Floored When I Heard This... Anyone Else Familiar with This Practice?

Updated on September 18, 2010
E.D. asks from Spring, TX
39 answers

A co-worked told me that this was done to her as a child and she did this to her infants... she would take their pee diapers and wipe her babies faces with it as it is said to give them a great complexion. When discussing this my jaw hit the floor… I have NEVER heard of this. AND another co-worker chimed in that they did this same ritual for their kids. Where have I been or is this not the norm?

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L.A.

answers from Austin on

I had not heard, this, But I have heard some people eat the placentas from the birth of their children..

Not doing either one.. Thank you very much..

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

.

1 mom found this helpful

V.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

I don't care how bad their complexion is... I WOULD NOT RUB PISS ALL OVER THEIR FACE! Yuck yuck yuck.

However, I must admit... This did make me laugh... So thanks for the laugh. Lol

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C.T.

answers from Detroit on

yes i have heard of this. it is an old wives tale. just like don't lift your arms over your head or the cord will wrap around the babies neck. and never let a cat get close to your newborns mouth because it will suck the babies soul out( in all actuality the cat smells the milk on babies face and wants to lick it). OLD WIVES TALES!!!!

3 moms found this helpful
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M.K.

answers from Chicago on

Hey Moms! Urine directly from the bladder is normally sterile. However, on its passage from the bladder to the outside world, urine becomes contaminated by bacteria normally present in the lower urethra and external genitalia.

So, unless you are taking urine directly from the bladder (which, hopefully is being done under anesthesia by a skilled surgeon!!!), urine is NOT sterile.

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A.F.

answers from Columbus on

Ewww!! That's gross! Never heard of it.

2 moms found this helpful
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M.C.

answers from Nashville on

OMG.......no way! My babies were still absolutely precious with baby acne and all! =0)

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M.S.

answers from San Francisco on

What??? What kind of sick person would do this??? I am shocked! That is disgusting and really horrible! This is definitely not the norm---at least not where I am from!!!

Not sure what else to say, but I feel really bad for the babies who have been violated in this way.

Molly

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T.V.

answers from San Francisco on

ED, If you think that is "different" don't bother to see the movie BABIES....I was really looking forward to it because everyone said how wonderful and cute, blah, blah, blah!

Well parts of it were wonderful and cute and other parts were down right not so cute, safe or sanitary!

No, I would not wipe my childs face with a urine soaked diaper and I would not wipe myself with it either.

Blessings.....

1 mom found this helpful
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A.A.

answers from Chicago on

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little....

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S.B.

answers from Redding on

I have definitely heard of this.
I never did it with my kids, but I heard that babies first morning urine heals pimples, scratches, etc.
It certainly sounds weird, but I've heard of peeing on a jelly fish sting and even heard of peeing on your feet for athlete's foot.
I think it has to do with the uric acid. Not sure.
Like I said, I never tried it, but I have heard of it.

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H.H.

answers from Hartford on

my mouth is still open. I have not read your replies bc I dont want to get angry at all the moms that actually do this!!! I would rather have zits then rub pee on my face, I hope someone does that to these moms how helpful their LO are I dobut they care. awful, abs. awful!!!!

1 mom found this helpful

S.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

It would have been helpful if the moms here who had, in fact,
heard of this, had shared which area of the world the practice came from.
I can imagine old world (and previous centuries) moms
might have used babies' pee when they didn't have anything else
for certain kinds of cleaning.

About the placenta thing . . . .
this would be people who are really into back-to-nature activities
and, of course, they COOK it with onions and other stuff,
before eating, in a festive event celebrating the new family member.

S.

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D.N.

answers from Chicago on

I have not heard about rubbing the diaper but when I was younger inGirl Scouts, we heard about urine being used in other countries for ear infections and other things. I have heard about the jellyfish sting thng--though none around me so no need to try it. There was something in the news a few days ago that my kids told me about. A family or a man was lost for over a week with no food or water and they drank their urine to survive.

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N.K.

answers from Madison on

Heard it the first time. Sound silly. If those diapers had been wet for some time, bacteria can grow in urine.

1 mom found this helpful

D.B.

answers from Detroit on

Actually, I remember reading somewhere that Elvis Presley used to wash his face in the morning with his first a.m. urine (something about it being the strongest and therefore ultra pure). And HE had pretty decent skin, so I guess it COULD be true. Plus, when your baby pees in the bathtub, no pediatrician I know is even concerned about sanitary issues because its their own pee and is supposed to be pretty harmless for the most part. However, I'm with everyone else here.....its much too gross to even conceive of doing such a thing.

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B.D.

answers from Phoenix on

Yeesh! Is your co-worker from a different country? That is outrageous! Actually, it's almost -- if not as -- outrageous as what my dad did to my brothers when we were little. They both had a terrible earache and some woman (an old wife, obviously) told him to pour their warm fresh urine into their ears and it would clear it right up. All I really remember is the two of my brothers screaming and crying after my dad did this. Incidentally, my mother was very much against it. I will Google this "pee in the face" idea. I have also heard that women should moisturize their skin with fresh semen. Yuck!

But wiping their pee on their face as infants?

