Author: MERCY KAHENDA
AfricaPress-Kenya: Hassan Salat, a herder from Wajir County, claims to have healed of malaria disease after taking camel urine.
Salat, in his 50s, told local media in an interview that urine is safe, effective, and heals instantly, as compared to scientific medicines.
According to the herder, taking a glass of urine ‘cleanses’ the body and gets rid of any infections, bacterial, viral, and microorganisms that cause diseases.
“Urine is a valued ‘medicine’, given to children and adults with health complications like diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria,” he said in an interview.
Salat said that a camel feeds on the topmost leaves of trees, used traditionally as herbal medicine, and it is, therefore, the same as consuming its urine.
“A camel does not feed on any contaminated vegetation apart from herbal vegetation. Healing is also instant,” he said.
Salat said the main challenge is getting the urine, because a camel urinates twice in a day, due to harsh weather in the arid and semi-arid localities.
Therefore, herders spend sleepless nights, keeping a tab on excretion of the waste from camel-mostly harvested at wee hours of the morning.
“Urine is harvested and stored for use if need arises,” added Salat.
Irrespective of the availability of hospitals in the county, the herder is among hundreds of locals who maintain that urine is effective and that some drugs might be toxic to the body.
Most people in the county visit hospitals for review, when they have fractures.
But scientists and doctors have quickly warned pastoral communities in the Northern region of Kenya against the use of camel urine to treat diseases.
Dr Joseph Othieno, a veterinary surgeon has told Standard Digital that it is a worrying trend that communities in Isiolo and Wajir counties drink urine when taken ill, instead of seeking health care services in hospitals.
The use of urine is termed as an indigenous knowledge among locals, as it is not scientifically proven, neither research done on its benefits to human health.
The communities claim that urine treats different diseases for example diarrhea, malaria, and pneumonia among others.
“It has come to my attention that herders are using urine to heal diseases. This is risky because urine is a waste product that might cause health complications,” Dr Othieno said.
Othieno said in an interview that he learned about the use of urine during his research work on Knowledge Attitude and Practices of Camel Farmers Today (October 13, 2020).
The locals claim healing from various ailments is instant, as compared to scientifically proven medicine.
Urine according to the veterinary expert is a waste product and might contain other diseases causing microorganisms.
Among diseases transmitted from animal to human is leptospirosis, a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals.
Reports by the World Health Organization (WHO) reveal that leptospirosis affects 10 or more people in every 100,000 every year.
Symptoms of the disease include fever, coughing, diarrhea, headache, red irritated eyes, vomiting and muscle pains.
The disease can also lead to kidney, heart or liver failure, meningitis, respiratory disorder and deaths.
“Urine is a waste product and its ingestion might lead to microorganisms that are not safe for the body,” he said.
He added “It is not clear on why locals use urine, but I believe it may be due to lack of hospitals. Traditionally, in the village, people use myth of placing soil on a cut wound to prevent bleeding and speed up healing, but instead, such causes more infections.”
In science, urine is tapped and used to manufacture fertilizer because it is rich in calcium and nitrogen.
A radiology doctor, Joseph Mburu, discourages use of urine to treat diseases.
He said urine is toxic to the body and might cause gastroenteritis infections, and if highly concentrated, they may harm the body.
“Scientifically, sweat and urine is among ways human body excretes waste. This means urine carries highly concentrated waste, that should not be digested,” said Dr Mburu.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), drinking camel urine causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS). The virus leads to fever, pneumonia and kidney failure.
