Does anyone drink urine

It is not toxic per se. This said, the situation described in the paper by Ogunshe, Fawole and Ajayi in this journal [ 1 ], is quite different. The authors describe the administration of urine to babies and young children with febrile and other convulsions, as a traditional therapy that may be gaining popularity because of increasing poverty.

Contamination and bacterial growth in concoctions containing urine is an important issue in a warm climate and when the treated patient is a fragile infant. Unsurprisingly, Ogunshe et al. In the absence of proper clinical trials it is difficult to prove that traditional urine therapy contributes to childhood mortality in Nigeria, but given the results of the present study, the treatment of vulnerable and already ill children with urine should be strongly discouraged.

First, do no harm. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. The only way to safely drink urine such as in a survival situation, as your only water source is to remove those dissolved contaminants from it, or at least bring them down to a negligible level. There are only two ways to do this.

One is reverse osmosis, which uses extremely high pressure to force water through a membrane that literally passes only water not even salt. The other is through distillation—essentially evaporating out the water molecules and letting them condense again in a different vessel for drinking. The courageous act will neither hydrate you nor make you a hardier backcountry soul. Learn more about why you should filter natural wilderness water. Skip to content.

TeenHealthFX website. Accessed September 1, Peschek-Bohmer F, Schreiber G. Healing yourself using urine. Schneider C. Exceptional Nurses Winchester Hospital was the first community hospital in the state to achieve Magnet designation, recognition for nursing excellence. Supporting Our Community Our tremendous staff gives back to our community by coordinating free health screenings, educational programs, and food drives.

What Our Patients are Saying A leading indicator of our success is the feedback we get from our patients. Home Health Library. With several caveats and under certain conditions, yes, it is safe to drink your urine. Evidence for the Health Claim Drinking urine when no other liquid is available—particularly fresh, safe drinking water—may be a matter of survival. But what about the use of urine as a medicinal substance in well-hydrated individuals?

Evidence Against the Claim Although sipping the occasional urine sample may not be immediately harmful, it should not be forgotten that urine can contain harmful substances in those who have taken drugs—legal or otherwise—or have been exposed to chemical residues in the environment. References Cameroon bans urine 'health drink.

Accessed September 4, Last W. Image Credit: Nucleus Communications, Inc. Cancer Care. Emergency Services. Cesarean Birth. Imaging Services.

High Blood Pressure. Laboratory Services. Maternity Services. Hip Replacement. In , John W. He claimed that those near death needed to eat and drink nothing but their own urine for several weeks and have urine massaged into their skin daily.

Other claims about urine therapy are anecdotal or stem from ancient texts. Claims have been made that drinking urine may treat the following conditions:. In modern-day Nigeria, some traditional communities still use urine as a home remedy for children with seizures. In a word, no. The myth that urine is sterile is a pervasive and lasting one.

The myth about urine being sterile likely dates back to a study of urinary tract infections UTIs conducted back in the s. More recent studies have shown that urine does in fact contain bacteria that could be harmful if ingested or introduced into the bloodstream through a wound.

Your body is home to many different colonies of healthy bacteria. Your urinary tract contains different types of bacteria. These are harmless unless they start growing out of control. When urine passes through the urinary tract, it becomes contaminated with bacteria.

Urine contains waste products that have been filtered out of your bloodstream. They are, however, highly concentrated. And your body is trying to get rid of these, because if they stay in the body, they do harm. Drinking urine reintroduces concentrated waste products into your system. This forces the kidneys to filter them out again, causing unnecessary strain.

Can drinking your own urine save you from dying of dehydration? Although it makes for a dramatic movie scene, this is just a myth.