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Science & Technology
When In Cameroon, Don't Drink The Urine
2007-04-25
A dramatic surge in the popularity of "urine therapy" in Cameroon has prompted the government to ban its consumption and threaten persistent offenders with jail. The health minister acted last week after a book about "urinotherapy", published in Switzerland, entered the best-seller list in Cameroon, prompting enthusiastic experimentation by readers.

One newspaper hailed urinotherapy as a universal cure-all which could tackle scores of afflictions, including cancer, snakebites and infertility. Testimonials to the benefits of urine consumption dominated radio phone-ins and the letters pages of newspapers. "I had haemorrhoids for five years and nothing gave me relief. But six months ago, I started drinking half a glass of my urine every morning and I am practically healed," a shopkeeper from the capital Yaounde wrote to Le Messager newspaper. A magistrate claimed: "For several years I haven't had a hair on my head, but since I started drinking my urine it's started growing again - it's extraordinary."
I dunno Fred, think it's worth it?
Omer Otabela telephoned a radio station with the story of his 80-year-old grandmother. "When she was bitten by a snake in the fields, she drank her own urine. This slowed down the progress of the venom to her heart until she got to hospital," he declared.
Posted by:Anonymoose

#23  Sitting in front of me is a can of 'Pocari Sweat' from Japan. It's an energy drink that's similar to Gatorade.
Posted by: DMFD   2007-04-25 23:31  

#22  Old Patriot: Well, if you want to give acupuncture a spin anyway, there are acupuncturist M.D.s and acupuncture clinics.

Do it, Old Patriot. The first woman I ever lived with participated in Kaiser Permenante's groundbreaking study of acupuncture. She sharpened the needles and I still have one in my collection of scientific artifacts. The study was done in a full double blind fashion with control groups that received no treatment, groups that received counseling by an acupuncturist without treatment, other groups which received false treatment in the wrong locations and others that were treated properly.

The treatment was for dysmennoreah (i.e., menstrual cramps). Curiously enough, the best results were obtained with patients who believed in the efficacy of acupuncture, but (and this is a big but), overall, the correct treatment group showed significant improvement of symptoms over all other groups.

Most impressive to me was how the participating doctor treated my girlfriend for her persistent allergies to pet hair arising from my two white haired shepherd mutts. In less than two weeks her symptoms declined by over 90%. Part of her treatment involved a needle straight through the very tip of her nose.

She asked me about theories surrounding the origins of acupuncture. I already knew that historical accounts portrayed its discovery as arising from a Chinese duke being wounded in battle by an arrow that pierced a key acupuncture point. Supposedly the duke felt no pain and this led to the discovery of acupuncture.

Unfortunately, this cannot explain how some thousands of acupunture points were discovered. Binding slaves to stakes and using arrows to turn them into human porcupines cannot possibly account for the incredible anatomical mapping that has ensued.

Two other explanations remained which seemed equally improbable. One was that an alien civilization conferred this amazing gift upon our world. My sweetheart was stunned when I guessed the final conjecture: Namely, that the earliest practicioners were able to "see" into the human body — much like those who "see" auras — and determine where the ganglion points were.

As someone who has an instinctive ability to heal with my hands using massage, palpation and other physical manipulations — despite all my scientific learning — I am nonetheless obliged to go with the box on the stage. Little else can explain this incredibly ancient yet effective medicine.

I recommend acupuncture because it cannot possibly contraindicate existing medications or other treatments. Those who suffer intractable pain or muscular spasms and tics are fools not to try it.
Posted by: Zenster   2007-04-25 23:11  

#21  Old Patriot: Well, if you want to give acupuncture a spin anyway, there are acupuncturist M.D.s and acupuncture clinics. Depending on what you've got, if it is major, or you need a complex diagnosis, it is better to see an M.D. If it is a chronic problem and you know what works, the clinics are fine, and a lot less expensive.

Overall, I would say to give it a try.

My best experience with one was after I had wrenched the heck out of my back after blowing a tire--agony from the base of my skull to my tailbone for three days. After 15 minutes up on her table, pain gone.

That impressed me.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2007-04-25 21:05  

#20  Sea - Ima disturbed you even knew about that link.
Posted by: Frank G   2007-04-25 20:03  

#19  this really pisses me off!

Remember, UNS, Ret., better pissed off than pissed on.
Posted by: Zenster   2007-04-25 18:39  

#18  this really pisses me off!
Posted by: USN. Ret.   2007-04-25 18:21  

#17  Thanks for the link, Seafarious. That was... informative.
Posted by: Dave D.   2007-04-25 17:02  

#16  Steve White, I gotta Gold Mine! Each horse drinks between 10 and 20 gallons of water a day depending on how hot it is. Even if I get only 5 gallons per horse per day that's still 30 gallons. I wonder how much this stuff sells for.
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2007-04-25 16:50  

#15  From Sefarious' link:

Coming home after a long commute and unloading an aching bladder down his throat was definitely a win/win for both of us

YJCMTSU!!!

