Popular hepatologist Dr Cyriac Abby Philips has warned against the practice of urine eye wash – a video of which went viral on social media recently.

The video, on Instagram, showed a woman from Pune, who calls herself a medicine-free life coach, showing an unusual eye-care routine – washing her eyes with her own urine. “Please don't put your urine inside your eyes. Urine is not sterile,” wrote Dr Philips, who took to X.

In the video, Nupur Pittie explains how she uses her own fresh, midstream morning urine as a natural eye rinse. She describes the practice as part of her medicine-free lifestyle and claims it helps with redness, dryness, and irritation.

The video quickly went viral and sparked backlash.

According to experts, there is absolutely no proven scientific data that drinking or using urine in any way can provide health benefits. According to a report published in the Journal of Urology, “Much of what we have heard about the use of urine therapy has no medical basis and is a folk remedy that can actually worsen the injury.”

Although urine may contain very small amounts of vitamins and minerals, those amounts are not enough for a tangible health benefit.

Made of fluid and waste products that your body does not need, urine is a byproduct of waste that kidneys – which work as filters – remove along with excess water and cellular byproducts from the bloodstream. Water makes up 91-96 per cent of your urine, and the rest includes salts, ammonia, and byproducts produced during normal body processes.

Your urinary tract extends from your kidneys to your urethra. You have two kidneys, one on each side of the body. The kidneys send urine down to the bladder through two muscular tubes called ureters. When your bladder is full, nerve endings send a signal to your brain that it’s time to find a bathroom. When you empty your bladder, urine exits the body through a small tube called the urethra. The urethra is home to some types of bacteria. Normally, these bacteria don’t cause any problems, unless they grow out of control.

Experts say urine is not sterile and contains bacteria that could be harmful if ingested or introduced into the bloodstream through a wound.

Apart from toxins, urine is also loaded with waste products that have been filtered out of your bloodstream. Known as toxins, these waste products are not toxic but are highly concentrated. And your body is trying to get rid of these because if they stay in the body, they do harm.