How many of you know what November 21st is? Crickets……Yes, it is National UTI Awareness Day!! It is the day when a certain section of the population runs around celebrating the fact it hurts when they pee! Okay, okay I am only kidding about them celebrating. This day happens to fall in the middle of the month now called National Bladder Health Awareness Month. I am not making this up. Last year the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognized the Urology Care Foundation as the official sponsor of this National Health Observance. This would be funny except it isn’t.
UTI Statistics
Bladder function is something that we never think about until something goes wrong. When that occurs it becomes the center of one’s universe. Here are some interesting statistics:
Bladder diseases and conditions cost 70 Billion (with a B) dollars annually. More than 33 million adults in the U.S. have overactive bladder. UTI’s cause more than 8 million provider visits annually. More than 575,000 Americans live with bladder cancer. Nursing home admissions are estimated to cost 6 Billion (another B) annually due to urinary incontinence. In 2014 a lady named Jenna Ryan experienced 8 UTIs. As a result, she started a company called Uqora, the company that declared November 21st National UTI Awareness day.
Accurate Testing
UTI’s are second only to the common cold in frequency. There are upper and lower UTIs depending upon the area infected. Kidneys, bladder, ureters, and urethra all make up the urinary tract. Although sexual activity is certainly a risk factor, there are other causes for UTIs such as poor hygiene, use of catheters, blockages in the urinary tract such as kidney stones, or simple anatomical makeup. Regardless of the cause UTI’s should be considered potentially serious and treated as soon as possible. I have written about biofilms in the past so many of you are aware of how important it is to diagnose and treat the UTI with the correct antibiotic as quickly as possible. Yes E. Coli is the most common bacteria found in UTIs, but we cannot just assume it is the only causative factor. With antibiotic resistance at an all-time high, knowing the guilty pathogen from the get-go is a huge advantage when it comes to defeating a UTI. Additionally, there is no substitution for education. Patients just do not realize or consider, their lifestyles and choices often are the root cause of their infections. The elderly oftentimes just forget and therefore the caregivers need to be educated to help decrease the chances of grandma from having a many times life-altering, UTI.
UTI Awareness
Perhaps it was not a bad idea to have a Bladder month and a UTI day. After all, awareness helps prevent bad events from occurring. As you chuckle along with me, let us all on Nov. 21 raise a glass (preferably cranberry juice) to those who have, and have had, UTIs with wishes for a quick and decisive cure without reoccurrence.
As always, we wish to thank you for your trust in us to be your lab.
President/CEO Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners