Urophagia

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Urophagia is the consumption of urine. There are various reasons that humans may consume urine. Urine was used in several ancient cultures for various health, healing, and cosmetic purposes, practices which are still used by some people of these cultures today. In Western culture, these practices are known as urine therapy, a form of alternative medicine.

Other reasons for urophagia include attempting survival, if no other potable fluid is available, though numerous sources advise against it. Also, some people consume urine as a sexual activity. Members of at least one culture^[specify] consume urine for ceremonial purposes.

Contents 1 Health considerations 1.1 Salt content and dehydration 1.2 Bacterial contamination 1.3 Medication and supplements excreted within urine 1.4 Flavor and odor 2 Reasons for urophagia 2.1 Alternative medicine 2.2 Attempting survival 2.3 Sexual activity 2.4 Ceremonial 3 See also 4 References 4.1 Sources 5 External links

[edit] Health considerations

Consuming one's own urine (or the urine of a healthy person, if participating in urolagnia involving urophagia) is relatively low in risk. Bacterial infection of the urinating person's urethra, or disease in the person urinating may pose a risk. Elements of medications and dietary supplements can be excreted in urine, which can affect the person consuming the urine. One may only recycle urine as a hydration source for up to three times before it is too toxic and will result in death. Also, if urine comes into contact with the skin, it can cause a rash in sensitive individuals.^[1]

[edit] Salt content and dehydration

The main dangers are the high salt and mineral content. The high salt content usually does not pose a problem if the urine is sufficiently diluted, and not consumed in mass quantities. The effect of the high salt may be mitigated by drinking some water after consuming urine. The urine may be diluted if the person drinks some water an hour or so before producing the urine that will be consumed.

Urine should not be drunk when one is dehydrated. The kidneys, which filter the urine, concentrate salts into the urine. Drinking the urine will only make one reingest the salts that have already been excreted by the kidneys. For the first fifteen minutes after ingestion of any fluid, the thirst seems to be quenched, but in the case of urine and other salty liquid, after the body has absorbed the fluid, the thirst returns, stronger, due to the salt.

[edit] Bacterial contamination

The urethra contains bacteria, hence many urine therapy practitioners use mid-stream urine, in order to allow the first few seconds of urination to wash out the bacteria within the urethra.^[2] This is also why many physicians ask for a urine sample mid-stream.

[edit] Medication and supplements excreted within urine

Urine of persons who are ill may pose a risk to others who consume their urine.^{[citation needed]} If the person urinating has recently taken vitamin or mineral supplements or medication, elements of these can be excreted in urine, which may affect the person consuming it.^[1]

[edit] Flavor and odor

Since artificial sweeteners are excreted in urine, consuming artificial sweetener (such as in diet soda) before engaging in urophagia can lend a sweet taste to the urine, which may be of particular interest to those performing the activity for sexual pleasure. Consuming asparagus can cause the person's urine to have a distinctive odor, the same has been said of Sugar Puffs breakfast cereal and Kellogg's Frosted Flakes.

If the taste of sugar is detected in an individual's urine, and it is known that artificial sweetener has not been consumed, this may be a sign of diabetes. If put through a household water filter, urine will become odorless and the flavor will be reduced.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Reasons for urophagia

[edit] Alternative medicine

The consumption and topical application of urine for health or cosmetic purposes originated in several ancient cultures, including those of India and China. In Western culture, these practices are referred to as urine therapy.

[edit] Attempting survival

Numerous survival instructors and guides,^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]} including the US Army Field Manual,^[9] advise against drinking urine for survival. These guides explain that drinking urine tends to worsen, rather than relieve dehydration due to the salts in it, and that urine should not be consumed in a survival situation, even when there is no other fluid available.

Aron Ralston used the technique when trapped for several days with his arm under a boulder,^[10] and Bear Grylls of the Discovery Channel's Man vs. Wild drank his own urine while he was in the Outback of Australia.^[11] Relatedly, Les Stroud on Survivorman advised against drinking urine, instead producing fresh water from urine using a solar still.^[12]

[edit] Sexual activity

Some individuals consume urine as part of sexual activity. Urophagia may be incorporated into BDSM activities, but sexual activity involving consumption of urine is not necessarily BDSM.

[edit] Ceremonial

This section requires expansion.

The Koryak people of Siberia are reported to have used the psychoactive Amanita muscaria mushroom, commonly known as fly agaric, as a ceremonial entheogen.^[13] The active alkaloids are unchanged as they pass through the human body, allowing the urine to retain the intoxicating effects of the mushroom: those who drank the urine of those using the mushroom would experience the psychoactive effects, themselves. Tribesmen who could not afford the mushrooms drank the urine of those who could; tribesmen drank their own urine in order to prolong the experience; and tribesmen on trips carried their own urine with them. They sometimes concentrated their urine by partially freezing it and ingesting the unfrozen liquid.^{[citation needed]} R. Gordon Wasson has theorized that the mythological soma of the Vedic religion was also Amanita muscaria.

[edit] See also

• Urination
• Urolagnia

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

• NOTHING UNSCIENTIFIC ABOUT URINE THERAPY By Dr. B. V. Khare (Surgeon, Urologiest)
• Rakshank, written by Dr. Rakshak Mal Lodha

[edit] External links

• Urine therapy, Martin Gardner, Skeptical Inquirer, May-June 1999.
• Urine Therapy: Skeptic's Dictionary entry
• Urotherapy, fact sheet at the American Cancer Society
• Urotherapy for patients with cancer, J. Eldor, MD; originally published in Medical Hypotheses 48 (#4, April 1997), pp. 309–315.