Chronic urinary tract inflammation UTI) is one of the most challenging and frustrating conditions seen in small animal practice. Biomedically, chronic UTI is defined here as the
recurrent or persistent bacterial infection of the urinary bladder in the absence of neoplasia, urolithiasis, concurrent disease, and or structural and functional abnormalities of the bladder. It can also include the condition of sterile inflammation of the urinary tract and absence of a documented bacterial infection. The clinical signs include
dysuria, stranguria, pollakiuria, hematuria, pyuria, crystalluria, foul smelling urine, urine dribbling and pain. Chinese medicine defines urinary tract infection as lin zheng (dysuria syndrome) and many patterns exist; the form described here is commonly referred to as Urinary Bladder Damp Heat. The primary pathogenic factor seen in chronic UTI is Damp Heat which affects the lower jiao and can be generated from multiple causes which include inappropriate diet, obesity, and underlying Zang-Fu organ dysfunction which facilitate exogenous pathogen (bacterial) invasion of the bladder.