What is a Urinary Tract Infection?
Normal urine is sterile. It contains fluids, salts, and waste products, but it is free of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. An infection occurs when microorganisms, usually bacteria from the digestive tract, cling to the opening of the urethra and begin to multiply. Most infections arise from one type of bacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli), which normally lives in the colon and causes about 80% of UTIs in adults.

What are the symptoms of Urinary Tract Infections?
Symptoms of UTIs , both uncomfortable and debilitating, may include pain or burning with urination, the urge to urinate frequently while passing only small quantities of urine, tenderness or a feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen, cloudy or foul-smelling urine, pain on one side of the back under the rib cage (flank pain), fever, chills, nausea and vomiting.

Who is at risk for Urinary Tract Infections?
Urinary tract infections are among the most common of all bacterial infection, and anyone of any age can have a UTI. However, young to middle-aged women who are sexually active are most often affected by UTIs . Infants and older adults of both sexes also have high rates of UTIs compared to other age groups, as do immunocompromised individuals.

How is a Urinary Tract Infection treated?
Most UTIs can be successfully treated with oral antibiotics, and the length of treatment may depend on the location of the infection ( e.g. , bladder or kidneys), sex, age and presence or absence of complicating conditions such as diabetes, pregnancy, or prostate problems. However, the ever increasing problem of antibiotic resistance is a growing concern.

How many women suffer from urinary tract infections?
Urinary tract infections affect over 11 miillion women in the US every year.

What do urinary tract infections cost the United States?
Urinary tract infections are estimated to cost the US health care system over $2 billion per year.