The idea that human beings can take doses of their own excreta such as urine for medical purposes will sound so disgusting to many, including some medical practitioners. But like the bitter urine, facts are bitter but this doesn’t change the facts.I was in Makerere University in 2005 when a terrible cough caught up with me. It was those kinds that leave your throat sore, and when you cough, the sound is like some detonator was affixed in your throat. I dreaded such coughs from my primary and high school days, much so because it always left classmates mocking one’s every coughing feat. Mulling over the looming fever bug that are wont to come with such colds, I saw it in the newspaper.The article, ‘Urine, the miracle healer,’ published in The New Vision on April 26, 2005, said taking some little urine could heal various ailments. Listed were diseases ranging from common colds and skin diseases to cancer and the possibility that it could even heal Aids. The curiosity teeming in me said "do it, dude, it’s just your own, after all.” That night, I gulped half a mug of the stuff and went to bed. In the morning, my throat was feeling like I had stuffed a cocktail of the bitterest herbs in it overnight. But there was no more cough. My roommates branded me a mad freshman. But I wouldn’t give a hoot. Google hits later showed me an array of articles about the same topic. The next time I ever fell ill, not just of common cold, was two years later. And over the years, many people I know have testified to using urine once in a while to treat ailments such as toothache, coughs and others.Of course, it would be unbelievable to many if one said urine components are used in science today for treating fertility in women, cervical cancer, skin ailments, ear infections, among others.Besides, the drug Urokinase is used to treat heart attacks, Pergonal for enhancing ovulation hormone, and Hydroxyurea, for treating tumours, blood leukemia, sickle cell and suppression of HIV multiplication in the human body cells.When my wife was expecting, it took a lot of convincing. There were threats that I should forget about kissing if I ever took urine again. But she later relented and took some with so much dragged effort. Today, she wouldn’t bat her eyelids twice before taking two spoonfuls of urine to clear a bug. Perhaps it was because of the urine—or whatever else—that our baby, now 10 months, has never fallen ill. The only ailment she caught was after we shifted to a Kacyiru neighbourhood with children from whom she contracted flu. It was treated—no price for guessing how.Too real to believe?That explains the esoteric status of the urine therapy. Knowledge of its application as human medicine is confined to and understandable by only an enlightened inner circle. A doctor in Kigali admitted being well-versed with the subject but would not want to be quoted. However, the same doctor gave great insights and even provided acclaimed literature to help in this article."You have chosen a very difficult, controversial and sensitive subject to write about,” the doctor said, reiterating the decision to remain anonymous. "Urine is an ultra filtrate product of kidney. Studies show that critical, vital chemicals of body like hormones, chemicals, antibodies, are passed in urine. These can be reutilised by drinking urine.”The doctor said all the components in urine provide anti-infective, ant-aging, anti-obesity, and anti-cancer properties and regulate hormonal equilibrium, including fertility. Dropping insights on literature and historical perspective, the doctor said urine therapy, also known as "Shivambu Shastra” (Hindi: ‘healing with urine’) is  mentioned in 5,000-year-old document from ancient India called "Damar Tantra”. "Modern scientists are supporting the theory. Regarding its applications, I have sent you a brief attachment. Best is said to take morning mid-stream sample starting from few drops and increasing it gradually. Some experts say using it with fresh orange juice enhances its properties,” the doctor said."Risks are negligible as compared to its advantages. The question is of its aesthetic value; I, for one, can never use it howsoever useful it may be, because I find it distasteful even to touch.”See? Doctors are known to be brave. They don’t even puke at the most trying moments but urine seems to test the mettle in doctors. And this is not just about making light of the subject. The idea is that you read between the lines and see how useful it is. Like the doctor says, the benefits outweigh the risks, so if healing that cancer, cough, acne and other ailments become too much of a burden, you could just try the urine therapy.Therapeutic functionsUrine is not a dirty and toxic substance rejected by the body. Urine is a by-product of blood filtration, not waste filtration. Medically, it is referred to as "plasma ultrafiltrate.” It is a purified derivative of the blood itself, made by the kidneys—whose principal function is not excretion but regulation of all the elements and their concentrations in the blood. Nutrient-filled blood passes through the liver where toxins are removed to be excreted as solid waste. Eventually, this purified ‘clean’ blood undergoes a filtering process in the kidneys, where excess water, salts, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antibodies, urea, uric acid and other elements not usable at that time by the body