Urine therapy#Rome

{{Short description|Various applications of human urine as ineffective and dangerous medical treatments}}

{{infobox alternative medicine

| name=Urine therapy

| image=File:Urine sample.JPG

| image_size=250px

| alt=Urine sample

| caption=A sample of human urine

| claims=Various therapeutic uses of urine.

| topics=Naturopathy

| origyear=

| origprop=

| laterprop=

| seealso=

}}

Urine therapy or urotherapy, (also urinotherapy, Shivambu,{{Langx|sa|शिवाम्बु|translit=Śivambu|translit-std=IAST}} uropathy, or auto-urine therapy) in alternative medicine, and Amaroli in medieval hatha yoga, is the application of human urine for medicinal or cosmetic purposes, including drinking of one's own urine and massaging one's skin, or gums, with one's own urine. No scientific evidence exists to support any beneficial health claims of urine therapy.

History

Though urine has been believed useful for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in several traditional systems,{{cite book |last=Alter |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Alter |chapter=Auto-urine Therapy |title=Yoga in modern India: The body between science and philosophy |title-link=Yoga in Modern India |date=19 September 2004 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0691118744 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o6anlz6i71oC |pages=181–210}}{{efn|Urine was recommended for whitening teeth in ancient Rome.{{cite book |last=Geissberger |first=Marc |title=Esthetic Dentistry in Clinical Practice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eGTBUDMTU_gC&pg=PA6|access-date=11 January 2013|date=19 April 2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-8138-2825-1 |page=6}} Islamic legist Abu Yusuf allowed for use of camel urine for medicinal purposes.{{cite book | title=The Word of Islam | first=John Alden|last= Williams | publisher=University of Texas Press | year=1994 | isbn=9780292790766 | pages =98| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cbaZiqERLEQC&pg=PA98}} It has also been used in some traditional remedies in Mexico{{cite book |author=Gardner, Martin |title=Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |location=New York |year=2001 |pages=92–101 |isbn=0-393-32238-6 }} and in Nigeria.{{cite journal |vauthors=Ogunshe AA, Fawole AO, Ajayi VA |title=Microbial evaluation and public health implications of urine as alternative therapy in clinical pediatric cases: health implication of urine therapy |journal=Pan Afr Med J |volume=5 |pages=12 |year=2010 |pmid=21293739 |pmc=3032614 |doi= 10.4314/pamj.v5i1.56181}}}} and mentioned in some medical texts,{{efn|Such as Solomon's English Physician published in 1665, One thousand notable remedies published in early-nineteenth century, and A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica published in 1902.A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica, John Henry Clarke, London: Homoeopathic Pub. Co., 1900–1902. See [http://www.homeoint.org/clarke/u/urinum.htm Médi-T online version]}} auto-urine therapy as a system of alternative medicine was popularized by British naturopath John W. Armstrong in the early 20th century. Armstrong was inspired by his family's practice of using urine to treat minor stings and toothaches, by a metaphorical misreading of the Hebrew Biblical Proverb 5:15 "Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well", and his own experience with ill-health that he treated with a 45-day fast "on nothing but urine and tap water". Starting in 1918, Armstrong prescribed urine therapy regimens that he devised for thousands of patients, and in 1944 he published The Water of Life: A Treatise on Urine Therapy, which became a founding document of the field.{{cite book |last=Armstrong |first=John W. |title=The Water Of Life: A Treatise on Urine Therapy |date=2011 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-1446489925}}

Armstrong's book sold widely, and in India inspired the writing of {{Transliteration|gu|Manav mootra}} (Gujarati: Urine therapy; 1959) by Gandhian social reformer Raojibhai Manibhai Patel, and many later works. These works often reference Shivambu Kalpa, a treatise on the pharmaceutical value of urine, as a source of the practice in the East.{{efn|Shivambu Kalpa ({{literal}} "water of Shiva") is said to be a section of the larger work {{IAST|Ḍamara Tantra}}, which is described by practitioners of urine therapy as "belong to the Puranic age". According to Joseph Alter the 107-shloka Kalpa is not well attested or in wide circulation, and is most easily accessible through modern Indian books on urine therapy, where it is often attached as an appendix.}} They also cite passing references to properties and uses of urine in Yogic-texts such as Vayavaharasutra by Bhadrabahu and Hatha Yoga Pradapika by Svatmarama; and Ayurvedic texts such as Sushruta Samhita, Bhava Prakasha and Harit. However, according to medical anthropologist Joseph Alter, the practices of {{Transliteration|sa|sivambu}} (drinking one's own urine) and {{Transliteration|sa|amaroli}} recommended by modern Indian practitioners of urine therapy are closer to the ones propounded by Armstrong than traditional ayurveda or yoga, or even the practices described in Shivambu Kalpa.