T.K.

answers from Dallas on

That's worse than the sugar tit! I've heard some doosies, but baby urine is the topper! Previous winner - My babies great grandmother told me to give my baby a "Sugar tit." Apparently back in the day, people would put pure sugar in a dishtowel for babies to suck on before moms milk comes down. When she suggested that, I'm sure I had the same look on my face as you did when they were talking about the topical benefits of baby pee!

S.O.

answers from Lansing on

I have heard of this....don't care to try!

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A.J.

answers from New York on

I've heard of it. My mom suggested I try it when my daughter's baby acne started to get out of hand. It's an old wive's tale, but many mothers swear by it. I'd say it works simply because I personally know so many women who have tried it and I've seen the results first hand. But, to each his own. There are other methods of taking care of your baby's skin.

T.N.

answers from Albany on

eeewwwww, never heard of such a thing!

L.C.

answers from Kansas City on

i have never personally heard of this one, but urine can be used for a lot of things. its natural and sterile, so it doesnt surprise me much. Although i would not use it if it were in a diaper. You never know how long its been sitting.

B.L.

answers from Missoula on

My mom was told to do this to me when I was a baby, but for my eyes. I had an infection in my eyes and she wiped my diaper on my eyes and it cleared my infection up. Yes, it's gross, but pea kills infections. i have not heard of the facial complexion though.

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M.K.

answers from Kansas City on

I didn't read your responses yet but here goes....urine in and of itself is sterile. I've never heard of it and I wouldn't do it but to each their own. My problem comes in with the diaper. Unless it is a cloth diaper washed and dried without a dryer sheet I would never. Think of all the diaper rashes kids get from chemicals in the diapers and then think of that on the face! No way!

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M.K.

answers from Houston on

surely it would dry the skin out? pee is very acidic, and I have NEVER in all my life, 2 kids, living in 2 different countries, 11 years as a doctor - heard that

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V.M.

answers from Erie on

I have heard of urine being used to clear the complexion, and actually isn't horse urine or horse something used in some make up? anyhow, i would never do this and don't know anyone that does. It sounds like a third world kind of thing.

T.M.

answers from Modesto on

Oh my Lord! To kiss a sweet baby face that smelled like piss?! Aye yi yi!
I personally have never heard of this and I'm pretty sure I would never have done that to my babies even if it was supposed to be good for them.
It never ceases to amaze me... crazy stuff. This is why there is no such thing as "common" sense. We all get raised differently and what's common to you is not common to me. Embracing everyone's differences is the key to living a non stressful existance, but it can sure be challenging!

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J.S.

answers from Dallas on

we actually had a nurse recommend this to us once, I chose not to do it. It was for newborn acne. Some people have some crazy ideas

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C.T.

answers from Dallas on

First, urine is not sterile once it leaves the body and this practice is not the norm. Disgusting!!

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C.T.

answers from San Juan on

what is her ethnic background? that is just strange...

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H.P.

answers from Houston on

Uh, no, this is not the norm. I have heard of adults using baby's urine for their own skin, but how bad can your baby's skin be to make this necessary? Even baby acne can be outgrown shortly. I would think that the facial skin would prove too delicate for the acidity in urine.

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A.C.

answers from Cincinnati on

No, I've never heard this.

M.L.

answers from Houston on

I heard that mothers actually put it on their skin as well. It's an old wives tale, and use to be popular, especially in some countries.... and some people still do it, with their own pee. (google urine therapy)

Some believe urine is sterile, and has healing properties (like peeing on a jellyfish sting) others claim it isn't, as it is waste from the kidneys and includes bacteria and other toxins... essentially the waste the body couldn't use so it is extracted.

Some info can be found here on it:

http://www.ukqna.com/beauty/1127-2-beauty-ukqna.html

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C.A.

answers from San Francisco on

I am pretty grossed out right now.

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

It just brings an image of full face diaper rash to my mind, and I really didn't need that particular picture to pop into my head.
With everything that can go on in a diaper, putting anything from there on anyone s face just seems unsanitary and way out there gross.
Pee is sterile? If that were true there would be no such thing as urinary tract infections. Pee is metabolic waste your kidneys have cleaned out from your blood. If your kidneys fail, you'll die without dialysis to remove the waste that builds up in you. Pee can be very acidic, and at one time it was collected and used by fullers in a process to bleach and process woolen cloth/garments because it contains ammonia.
Thank you very much but I'm done with diapers for a long time now and I'll never have a desire to play around with pee for any reason.

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M.P.

answers from Portland on

I've never heard of it and I would not do it. Bacteria does grow in urine once it's out of the body. This sounds very unsanitary.

I have heard of people drinking their urine, believing that do so will improve their health. Yuk! I wouldn't do that either!

Most babies just naturally have a great complexion. How would they know that it was the urine that caused their baby's great complexion?

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Never heard this but urine really IS sterile. UTI's happen when bacteria enters the sterile environment through the urethra.

I looked into this and apparently people apply urine on a cotton ball to acne to improve the skin's appearance. Weird. But maybe if I had severe acne I might try it.

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J.C.

answers from Anchorage on

It would not hurt the child, urine is sterile, and you can drink it if you had too with no ill effect. You can pee on a jellyfish sting if you do not have vinegar available (vinegar works better, but pee can help). I have never tried this, but I guess it could help, but either way it would not hurt the child in any way.

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