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I used to be a survival instructor. My understanding of this is, because of the impurities in urine, it would actually take more water to re-filter it and would end up dehydrating you more. There are ways to "clean it up" though, by evaporating and collecting the water portion, while leaving behind all the other "stuff."
I don't understand how it's supposed to help you if you're dehydrated. I mean, it sounds good (being a liquid). But when you're dehydrated you're supposed to drink water and not soda or juice because they are hypertonic and would further dehydrate you. This is the same reason that if you were stranded at sea you're not supposed to drink the sea/ocean water. I would think the same is true for urine.
Actually this was just on a repeat episode of CSI the other night. People believe that drinking your own "fresh" urine has anti-aging benefits and they have actually interpreted Bible sections to back it up. Crazy but true. I don't know about anyone else, but even if scientific proof does back this up, it would take some severe hydration to even make me consider it. Wrinkles or not.:barf01
As for the urine on jellyfish stings, I hadn't heard that until recently. Back in 1988, I got into a Portugese Man O' War off the coast of Dauphin Island (Alabama). Not only did it hurt worse than anything I had ever experienced in my 12 year old life, the lifeguards said I had to soak in meat tenderizer for 2 hours to neutralize the venom and remove it from my skin... I smelled like a steak for a couple of weeks. Although I think that still might be preferable to gettin peed on, IMO...
I have also heard that If you get hurt and you are stranded somewhere without supplies to take care of the wound, putting urine on it would clean it up and prevent infections.
Last edited by kiyatylese : Oct 24, 2005 at 05:05 AM.
I have seen a geri-psych patient who craved liquids and would drink anything, I mean anything. Yes urine was on of the things she drank. We were told to encourage her to not drink her own urine and to stop her when we found her drinking it.