Urine therapy has also been combined with other forms of alternative medicine.

It was used by ancient Roman dentists to whiten teeth.{{Cite book |last=Lenkeit |first=Roberta Edwards |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sapxDwAAQBAJ&dq=Teeth+whitening+ancient+Rome&pg=PA72 |title=High Heels and Bound Feet: And Other Essays on Everyday Anthropology, Second Edition |date=2018-10-23 |publisher=Waveland Press |isbn=978-1-4786-3841-4 |pages=72 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Perdigão |first=Jorge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lB3KDAAAQBAJ&dq=Teeth+whitening+ancient+Rome&pg=PA170 |title=Tooth Whitening: An Evidence-Based Perspective |date=2016-08-03 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-38849-6 |pages=170}}{{Cite book |last1=Bonitz |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EzW8BAAAQBAJ&dq=Teeth+whitening+ancient+Rome&pg=PA465 |title=Complex Plasmas: Scientific Challenges and Technological Opportunities |last2=Lopez |first2=Jose |last3=Becker |first3=Kurt |last4=Thomsen |first4=Hauke |date=2014-04-09 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-319-05437-7 |pages=465 |language=en}}

Modern claims and findings

An exhaustive description of the composition of human urine was prepared for NASA in 1971. Urine is an aqueous solution of greater than 95% water. The remaining constituents are, in order of decreasing concentration: urea 9.3 g/L, chloride 1.87 g/L, sodium 1.17 g/L, potassium 0.750 g/L, creatinine 0.670 g/L and other dissolved ions, inorganic and organic compounds.David F. Putnam [https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19710023044_1971023044.pdf Composition and Concentrative Properties of Human Urine]. NASA Contractor Report. July 1971Dan Nosowitz for Popular Science. September 5, 2013 [http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-09/whats-your-pee What's in your Pee?]

In China there is a Urine Therapy Association which claims thousand of members.{{cite news|url=http://shanghaiist.com/2014/06/23/urine-therapy-hyperthyroidism/ |title=Wuhan man claims 'urine therapy' cured his hyperthyroidism |author=Jamincost, Ben|date=5 May 2018|work=Shanghaiist|access-date=5 May 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2004627/group-advocates-drinking-urine-still-active-despite-being-ruled |title=Group that advocates drinking urine still active despite being ruled illegal |author=Mu, Natalie|date=16 August 2016|work=South China Morning Post|access-date=5 May 2020}}

According to a BBC report, a Thai doctor promoting urine therapy said that Thai people had been practicing urophagia for a long time, but according to the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, there was no record of the practice.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3083577.stm|title=BBC NEWS - Asia-Pacific - Thais drink urine as alternative medicine|date=21 July 2003|access-date=26 May 2016}} In 2022, Thawee Nanra, a self-proclaimed holy man from Thailand, was arrested by police; his followers were observed consuming his urine and feces which they believed to have healing properties.{{cite web|url=https://www.insider.com/police-arrest-holy-man-followers-eat-feces-drink-urine-2022-5|title=Police arrested a self-proclaimed 'holy man' whose followers ate his feces and drank his urine in hopes of being cured of illnesses|website=Insider.com }}

Urinating on jellyfish stings is a common "folk remedy".{{Cite web |date=20 May 2024 |title=Should You Pee on a Jellyfish Sting? |url=https://health.clevelandclinic.org/pee-jellyfish-sting |access-date=10 July 2024 |website=Cleveland Clinic}} This does not help with jellyfish stings, and can be counterproductive, activating nematocysts remaining at the site of the sting, making the pain worse.{{Cite journal |last=Curtin |first=Ciara |date=4 January 2007 |title=Fact or Fiction?: Urinating on a Jellyfish Sting is an Effective Treatment |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-urinating |journal=Scientific American}} This is because nematocysts are triggered by the change in the concentration of solutes (e.g. salt), such as when freshwater or similarly-composed urine is applied to the site. The myth originated from the false idea that ammonia, urea, and other compounds in urine could break down the nematocysts: however, urine is much too low in concentration to have those effects.

Urine and urea have been claimed by some practitioners to have an anti-cancer effect, and urotherapy has been offered along with other forms of alternative therapy in some cancer clinics in Mexico. No well-controlled studies support this, and available scientific evidence does not support this theory.

