Tell me, do those laboratory technicians wince when they
have to handle my urine sample? Who
could refrain? Do you know that the
shade and density of the urine is then noted on the laboratory results? I pity the person whose job it is to
determine that! Do they hold it up
against a paint swatch nabbed from a local hardware store?
But it could be worse.
Another lesson in history here: Long before any of our modern urine tests
were developed, physicians actually tasted the urine (yuck!) of their patients,
employing their own taste buds to see if it indicated signs of sweetness which
meant that the patient would be diagnosed with what they then called the “Sugar
Sickness” (now known as diabetes.) In
fact, the discovery of Type One Diabetes (an autoimmune disease) dates back to
1500 B.C.E. in Egypt. Physicians in India
at around the same time discovered that the urine in certain sick individuals
would attract ants. Yes, ants!
I suppose I'm thankful
it didn't attract mice. . .
