It is nitrogen (found in urine) that causes algae to grow, and this is detrimental to coral. Experts also say that drug chemicals in the human body passed into the sea by urine can damage coral reefs by altering the balance of microbes.
From a scientific standpoint, Esbaugh says that it's “definitely not true” that sharks are attracted to urine, and he assumes the rumor got started because many animals use scent to track their prey. But he says this doesn't hold up because humans aren't the most common meal for sharks. Fish are.
Generally, peeing in the ocean is totally fine, the ACS says – and it may even be beneficial to marine life, as the nitrogen in urea combines with water to produce ammonium, which feeds ocean plants.
#3: Can Peeing In The Ocean Hurt You? Although it's unlikely, peeing in the ocean can cause urinary tract infections (UTIs). The ocean itself isn't the problem here — the issue is hygiene. Peeing flushes bacteria out of your body, which can hang out in your wet bathing suit for hours at a time and lead to infection.
While they can smell human urine, they aren't particularly interested in it. Any tasty, smelly odorant is likely to get a shark excited but their sense of smell is no better than that of a tuna, and tiny amounts will go unnoticed.
Your poop matters.
1 gram of poop, about the weight of a fish hook, can contain millions of virus particles. It only takes 10-100 viruses to get sick. The waste from one person can contaminate an area about the size of 25 football fields.
Biochemist Stuart Jones explains that a person generally excretes 0.2L – 0.5L of urine at a time. This equals about three grams of urea. Even in if all the world's 7 billion people peed in the Atlantic Ocean at the same time, there would be a minuscule amount of urea, Popular Science estimates.
One compound found in urine that is not found in the ocean is urea. It is an carbon-based compound that helps the body rid itself of nitrogen. But, as the video notes, the nitrogen in urea can combine ocean water to produce ammonium, a compound that acts as food for ocean plant life.
Peeing submerged, according to Fosnight, is also less-than-ideal for your bladder because you want the least resistance possible when you pee (meaning only air surrounding you—not water), and the pressure of being in water can make it so that your flow is fighting gravity and you might not empty your bladder (which is ...
Any bodily fluid released into the water is likely detectable by sharks. A shark's sense of smell is powerful – it allows them to find prey from hundreds of yards away. Menstrual blood in the water could be detected by a shark, just like any urine or other bodily fluids.
Since sharks see contrast colors, anything that is very bright against lighter or darker skin can look like a bait fish to a shark. For this reason, he suggests swimmers avoid wearing yellow, white, or even bathing suits with contrasting colors, like black and white.
Made of very strong and thick bone, dolphin snouts are biological battering rams. Dolphins will position themselves several yards under a shark and burst upwards jabbing their snout into the soft underbelly of the shark causing serious internal injuries.
There is an assumption that urinating in the sea is not such a good idea because it contaminates the marine ecosystem. This is actually not true. Human urine does not harm the ocean or sea life in any way, in fact, some scientists say it is beneficial to marine plant life.
And urine is typically clean and sterile. True, nitrogen compounds in urine can react with chlorine in pools and cause eye or respiratory tract irritation in some people. If someone experiences red eyes or wheezing, they might find a saltwater pool a better choice.
The NOAA estimates the oceans at 321,003,271 cubic miles or 1.338e21 L (1.3 sextillion). Dividing those out and you get 0.0002%, or 1 in 500,000 parts Human pee.
Human Urine: Human urine has been found to have no repellent effects on fish. It seems counter intuitive but if you got a whole bunch of sun screen or bug spay on your line and lures, then peeing on them might actually help you catch more fish.
Depending on the cleanliness of the water, swimming in nature (such as in the sea or a lake) may cause a urinary tract infection. Research shows that swimming in the sea may cause UTIs, gastrointestinal tract infections and ear problems due to farm run-off and sewage in the seas off the coast.
Not only is it disgusting, but urine in pool water also fosters the formation of harmful chemicals. As soon as body oils meet sweat, chlorine, and urine, DBP's (disinfection byproducts) start to arise. Organic matter from our bodies mixing with chlorine allows these DBP's to form and harm our health.
The stuff that makes our beaches look like lattes turns out to be mostly gunk. It's a collection of organic material, like algae, fish scales or bits of coral, that when agitated by the ocean's waves and currents act as foaming agents and surfactants.
If someone is sick and has diarrhea in the water, millions of germs can contaminate the water. These germs can make other people sick if they swallow even a small amount of contaminated water. Swallowing 10 or fewer germs can make people sick.
So, if asked do sharks poop in the sea, we can say that yes, they do, and they do it in a very similar way to many other animals.
First off, it's fine to pee directly in the river. That's right, pee right there in the water. It's cool: everyone else is doing it, regulations allow for it, and nature doesn't mind. In fact, the two best places to pee: in the river, or right in the baño itself (sometimes a choice for the female gender).
The bottom line is that peeing in the shower is unlikely to harm you. So whether it's part of your water-saving efforts or you can't stop the flow sometimes, it's pretty much fine to pee in the shower.