Urine it for life

Today was interesting. Today was the first time I have ever taken a good sniff of someone else's urine.

Sure, on a frosty winter's day when the men's room gets crowded one sometimes wonders at the hygiene implications of it all as the steam comes billowing up off the stainless steel like a cross between a toilet and a sauna. But it's more of a crowd situation - you wouldn't normally chirp up to single out a specimen with a comment like, "Excuse me sir, no not you, the gentleman to the left of you - perhaps you should check your blood sugars. Your urine is rather fruity."

But today in a prac we were presented with small phials of urine from different people which we were able to pass around, take a good sniff of, and compare notes on colour, clarity and smell. It was rather like a wine tasting. In fact the urine from the person with keto-acidosis smelt a lot like dodgy chardonnay.

I was surprised that the third urine sample was very small. Perhaps the donor was suffering from reduced kidney output? No, as it turns out, someone in the previous group had accidentally spilled it all over his jeans. Try explaining that on the bus home. "I didn't wet my pants, this is someone else's urine." I reckon you'd be able to clear the whole back seat for yourself with that line.