Can Drinking Urine Make You Sick? | Risks You Should Know

“Drink your pee” pops up in survival chatter, dares, and some wellness posts. It’s not.

Urine is a waste stream. Your kidneys filter blood, keep what your body needs, and send the rest into the bladder. When you drink urine, you put that waste back into the system your body was trying to clear.

This article explains what’s in urine, why drinking it can backfire, who has margin, and what to do next.

Why the idea keeps popping up

One reason is a simple mistake: thinking any liquid fixes thirst. Another is the myth that urine is sterile and “full of nutrients.”

Urine carries extra salts and byproducts. When you don’t have enough water, it gets darker and saltier, so drinking it backfires.

What urine is and what it isn’t

Fresh urine is mostly water, but it’s not drinking water. It’s water loaded with dissolved waste. Your kidneys used that water to move unwanted compounds out of your bloodstream.

Urine commonly contains urea (from protein breakdown), electrolytes like sodium and potassium, and small amounts of other chemicals your body doesn’t need at that moment. Traces of medication byproducts can show up too.

One myth needs a blunt correction: urine isn’t reliably sterile. Even healthy urine can contain small amounts of microbes, and collection can pick up bacteria from skin near the urinary opening. Cleveland Clinic explains this clearly in Is Urine Sterile? The Truth Behind the Myth.

Can Drinking Urine Make You Sick?

Yes. The main risks come from two buckets: germs and solutes. Germs can trigger stomach upset or infection. Solutes like salts and urea can drive more fluid loss, so you can end up more dehydrated than before.

Amount matters. A tiny accidental sip is different from repeated cups. Your current state matters too. If you’re already dehydrated, urine stacks more salt and waste on top of a body that’s already short on clean water.

Drinking urine can make you sick in these ways

When people feel ill after urine drinking, it usually follows a few patterns. Some show up fast, like nausea. Others build over hours as dehydration and salt load rise.

Germs can ride along

If you have a urinary tract infection, urine may carry bacteria. Swallowing it can irritate your stomach and can add microbes your gut doesn’t want. Even without an infection, urine can pick up bacteria from the urethra and nearby skin during collection.

Stomach acid knocks down many microbes, but it’s not a guaranteed shield. People with weaker immune defenses have less margin when bacteria slip through.

Salt and urea can worsen dehydration

Your body has to flush out extra solutes. Drinking urine adds solutes without adding clean fluid. To clear that load, your kidneys may need extra water, so you can end up peeing out more fluid than you took in.

The more dehydrated you are, the more concentrated urine gets. That makes it taste saltier, and it can worsen thirst and dry mouth.

Gut irritation and vomiting can start a spiral

Urea and other byproducts are meant to leave your body. When you swallow them, some get absorbed again before the kidneys can clear them, which can trigger nausea or cramps in some people.

If vomiting starts, you lose water and salts fast. That can turn mild dehydration into a bigger problem over a short window.

Traces of drugs and alcohol can cycle back

Urine can contain breakdown products from alcohol, certain vitamins, and many medications. A one-time sip isn’t likely to cause a dramatic drug effect, but repeated urine drinking can recycle compounds your body was trying to remove.

This also matters if you’re on medications with tight dosing or if your kidneys don’t work at full strength. In those cases, small shifts in fluids and electrolytes can feel rough.

Electrolyte shifts can hit hard in some people

Electrolytes like sodium and potassium are normal in urine. When urine is concentrated, those levels rise. People with reduced kidney function, some heart conditions, or medicine regimens that affect electrolytes can be more sensitive to extra load.

In that group, the worry isn’t only nausea. Dizziness, weakness, or confusion can show up if dehydration and electrolyte imbalance build.

What’s inside urine when you drink it

Urine changes with hydration, diet, exertion, illness, and medication. This table lists common components and the main reason each one makes urine a poor drink.

Component	Why it’s there	What it can do if swallowed
Water	Carrier for waste	Fluid comes with solutes that can drive more urination
Urea	Protein byproduct	Adds solute load; kidneys may need extra water to clear it
Sodium and chloride	Electrolytes your body regulates tightly	Can worsen thirst when concentrated
Potassium	Electrolyte from diet and metabolism	Can be risky for people with reduced kidney function
Creatinine	Normal muscle byproduct	No hydration value; adds more waste
Uric acid	Purine byproduct	Extra load for kidneys; not a thirst fix
Drug metabolites	Breakdown products from medicines or alcohol	Can recycle compounds your body was excreting
Bacteria	From infection or collection contamination	May trigger stomach upset; can raise infection risk

Who has less margin for urine drinking

Some bodies handle salt loads and microbes with less slack. In these groups, the downsides can show up faster, and the decision can carry more risk.