are collected in the form of a purified, sterile, watery solution that is urine. The function of the kidneys is to keep the various elements in the blood balanced. The important elements in the blood are not filtered out because they are toxic and harmful to the body, but simply because the body does not need a particular concentration of an element at that specific point in time. It is this regulating process of the kidneys that allows us to eat and drink more than our bodies need at any one time.Natalia Perera, in an article in the Nexus Magazine, says urine therapy is a "method of drinking urine for rejuvenation.” "There is something esoteric about urine. It is considered a supernatural living food because it is a by-product of the blood and contains ‘life force’. Using urine as a therapeutic tool mirrors to us the ‘healer within,’” she says. The article says urine is considered to be an invaluable source of nourishment and healing that perhaps has been too controversial or not financially rewarding enough for it to be talked about and encouraged as a potent medicine. One’s urine, a living food, contains elements that are specific to one’s body alone.The human body is constantly producing a variety of antibodies, hormones, enzymes and other natural chemicals to regulate and control its functions and combat imbalances that one may not be aware of. Clinical studies have proved that the thousands of critical body chemicals and nutrients that end up in urine reflect the individual body’s functions. Actions, benefits and applicationsScientists argue that anything that was in the blood cannot be harmful to the person that it came from. Besides, they say, when taken internally, the urine does not go straight into the bloodstream but travels through the digestive system, where its constituents are sorted out. The useful ones are used up again, while others are rejected as solid waste. "The amount of toxins found in the urine of each person is related to the amount of stagnated excrement in the colon. So the toxins, in such minute amounts in urine, stimulate a cleansing reaction and vaccinate and protect the body from illnesses,” says Perera."Studies on urea, considered the poisonous organic solid in urine, have shown it is converted into an essential amino acid once it is recycled by ingestion, helping our bodies use protein more efficiently.” Urea has also been proven to be an extraordinarily effective antibacterial and antiviral agent, one of the best natural diuretics and one of the most effective skin moisturisers ever discovered. Urea actually increases the water-binding capacity of the skin by opening skin layers for hydrogen bonding and thus attracting moisture to dry skin cells. As a natural diuretic, it is unparalleled and is also widely prescribed in cases of swelling, glaucoma, epilepsy and meningitis and to reduce excess cerebral and spinal pressure. Urea is an approved medicinal agent, and its remarkable and comprehensive anti-neoplastic properties are used in anticancer drugs and treatments."Even uric acid, normally thought of as a waste product that can cause gout, has tremendous medicinal implications, such as acting as a defence against cancer and ageing by actively destroying free radicals,” the article says. "Urokinase, an enzyme also found in urine, is used in drug form to dissolve blood clots and is widely used for unblocking coronary arteries in victims of heart attacks.”One of the world’s largest fertility drug-producing companies makes use of the ovulation-enhancing hormone in human urine to make Pergonal, one of the most popular drugs in the US. ---------------------------------------------------Ailments and urine therapyAlimentary canalUrine can be ingested in small amounts to purify and clear excess mucus, destroy worms and clean intestines.BloodUrine controls bile in the blood and has been used in diabetics. It is effective in treating haemorrhoids. It is an excellent antidote for rabies, insect and snakebites. Its nutritious base resists anaemia.RespiratorySniffing urine clears stuffed noses, colds and flu, coughs, sinusitis and other problems with the upper respiratory canal. It is medically proven against tuberculosis.Nervous systemUrine is effective against allergies, autoimmune diseases and other disorders of the immune system. A few drops under the tongue wards off allergic reaction and calms nerves.CancerVisible tumours such as breast cancer reportedly disappear within three weeks, but sometimes even in a week in an unintervened cancer. Dr Martin Lara, an author of medical literature, said an intra-muscular injection of 1ml of the fresh urine once or several times can ward off cancer, strong viral infections and other diseases.EyesRegular eye treatments with urine may improve eyesight. A few drops of the fresh or boiled urine into the eyes expels conjunctivitis. When lightly boiled and dissolved in honey, urine cures eye injuries.SkinUsing urine in fresh urine twice daily to massage rejuvenates and moisturises skin, making it soft and smooth and the hair lustrous. A mixture of heated old urine with potato and sulphur-powder, rubbed into the scalp slows loss of hair. The effect is even more effective when it is not rinsed off. But in case you have to, use soap or shampoo. When mixed with clay and applied directly to the skin, urine can treat burns, wounds, eczema, among others.SOURCE: The New Vision