As food Emergency survival techniques Survival guides such as the
US Army Field Manual, the
SAS Survival Handbook, and others generally advise against drinking urine for survival. These guides state that drinking urine tends to worsen rather than relieve dehydration due to the salts in it, and that urine should not be consumed, even when no other fluid is available. Survivalist television host
Bear Grylls drank urine and encouraged others to do so on several episodes on his TV shows.
Medicine Historically, doctors would taste patients' urine to test for
diabetes mellitus. The sweet taste of the urine in diabetics was due to the presence of glucose in urine, as seen in
hyperglycaemia.
Sexual activity Folk medicine In various cultures,
alternative medicine can advocate the consumption of urine from various animals such as humans,
camels, or
cattle for medicinal or cosmetic purposes, but no evidence supports their use.
Forced People may be forced to drink urine as a form of torture or humiliation, as in the case of a
Dalit boy in
Jaunpur, India, who in 2023 was accused by local youths of sexually harassing a girl. == Animals ==