People with kidney disease or kidney stone history

If your kidneys already struggle to regulate fluids and salts, a concentrated waste drink can push them harder. If you’re prone to stones, dehydration is already a trigger, so adding a solute-heavy drink doesn’t help.

People with certain heart conditions

Some heart conditions come with tight limits around sodium and fluids. Since urine can be salty, especially when concentrated, it can throw off that balance.

Anyone with urinary symptoms or a diagnosed UTI

If you’re peeing with burning, urgency, fever, or pelvic pain, don’t drink that urine. Infection can raise bacteria levels in urine, and swallowing it can add gut irritation and risk.

Children, older adults, and pregnant people

Kids dehydrate quickly. Older adults may not feel thirst early. Pregnancy shifts fluid needs and kidney workload. In all three groups, go with clean fluids and get care when symptoms rise.

People taking medicines that affect fluids or electrolytes

Diuretics, lithium, and some blood pressure or rhythm medicines can react badly to dehydration and salt shifts. If you’re dehydrated enough to think about urine, treat that as a cue to rest, cool down, and get clean fluids.

What to do if you already drank urine

If it was a sip from a dare, you’ll likely be fine. If it was more than that, or you feel unwell, act early. The goal is simple: stop adding waste, replace clean fluids, and watch for red flags.

• Rinse your mouth with clean water and spit it out.
• Drink clean fluids in steady sips. If plain water feels hard on your stomach, take smaller sips more often.
• Rest and cool down if heat or exertion played a role. Cooling slows further fluid loss.
• Skip alcohol for the rest of the day.

For clear at-home advice on dehydration signs and rehydration steps, see the NHS dehydration page.

Get medical care the same day if you have fever, repeated vomiting, blood in stool or vomit, severe belly pain, or signs of dehydration like confusion or fainting. If your child drank urine, treat symptoms fast.

Symptoms to watch and the next step

Most reactions are mild and pass with clean fluids and rest. Use this as a quick check, not as a diagnosis tool.

What you notice	What it may point to	What to do next
Nausea or gagging	Taste reaction or irritation	Sip water; pause if vomiting starts
Vomiting	Fluid loss	Small sips often; get care if it won’t stop
Diarrhea	Irritation or infection	Hydrate; get care if blood appears
Fever or chills	Possible infection	Get medical care the same day
Dry mouth, dizziness, dark urine	Dehydration	Water or oral rehydration; seek care if confusion starts
Severe belly pain	More serious gut problem	Get urgent medical care
Confusion or fainting	Severe dehydration	Call emergency services

Safer options when water is scarce

When you’re short on water, urine can look like a shortcut. It’s not. Your best move is still to find or make clean water, then slow down so your body loses less fluid.

Lower sweat loss first: sit in shade, loosen extra layers, and pace yourself. Then check for water sources and tools you already have.

• Filter and disinfect if you can. Filters, tablets, or both reduce many common risks.
• Boil when you can. Bring water to a rolling boil, let it cool, and store it in a clean container.
• Collect safer starting points. Rainwater, melted ice, or water from a known treated source beats urine every time.
• Carry a tiny backup kit. A few purification tablets and a small container can save you later.

Why “urine therapy” claims fall apart

Some posts claim urine contains nutrients and antibodies, so drinking it “returns” good things to the body. Urine exists because your body chose to dump those compounds. If it wanted them kept, it would have kept them in the bloodstream.

Urine also isn’t a clean medical product. Once it leaves the body, it can pick up bacteria from skin, hands, or the container. Add the salt and urea load, and routine urine drinking becomes a gamble with little upside.

A simple rule to follow

If you’re tempted to drink urine, treat that urge as a warning sign: you need clean fluids, cooling, and rest. Don’t trade a short-lived mouth-wet feeling for nausea, vomiting, dehydration, or infection risk.

If it already happened, don’t panic. Rinse your mouth, sip clean fluids, and watch symptoms through the day. If you can’t keep liquids down or symptoms ramp up, get medical care fast.