To pee or not to pee

[Miss Zippy]

Is it really that unhygienic to relieve oneself in the shower if urine is sterile and just gets washed straight down the plughole anyway?

[brawburd]

Well, if you have ever suffered from thrush and followed GP advice to pee while in the shower while running water over the affected area, you would be be glad of the chance to shower pee! I don't think it is unhygienic - as long as you are not leaving a stale puddle! - we just seem to get ourselves in a state about what is deemed appropriate and inappropriate, hence the billions we spend on cleaning materials and the subsequent affect this stuff can have on our health (skin conditions, breathing problems etc). I pee in the shower (there, I said it!) if I feel the need. Madonna - allegedly! - pees not just in the shower but over her feet, as this is meant to have positive effect on the skin!

[sft42]

I take it this is just a question for females then? and will anyone admit to peeing in the bath then (not that I do).

[Miss Zippy]

Answers from both genders gratefully received. I'll admit to the occasional tinkle in the shower when needs must, but not the bath, which you are then left to wallow in!

[darth vader]

it all goes down the same pipe as you say. Yes i wee in the shower too - not the bath though (as i tend to have water-spitting fights with my baby boy!). Apparently urine is good for spots (avoiding them, not getting them) - an old wives tale

[Wispy68]

Yes, in the shower (if I can't be bothered to get out for a tinkle and soak the carpet!) but definitely not in the bath...urgh!! By the way, weeing on your feet cures chilblains, apparently.

[Wispy68]

Darth, just thought I'd ask, how would you know if your little ol' boy had or hadn't had a little wazz in the bath?

[RCP]

He puts that additive in that they use in swimming pools to change the colour of the water hopefully. Otherwise at he won't get chilblains or spots in his mouth!

[darth vader]

I don't - i just hope to god i don't swallow a mouthful containing his wee. Anyway a little never hurt anyone - how many people have accidentally copped a mouthful at the local swimming baths? now if you consider that 99% of people have a pee in there..... (it doesn't bear thinking about)

[andy hughes]

I must be the odd one out here - I have never pped in the shower, the bath, the swimming baths, or the sea, not because I have any aversion to the notion - I am happy to concede that fresh urine contains minimal bacteria, it has simply ever occured to me to do so! I always have a pee beforer embarking on any water-based activity, so I never have a full bladder when showering, bathing or swimming, that's something I've always done. Interesting debate though.

[KARL]

Provided there is no splash beyond the area that water flows over it seems to me no-one would ever know nor be adversely affected - I would not describe it as unhygienic but I concede that there are those who would deplore the practice (as Andy Hughes). I have aimed down the drain on rare occasions when taken by a sudden and urgent need. The point about getting swimming pool water into your mouth is one which is a very significant consideration in some countries but not too important in others. British people are very averse to washing (with soap, not just casually wetting themselves) BEFORE entering the water and contibute generously to the mix in the UK, but abroad I have seen them being sent back to wash off properly before being allowed into the pool where, as a cosequence, the water is not as likely to be alive.

[brawburd]

Not in the bath, no! The swimming pool thing? Well, if I was in a pool here I wouldn't. But on holiday, in a private villa pool, I sometimes do. I think this is more to do with the big temp change from being in the sun to getting into a cold pool - even if I have just been, this usually creates an immediate urge!

[andy hughes]

Karl - I hate to be pedantic, but I did go to some lengths to explain that I am not in the least bothered by the notion of other people peeing in the bath / shower / pool, it is simply something I don't do myself - I have no strong views on the practice either way.

[Gef]

So, if pee is so clean why are we emplored to wash our hands afterwards?

[andy hughes]

Gef - urine is only sterile at the time it is dispensed - in a very short time in starts to decay and bacteria starts to breed, and that is why we are urged to wash our hands

[Gef]

But I don't pee on my hands.