There now exists in this country a rather nasty parasite that can travel up a stream of water into the bladder. If there is the smallest doubt in your mind about this dont do it!!
Care to elaborate on this please? I think it is highly unlikely that a nematode would be able to swim quickly enough against gravity in a non cohesive stream of urine to cause an infection as described.
Quote: Originally posted by Essexhebridean on 15/9/2010
I've considered one Fran - I take it then that they are as good as people say? Are they...how can I phrase this (carefully!) easy to use?!
Actually, I'll save you a couple of quid: I forgot mine last trip, and bought a small plastic funnel from a hardware shop. It worked every bit as well, better in fact!
out of total annoyance ive tried and failed to stay of here due to merrys comments to my post,just to clear things up, i do occasionally pee in the bushes but its not everytime, i was just reffering to this camp when the site was empty due to the gales and driveing rain that was outside my tent and it being pitch black outside and a little scary looking and of course knowing full well that the treck to the toilets .... anyway i should've said i have occasionally peed in the bushes and not made it look like i'm a scrote who does it every time i need i wee. ive felt so dirty and guilty since my reply to my last post.
I think one needs to approach the issue of "in the bushes" with a sense of proportion. For instance, IMO it's pretty damn selfish to nip behind one's tent and pee on grass where other people will be pitching (or, indeed, where others might be offended by the sight or sound of you peeing) but it's quite another thing to pee well away from pitches (for instance, nearby thickets or woodland or on the non-camping side of a hedge).
I would personally never do the former and I'm not sympathetic to those who habitually do so (except, perhaps, if they are desperate and caught short miles from a loo - but even in that case they should've brought a bucket or bottle with them). However, I would do (indeed, have done) the latter as long as it wasn't directly on a footpath or where kids are likely to be playing.
As I said (above in this thread) I would not want to pitch my tent on a patch of grass where someone had been peeing. And I believe in 'do unto others as you would be done by'.
'Respect other people' is a good maxim here. But I don't think one should be too po-faced about it (forgive the pun*).
But I am unlikely to be crawling about in hedgerows or ditches and if I'm on farmland there's plenty of things worse than the occasional sprinkling of human pee - everything from from cow's pats and pee (believe me, cattle pee gallons!) to dog poo and farm slurry.
There now exists in this country a rather nasty parasite that can travel up a stream of water into the bladder. If there is the smallest doubt in your mind about this dont do it!!
Care to elaborate on this please? I think it is highly unlikely that a nematode would be able to swim quickly enough against gravity in a non cohesive stream of urine to cause an infection as described.
Yeah - I am intrigued by this claim..... I want details and scientific information please!
Will have to keep that in mind for next time I am skinny dipping in the rivers of the amazon rainforest. Im still not convinced that we have much to fear here in the UK.
As for going in the bush/hedge. Campsites are varied in nature. What might be unacceptable on a crowded commercial site might be merely in poor taste or even acceptable on a quiet farm/woodland site. People are different and what might be offensive to one may be acceptable to another.
I personally would have some ....concerns (which would be voiced forcfully) if I woke up to someone peeing on/near my tent or in front of my wife & children. but I also cant see how peeing in the hedge can be considered unhygenic or will leave the site smelly (where do you think all those dogs on the campsite have p*ssed)
Although lurid anecdotes of attacks on humans abound, there is only one documented case of a candiru entering a human orifice. In this instance, the victim claimed that the candiru "jumped" into his urethra as he urinated while thigh-deep in a river.
It was also once thought that the fish was attracted to urine (as the candiru's primary prey emits ammonia from its gills, a chemical found in urine), but this was later discredited in formal experimentation. Indeed, the fish appears not to have any response to any chemical attractants, and primarily hunts by visual tracking.
Bathers in the (Amazon) region are, however, warned not to urinate while swimming, out of concern that the expansion of the urethra during urination will allow the fish to enter the otherwise closed orifice.
So not really much of a threat to people peeing in the bushes in the UK then?
I saw a documentary on TV earlier this year where a researcher went to find any real cases of the candiru fish getting into a human orifice. Despite lots of anecdotes only ONE doctor was found who had a case file of a woman who had one up her "flue" (as we say in these parts).
As others have pointed out the Amazon is a long way from the UK so parasitic threats are not an effective deterrent for peeing in UK hedgerows. Rather I will let the righteous scorn of fellow campers be my conscience!
i was glad to give up tenting ,just for that resone ,in my toura we have a porta loo ,BUT we have just brought a new tent ,we have most of the stuff needed , but may get a nappy bucket as the porta loo is to big for the boot, glyn,
The danger of Amazonian fish leaping up orifices here in the UK is neglible. But when chaps unzip in woodland, they should remember that squirrels really love chewing nuts!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Night-time dashes to the loo
. I'm the world's worst myself for posting back too quickly sometimes so, cheers!
