View source for Unsolved:Urine therapy

{{Short description|Various applications of human urine for medicinal or cosmetic purposes}}
{{ 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     = 
}}
{{Alternative medicine sidebar |fringe}}

'''Urine therapy''' or '''urotherapy''', (also '''urinotherapy''', '''Shivambu''',<ref group="lower-alpha">{{Lang-sa|शिवाम्बु|translit=Śivambu|translit-std=IAST}}</ref>  '''uropathy''', or '''auto-urine therapy''') in [[Medicine:Alternative medicine|alternative medicine]] is the application of human [[Biology:Urine|urine]] for medicinal or cosmetic purposes, including [[Unsolved:Urophagia|drinking of one's own urine]] and massaging one's skin, or gums, with one's own urine. No [[Medicine:Evidence-based medicine|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,<ref name="Alter 2004">{{cite book|author=J.S. Alter|title=Yoga in modern India: The body between science and philosophy|date=19 September 2004|publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0691118744|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o6anlz6i71oC&q=urine%20therapy%20hinduism&pg=PR11}}</ref>{{efn|Urine was recommended for whitening teeth in ancient Rome.<ref name="Geissberger2010">{{cite book|author=Marc Geissberger|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}}</ref> Islamic legist Abu Yusuf allowed for use of [[Unsolved:Camel urine|camel urine]] for medicinal purposes.<ref name="alden">{{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}}</ref> It has also been used in some traditional remedies in Mexico<ref name="gardner">{{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 }}</ref> and in Nigeria.<ref>{{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}}</ref>}} 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,<ref name=Atler/> and ''A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica'' published in 1902.<ref>''A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica'', John Henry Clarke, London: Homoeopathic Pub. Co., 1900&ndash;1902. See [http://www.homeoint.org/clarke/u/urinum.htm Médi-T online version]</ref>}} auto-urine therapy as a system of [[Medicine:Alternative medicine|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 reading of the 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 to many 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.<ref name=Atler>{{cite book|last1=Atler|first1=Joseph S.|title=Yoga in Modern India: The Body Between Science and Philosophy|date=2004|publisher=Princeton University Press|pages=181–210|isbn=0691118744|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o6anlz6i71oC}}</ref><ref name=Armstrong>{{cite book|last1=Armstrong|first1=John W.|title=The Water Of Life: A Treatise on Urine Therapy|date=2011|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-1446489925}}</ref>

Armstrong's book sold widely, and in {{wipe|India}} inspired the writing of {{transl|gu|Manav mootra}} ([[Social:Gujarati language|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 [[Religion:Shiva|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 Atler the 107-[[Religion:Shloka|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 [[Philosophy:Yoga|Yogic]]-texts such as ''Vayavaharasutra'' by Bhadrabahu and ''Hatha Yoga Pradapika'' by Svatmarama; and [[Philosophy:Ayurveda|Ayurvedic]] texts such as ''[[Religion:Sushruta Samhita|Sushruta Samhita]]'', ''Bhava Prakasha'' and ''Harit''. However, according to medical anthropologist Joseph Atler, the practices of {{transl|sa|sivambu}} (drinking one's own urine) and {{transl|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''.<ref name=Atler/>

Urine-therapy has also been combined with other forms of alternative medicine. It was used by ancient Roman dentists to [[Medicine:Tooth whitening|whiten teeth]].<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> 

==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: [[Chemistry:Urea|urea]] 9.3 g/L, [[Chemistry:Chloride|chloride]] 1.87 g/L, [[Chemistry:Sodium|sodium]] 1.17 g/L, [[Chemistry:Potassium|potassium]] 0.750 g/L, [[Chemistry:Creatinine|creatinine]] 0.670 g/L and other dissolved ions, inorganic and organic compounds.<ref>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 1971</ref><ref>Dan Nosowitz for Popular Science.  September 5, 2013 [http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-09/whats-your-pee What's in your Pee?]</ref>

In China there is a ''Urine Therapy Association'' which claims thousand of members.<ref name ="UTA1">{{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}}</ref><ref name="UTA2">{{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}}</ref>

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.<ref name=bbc>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name="cult">{{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 }}</ref>

Urinating on [[Biology:Jellyfish|jellyfish]], wasp or bee stings, sunburns, cuts, and blood vessel bursts is a common "folk remedy",<ref name="Peschek">{{Cite book|first1=Flora|last1=Peschek-Böhmer
|first2=Gisela|last2=Schreiber|title=Urine Therapy: Nature's Elixir for Good Health|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QpVmVGiHMK0C&pg=PA114|access-date=11 January 2013|date=1 May 1999|publisher=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co
|isbn=978-0-89281-799-3|page=114}}</ref> however ''Scientific American'' reports that it may be counterproductive, as it can activate nematocysts remaining at the site of the sting, making the pain worse.<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Scientific American
|title=Fact or Fiction?: Urinating on a Jellyfish Sting is an Effective Treatment |date=4 January 2007|first=Ciara|last=Curtin
|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-urinating}}</ref>

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.<ref name="ACS2008"/>

In the [[Place:Arabian Peninsula|Arabian Peninsula]], bottled [[Unsolved:Camel urine|camel urine]] is sold by vendors, as prophetic medicine with its claimed urine therapy, health benefits.<ref>{{cite web |author1=JB |title=Drinking Camel Urine in Yemen |url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/4w7gvn/drinking-camel-urine-in-yemen-fob-000300-v20n8 |website=VICE News |date=9 August 2013| access-date=6 April 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{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 }}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> Saudi police arrested a man, "because the urine in the bottles was his own".<ref>{{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 2016|work=Daily Pakistan|access-date=6 April 2020}}</ref>

In January 2022, Christopher Key, a spreader of [[Social:COVID-19 misinformation|COVID-19 misinformation]], claimed that urine therapy is the antidote to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Key also falsely claims that a 9-month research trial on urine therapy has been conducted.<ref>{{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}}</ref> There is no scientific evidence supporting urine therapy as a cure to the [[Medicine:COVID-19|COVID-19 disease]].

==Health concerns==
There is no [[Scientific method|scientific evidence]] of a therapeutic use for untreated urine.<ref name="gardner">{{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 }}</ref><ref name="todd">{{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|url=http://skepdic.com/urine.html}}</ref><ref name="Middleton">{{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}}</ref><ref>[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</ref><ref name=Indep>{{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}}</ref>

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".<ref name="ACS2008">{{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}}</ref>

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 [[Place:Wuhan|Wuhan]] said they had no jurisdiction over the association.<ref name="UTA2"/>

==See also==
* [[Biology:Conjugated estrogens|Conjugated estrogens]], a hormone therapy medication manufactured by purification from horse urine
* [[Medicine:Fecal microbiota transplant|Fecal microbiota transplant]]
* [[Philosophy:List of topics characterized as pseudoscience|List of topics characterized as pseudoscience]]
* [[Unsolved:List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments|List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments]]
* Panchgavya, one of several uses of cow urine in [[Philosophy:Ayurveda|Ayurveda]]
* Urinalysis, tests performed on urine for diagnostic purposes
* [[Social:Virgin boy egg|Virgin boy egg]], a traditional dish of Dongyang, Zhejiang, China in which eggs are boiled in the urine of young boys

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050110224842/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_3_23/ai_54600087 "Urine therapy"], Martin Gardner, ''Skeptical Inquirer'', May–June 1999.

{{Alternative medicine}}
{{Ayurveda}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urine Therapy}}
[[Category:Alternative medical treatments]]
[[Category:Naturopathy]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]

{{Sourceattribution|Urine therapy}}