Will Pee Cure Athlete’s Foot

 
Many of you have probably already heard of the old remedy of peeing on your feet in the shower for curing athlete’s foot. But will pee cure athlete’s foot for real?
 
Some of the best things about using your pee as a cure for athlete’s foot is that it doesn’t cost you anything, plus there’s plenty of it to last a lifetime. Not only that, but no one will borrow your remedy and not return it. In 1994 Madonna gave pee a pretty good boost as a cure for athlete’s foot during a David Letterman interview. But the real question remains, does it really work?
 

Is the Pee Cure for Athlete’s Foot a Myth

Well sadly, we have to say yes, this is a myth. But let me explain further.

 

There are tons of commercial athlete’s foot creams on the market today and all claim to be the best. But many of them have one thing in common. That’s the ingredient urea. Urea just so happens to be a major component of human urine. This would certainly explain why pee gained such high marks as an athlete’s foot remedy.

 

Urea is used to carry excess oxygen from the body and has magical properties that may help soften and exfoliate skin. But it’s concentration in the urine is not nearly enough to clear up a case of athlete’s foot. For example, many of the antifungal remedies that are on the market today will contain upwards of 40% urea. That’s over 15 times the amount found in human urine.

 

Another thing to consider is the method in which you are administering this treatment. Some may chose using a bucket to collect urine specimen in and give their feet a bath in the bucket. While others may prefer taking care of business while in the shower. But there are other elements at play while showering. There are adulterants such as soap and water that will mix with the urine and most certainly further dilute any urea that may be present. So you can see how there would be a pretty slim chance of this remedy working properly.

 

Is it Bad to Wash your Feet in Urine?

Well to quickly answer that question, No. As we discussed in the post Why is Urine Yellow and is it Safe to Drink, urine is actually quite sterile and non-toxic. And I say hesitantly that guys are not the only ones peeing in the shower. Glamour magazine discovered that 75% of women admitted to peeing in the shower.

 

And get this quirky little fact, during a 2009 campaign to save the rainforest in Brazil, they asked that everyone pee in the shower in order to save a few gallons of water flushing the toilets!

 
So, is this a myth you’ve heard over the years. Has someone told you that peeing on your feet would cure your athlete’s feet?  I just rhymed, what do ya know, I’m a poet and didn’t know it…
 

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