produce pleasure and thus not depend so much on the occurrence of a specific situation to feel sexual arousal.

In case there is one, it would be necessary to treat the addiction to porn or sex and, thus, to progressively reduce the tolerance to dopamine. In this way, the patient, in a completely natural way, will become more sensitive to everyday sexual stimuli, which will significantly improve his or her sexual life as a couple or in casual encounters.