In the Arabian Peninsula, bottled camel urine is sold by vendors as prophetic medicine.{{cite web |author1=JB |title=Drinking Camel Urine in Yemen |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/drinking-camel-urine-in-yemen-fob-000300-v20n8/ |website=VICE News |date=9 August 2013| access-date=6 April 2020 }}{{cite journal|title=The unique medicinal properties of camel products: A review of the scientific evidence |author=Abdel Gader, Abdel Galil|date=2 April 2016 |journal=Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences|volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=98–103 |doi=10.1016/j.jtumed.2015.12.007 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal|title=Camel urine components display anti-cancer properties in vitro|url=https://www.academia.edu/37157852|date=2012|journal= Journal of Ethnopharmacology|volume=143|issue=3|pages=819–25|doi=10.1016/j.jep.2012.07.042|pmid=22922085|last1=Al-Yousef|first1=Nujoud|last2=Gaafar|first2=Ameera|last3=Al-Otaibi|first3=Basem|last4=Al-Jammaz|first4=Ibrahim|last5=Al-Hussein|first5=Khaled|last6=Aboussekhra|first6=Abdelilah}} In 2015, Saudi police arrested a man for selling supposed "camel urine" that was actually his own.{{cite web|url=https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/16-Aug-2015/saudi-police-arrest-pakistani-man-in-camel-urine-scam |title=Saudi police arrest Pakistani man in camel urine scam |author=Rehman, Dawood|date=16 August 2015|work=Daily Pakistan|access-date=6 April 2020}}

In January 2022, Christopher Key, a spreader of COVID-19 misinformation, claimed that urine therapy is the antidote to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite web |last1=Mahdawi |first1=Arwa |title=Anti-vaxxers are touting another new Covid 'cure' – drinking urine. But they are not the only obstacles to ending the pandemic {{!}} Arwa Mahdawi |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/11/anti-vaxxers-covid-drinking-urine-misinformation |website=the Guardian |language=en |date=11 January 2022}} Key also falsely claims that a 9-month research trial on urine therapy has been conducted.{{cite web |title=Fact Check-No evidence that 'urine therapy' cures COVID-19 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-urine-covid/fact-check-no-evidence-that-urine-therapy-cures-covid-19-idUSL1N2TS215 |website=Reuters |language=en |date=12 January 2022}} There is no scientific evidence supporting urine therapy as a cure for COVID-19.

Urea-containing creams are sold commercially for topical use, and contain synthetically produced urea rather than being derived from urine. Urea in very high concentrations is effective as a humectant and a keratolytic. Actual urine is too dilute to work well for this purpose.

Health concerns

There is no scientific evidence of therapeutic use for untreated urine.{{cite book |author=Gardner, Martin |title=Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |location=New York |year=2001 |pages=92–101 |isbn=0-393-32238-6 }}{{cite web |publisher=The skeptic's dictionary: a collection of strange beliefs, amusing deceptions, and dangerous delusions |date=September 12, 2014|access-date=April 5, 2015|title=Urine Therapy|author=Robert Todd Carroll|author-link=Robert Todd Carroll|url=http://skepdic.com/urine.html}}{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?xml=/health/2003/02/24/hhel24.xml | archive-url=https://archive.today/20121223191803/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?xml=/health/2003/02/24/hhel24.xml | url-status=dead | archive-date=2012-12-23 | title=A wee drop of amber nectar | work=The Daily Telegraph | date=2003-02-24 | author=Christopher Middleton | location=London}}[https://gizmodo.com/why-you-definitely-shouldnt-drink-your-own-pee-1648474064 Why You Definitely Shouldn't Drink Your Own Pee], Gizmodo, 22 Oct 2014{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/urine-the-bodys-own-health-drink-5335496.html |title=Urine: The body's own health drink? |newspaper=The Independent |date=21 February 2006 |author=Maxine Frith |access-date=2016-09-26}}

According to the American Cancer Society, "available scientific evidence does not support claims that urine or urea given in any form is helpful for cancer patients".{{cite web |url=http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/pharmacologicalandbiologicaltreatment/urotherapy |title=Urotherapy|publisher=American Cancer Society|date=November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725232444/http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/pharmacologicalandbiologicaltreatment/urotherapy|archive-date=25 July 2014}}

In 2016, the Chinese Urine Therapy Association was included on a list of illegal organizations by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. However, the Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs in Wuhan said they had no jurisdiction over the association.

Urine therapy#Rome

History

Modern claims and findings

Health concerns

See also

Notes

References

Further reading