Originally Posted by
midwestmarykay
Urea helps break down dead skin . . . like the skin along the side of cracks, etc.
On a crazy note, my great grandmother always told people to pee on their hands and let it dry--another way of getting/using urea. Grandma Kramer was German, lived on a farm, died in about 1975 at the age of 94. She swore by this method of making hands soft. I've never tried it, but knowing how urea works, I have no doubt it would work.
Another crazy note. My grandmother's youngest child had horrible thrush all in his mouth and throat. No Drs near by so she took him to a very old lady who know cures. The woman dipped a cloth in a pot and swabbed the baby's mouth. She said it was urine. My grandmother said she almost fainted. The thrush cleared up almost over night. My grandmother said when she did tell a Dr. about it years later she was told it was all nonsense. She still believes the urine saved the baby from agonizing pain and I suppose he was.