Well, the chemicals that make up Rogain were found in rat whizz.

If rat piss won't put some hair on it, nothing will!
Posted by: Zenster   2007-04-25 16:37  

#14  I doubt urine will do anything about a cobrtea spit (it acts by disturbing synapses) but it has an effect on medusa stings.

Something about iit being alcaline and medusa being acid.
Posted by: JFM   2007-04-25 14:48  

#13  They always say that if a spitting cobra gets you in the eye and you don't have a canteen, just have someone piss in your eye to wash out the venom. Urine from a healthy kidney is supposed to be sterile.

Me, I try to avoid being any place where a snake can spit in your eye.
Posted by: Steve   2007-04-25 14:41  

#12  I've tried quite a few "alternative" medicines for chronic pain, and not found very many of them to have any effect at all. Chamomile tea does help me get to sleep when nothing else works, but doesn't affect the pain. Shark cartilage and chondroitin don't do much for degenerative disk disease or osteoarthritis, but does seem to help my bursitis. Placebo effect? I'd like to try accupuncture, but TRICARE doesn't cover it...

Urine is a fine anti-bacterial for cuts and scratches if nothing else is available, but drinking it? Ya gotta be kiddin!
Posted by: Old Patriot   2007-04-25 13:57  

#11  Well, the chemicals that make up Rogain were found in rat whizz.
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2007-04-25 13:29  

#10  Read letter number two.
Posted by: Seafarious   2007-04-25 13:02  

#9  Well, there are some alternative therapies that work when western medicine just doesn't cut it, and even the AMA recognizes some of them. For example, acupuncture is very effective (for about 80% of people), for back pain and tinnitus (ringing in the ears), both of which are often frustratingly difficult to treat in western medicine.

It also offers several non-surgical alternatives, and can provide more comprehensive improvement to get someone 'in shape' for surgery.

The best applications for western medicine are emergency medicine and radiology, with genetic engineering on the horizon. Our "brute force" pharmacology has a lot of problems and is still pretty limited, but is growing by leaps and bounds.

As far as drinking urine goes, there may actually be something there, basically tricking the body. This is because some of the components of urine might be detected in the upper GI tract, where they are not supposed to be, which causes a chemical message to the liver and/or the kidneys that they are working too hard and need to settle down.

That is, the body is tricked into slowing liver and/or kidney function down some, which takes some of the stress off those organs.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2007-04-25 10:08  

#8  I try not to drink the urine anywhere!
Posted by: JohnQC   2007-04-25 10:06  

#7  Beverage Grade Urine

Years ago the Japanese tried to market a carbonated milk beverage in the US, called Calpis. It didn't sell.
Posted by: Dave D.   2007-04-25 10:03  

#6  Jim, Deacon Blue owns horses, he could prob'ly help you up-size your manufactoring facility.
Posted by: Steve White   2007-04-25 09:57  

#5  I'm now pleased to offer my latest product:

Beverage Grade Urine.
Fresh and Tasty, with a subtle hint of fine Kentucky bourbon.
Only 69.95 a pint-postage paid to the continental U.S.

Quantity discounts available.
Posted by: bigjim-ky   2007-04-25 07:44  

#4  "it can purify blood and tissues

Now, since urine is the result of the tissues being purified, and is what has been removed due to said purification, how can it be anything but toxins?

(For the "I hate allelopathic medicine and by extension, 'the man'" crowd, my apologies for hurting your tiny brains with logic in the above statement.)

And yet, there will be thousands, perhaps millions, of the alt medicine crowd who are so indoctrinated to hate Western medicine that they will literally believe anything that is not conventional, thinking that there is some "doctor's conspiracy" to keep the "little gal" from having something that can extend life/cure disease/create whirled peas/ etc.
Posted by: no mo uro   2007-04-25 05:38  

#3  After thinking it bit more, here is a perrsonla message for leftists. FDrink urine. Lots of it. Drink as much as possible of it before Novemeber 2008.
Posted by: JFM   2007-04-25 04:05  

#2  THe Chinese could hgave treted themselves with urine for centuries. Now what was teh life expectancy of Chinese?

Now little leftists who poke here (real rantburgers aren't stupid enough for believeing the urine BS) pay attention. There is areason to urinate: get rif of the toxic waste produced by body's activity. Don't drink urine.

Posted by: JFM   2007-04-25 04:02  

#1  Ahem, wel-l-l, besides these urban myths, in the 1960's - early 1970's urine was also said to be good for growing garden plants. Iff ya had to go, make Mom happy by pointing at her flowers.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2007-04-25 00:13  

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