To drink urine or not in survival situation?

[DocNightfall]

And as mentioned by kgd, when you're thirsty, your urine becomes even saltier than usual.

 

[2dogs]

Well all I can say is that I have listened to Aron Ralston and his story of drinking his own urine. He is still alive. His ordeal didn't take place in his mind, it took place in the desert.

 

[MORIMOTOM]

urine is sterile, but has ammonia, which is why i assume it is good for cleaning wounds like jellyfish stings.

as another poster mentioned, the clearer it is, the higher the water content.

but i guess drinking dark piss is better than death.

 

[DocNightfall]

Drinking dark piss is like drinking saltwater (plus urea, which is a mildly toxic substance). You will be worse off for drinking it. It will not help you survive longer.

 

[knifeman65]

One of my survival books says DO NOT drink urine. It will end up dehydrating you even more, just like salt water will. It says you can use your urine to clean a wound off if you do not have regular wound cleaners of any kind.

 

[Moodino]

Time for me to contact Aaron Ralston. I need to know what he ate the 12 hrs prior to drinking his own urine. I believe there is a compromise resolution to the dilema- to drink urine or not to drink urine ( that is the question). I believe the key will lie in the answer "It depends on the quality of the urine". Based on the astute observation that 'not all urine is created equal' - one would assume that a survivor that had basically been drinking mostly water and maybe some nutrition bars 12 hrs prior to a need to hydrate with urine would not be drinking urine with the same concentrations of sodium and urea as a person that had just downed a 2lb Steak plus salty french fries or bowl of baked beans.
So I'll do some more research to reach a resolution to this question.