iblocalsurfer wrote:Pee is sterile. Besides, it flushes out quickly anyway. Pee is also a great first-aid for jellyfish stings. No one I know comes in for piss breaks anyway. You should just get over your pee phobia.
Urine is sterile in the bladder in a healthy person, but during urination it becomes quite infected by anaerobic rods and cocci that colonize the urethra. One of the "functions of urine" is to flush out bacteria from your urethra. The enclosed space in your wetsuit is sufficiently anaerobic to cause infections to any zits, small cuts or abrasions.
But if you do a good body drag holding the suit open a bit at the neck should flush most of it out.
However this is not a significant risk. The real risk is attracting sharks.
Sharks are attracted by urine at greater distances than blood.
This is for several reasons.
Urinating in a wet suit will leave a trail of urine for quite a long time as the urine first leaves the wetsuit in signifcant volume and then as traces are rinsed out of it. Urine will get into the booties and much more gradually work it's way out.
Unlike a swimmer or a surfer a kitesurfer will leave his or her urine trail quicker so it is less of a risk, but still a significant one.
Why are sharks attracted by urine.
First of all a fish near a trail or urine is a fish that has urinated. By eating this fish the shark is eating less urine.
Second sharks instinctively avoid wasting energy. They favor eating fish that have already been perused by other fish. When a fish is chased by a predator it evacuates urine to accelerate its flight.
A shark will sense this and home in on both predator and the prayed upon fish and eat both if it can.
Urine diffuses through water faster than blood.
Shark attacks are quite rare, but it's not a good idea to tempt fate.
Statistical studies in Australia and South Africa have linked urination to shark attacks.