A Sydney story

A Lebanese mother of two

Blog written 21/9/24 – published July 2025.

This story is not about toilets as per say. There are no photographs in this story because I don’t have any. There are no names in this story because I don’t remember any. But it is a true story. It’s a story about urine itself!

When we lived in Sydney, Australia, ????????????????????????????️ we used to buy fresh fruit and vegetables and very good Lebanese olive oil at a Lebanese shop. It was a family shop, the father would open the shop first thing in the morning, put all the fruit and vegetables together and go get the fresh produce if needed. If we came to the shop in the afternoon, the children would be around, doing their homework after school and then helping out in the shop.????????‍????????‍????????‍????????
The main saleswoman was the mother. She was a bit chubby, with thick black hair, dressed like a mother in the kitchen. In her mid-forties, always ready for a little chat and somehow she always knew what we needed to eat the following week and what was so good and fresh that we would end up with at least two extra wooden boxes full of fresh fruit that we didn’t intend to buy. She was a very good saleswoman!????????????????????????????‍????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????️????????????????????????????????????????????????

A few months after my second son was born, we went there to buy some greens. My baby was just recovering from an eye infection after I gave him some prescription eye drops. It was our first time coming to the store with a newborn and the lady congratulated us, she was happy to see the baby. She seemed kind of honoured that we were coming to her store with such a small baby. ????

We even got some fruits for free for me and for the new born baby!

She asked about the newborn, and I explained that he had just recovered from an eye infection and that he often had them. I told her that it was the same with his brother, my older son, when he was such a small baby, he often had eye infections and I had to put medicated eye drops on him almost every few months until he was two or three years old. So I knew it wasn’t anything serious, it would go away, it was just annoying and made him grumpy.

Then the Lebanese mother of two advised me to wash his eyes with his urine first thing in the morning! Pointing her finger at her children like – look at them, how healthy they are! To catch his first morning urine if I can or to squeeze a few drops into his eyes from his diaper.

Bloody hell who does that??!!????????

Even though I was very surprised and couldn’t believe it, I did it! Somehow I trusted her! After that, my son never had an eye infection again! Never!
Thank you, Lebanese mother of two. I’m sorry I don’t remember your name.

This is not a medical advice or recommendation. It is simply my life experience where I listened to the advice of an older woman, who seemed much older than she may have been, and it helped me. More specifically, it helped my newborn baby.

Now that I think about it, I know for sure that here in Croatia, my generation and older would tell you to pee on a wasp or bee sting! I did it so many times when I was a kid. It helps immediately, no swelling, no pain, no redness. After I pee on the spot, it’s like nothing happened! The ammonia in urine works wonder!

Hmmm, even that’s irritating when I think about how much easier it is for a man than a woman.

To hit the right spot!