Gross and Disgusting

Redlands Daily Facts Health Section
Staff Writer

Q: You have given us many unusual and strange fixes for skin conditions. What is the grossest advice you have?

Mimi: Some people find that my most disgusting advice is to Pee in the Shower.

Peeing in the Shower has received lots of press lately because of articles and cartoons from Brazil and Australia. Their concern is saving water. 27% of indoor water use is from flushing the toilet. If just one flush per day were saved, 4,380 liters of fresh water would be spared per family per year.

My interest in Pee in the Shower is not about saving water. It is about saving skin. Pee on your feet in the shower. Urine may help prevent and cure athletes foot. It may diminish fungus and prevent foot odor. Urea (a component of urine) is used in cosmetics as a humectant or softening agent. So peeing on your feet will soften the skin.

Viet Nam soldiers were plagued with foot ailments. Fungus, infections, and athletes foot were rampant. The ugliness, pain, and stench from "Jungle Rot" forced the soldiers to try anything. Many learned that peeing on their feet healed the wounds. Some peed in their boots to stop the odor, pain, and disease.

As difficult as it might be for some to comprehend, the medical benefits of urine have been widely studied in many areas including, but not limited to, the effect of pee on wounds. While some holistic health practitioners use urine therapy for treating a variety of ailments and conditions, the medical community has not made many significant statements on the medical uses of urine. Some people feel that this is because there is no monetary advantage in making the studies known.

Normal urine is pH balanced; non-toxic and contains many nutrients and healing compounds. Research has determined that urine is capable of healing wounds effectively.

Urine is an effective treatment for severe acne. Normal urine is both anti-viral and anti-bacterial, making it a potentially ideal treatment for cuts, abrasions, wounds, and skin infections of any kind. Proponent researchers believe that an infant's urine is the most sterile as well as the most effective for acne treatment and that a person's first urine of the day contains the most nutrients and antibodies. Women in many countries attribute their beautiful skin to the practice of pressing a baby's urine soaked diaper to the face (mother's, not baby's) with every change.

While the idea of putting urine on a wound may seem gross, there is no doubt that putting pee on wounds would do in a pinch. Emergency situations are unexpected and if a person sustains a serious wound, cut, bite, or sting and no anti-bacterial cleansing agent is readily available, you can use human pee on wounds.

While you're not likely to encounter a situation where you'd have to make such a decision, in an emergency situation, a person could pee on wounds and could potentially prevent serious infection until further medical help could be received. This is often a common situation in the case of painful jellyfish stings sustained in remote areas where medical attention is not nearby. Similarly, drinking urine in an emergency situation could prevent dehydration.

As an introduction to Urine Therapy, I suggest that you pee on your feet in the shower.

Mimi Barre is the owner of International Day Spa, 325 Cajon St., Redlands. Send your skin care questions to her at MimiB@INTLdayspa.com. She and her estheticians are available for personal consultations, (909) 793-9080.