How Can You Get A Kidney Infection

Types Of Kidney Infection

Kidney infections can be acute or chronic.

An acute kidney infection is one that goes away after treatment.

A chronic infection comes and goes, or may never go away properly. This type of infection can damage the kidneys. It usually occurs if there is a problem that causes urine to flow backwards from the bladder and up into the kidneys.

Coronavirus Might Target Kidney Cells

The virus itself infects the cells of the kidney. Kidney cells have receptors that enable the new coronavirus to attach to them, invade, and make copies of itself, potentially damaging those tissues. Similar receptors are found on cells of the lungs and heart, where the new coronavirus has been shown to cause injury.

Coronavirus Kidney Damage: A Serious Sign

Organ systems like the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys rely on and support one another’s functions, so when the new coronavirus causes damage in one area, others might be at risk. The kidneys essential functions have an impact on the heart, lungs and other systems. That may be why doctors note that kidney damage arising in patients with COVID-19 is a possible warning sign of a serious, even fatal course of the disease.

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Avoid Alcohol And Coffee

The kidneys most important role is to filter out harmful substances and toxins, and both alcohol and caffeine can require extra work from the kidneys. This may hinder the process of healing from an infection. Alcohol and antibiotics also shouldnt be mixed, so avoid alcohol during your treatment for this reason as well.

What Is The Treatment For A Kidney Infection

Kidney infections are treated with antibiotics. Your health care provider may tell you to take an antibiotic medicine that treats the most common types of infections, until your urine can be looked at to figure out the exact type of infection you have. Once your urine test results are available, your health care provider might tell you to take a different type of antibiotic, depending on the type of infection you have.

If you have a very serious infection, you may need to stay in the hospital to receive treatment.

If your kidney infection was caused by a problem with the shape of your urinary tract, you may need to have surgery to correct the problem and prevent future kidney infections.

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Utis And Alcohol Consumption: What Is The Link

Because urinary tract infections are often caused at least partially by dehydration, it may seem intuitive that alcohol should be avoided when one has developed. Alcohol is a diuretic, which keeps the body drained of fluid, and this can further exacerbate the symptoms and severity of a UTI. However, what most people dont realize is that alcohol consumption can actually cause the UTI in the first place.

This is because alcohol is:

While a drink now and then isnt going to create a harmful environment in the body, even a couple of drinks can cause problems for someone already prone to UTIs, and heavy alcohol consumption, or drinking on a regular basis, can lead to frequent infections.

Complementary Treatments You Can Do At Home

Some people prefer to treat medical conditions with home remedies or alternative remedies.

Because of how serious kidney infections are, its important that you dont rely on home remedies. Instead, take the prescription antibiotics a doctor gives you and use home remedies to help ease symptoms or pain. You can also use home remedies to avoid UTIs and improve kidney function.

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Treatments For Urinary And Kidney Infections

Kidney infections always require antibiotics. Donât rely on home remedies alone to take care of kidney infections.

Usually, doctors will prescribe empiric antibiotics to cover all the potential bacteria that could have caused the infection until they can target the specific bacteria based on test results. Antibiotics are usually prescribed for at least a full week.

Normally, you wonât require a stay at a hospital for a kidney infection as long as you can move around and consistently keep down oral antibiotics.

However, if you exhibit severe symptoms or cannot keep down the medication due to nausea and vomiting, you may be hospitalized so that your doctor may administer antibiotics and fluids intravenously.

If the kidney infection progresses enough to create an abscess in the kidney, you may require more serious treatment. Abscesses cannot be cured with antibiotics alone. In order to drain them, doctors will perform a nephrostomy, which involves placing a tube through your back, into the kidney.

For Those Who Experience Frequent Utis Managing Risk Factors May Help With Prevention

In some people, urinary tract infections come back again and again. Women, especially, are likely to have recurrent UTIs. While recurrences usually develop within three months of the original infection, having more than two within six months is technically considered a recurrence.

Besides precautions and at-home strategies to help prevent UTIs, sometimes antibiotics are used as a preventive measure for those with frequent UTI recurrences.

Managing risk factors by maintaining good hygiene, such as wiping from front to back for women and avoiding spermicides can lower your likelihood of repeat UTIs.

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How Is A Kidney Infection Diagnosed

Your doctor will ask about your symptoms, do a physical exam, and likely run some diagnostic tests. Those include a urinalysis, to check your pee under a microscope for bacteria and white blood cells, which your body makes to fight infection, and a urine culture to help find out what kind of bacteria is causing the infection, the NIDDK says. Your doctor may even take a blood sample to check for bacteria or other organisms in your blood, the Mayo Clinic says.

Other tests that might come up include an ultrasound, a CT scan, or a form of X-ray called a voiding cystourethrogram, which involves injecting a contrast dye to take X-rays of your bladder when its full and while youre peeing, per the Mayo Clinic.

Kidney Infection Home Remedies

You can do some things at home to feel better while you have an infection:

• Drink plenty of fluids to flush out germs.
• Get extra rest.
• When you go to the bathroom, sit on the toilet instead of squatting over it, which can keep your bladder from completely emptying.
• Take a pain reliever with acetaminophen. Donât use aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen because these can raise your risk of kidney problems.
• Use a heating pad on your belly, back, or side.

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Should I Keep Taking My High Blood Pressure Medication

Hypertension is a common cause of kidney problems. Hypertension damages the blood vessels of the kidneys and affects their ability to filter the blood. Kidneys also help to regulate blood pressure, so kidney damage can make hypertension worse. Over time, hypertension can cause kidney failure.

If you are living with hypertension, you might take medication for the problem. You may be reading news reports questioning the safety of taking certain prescription medicines to manage their condition: ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers .

Sperati says that patients should stay on their medications and discuss concerns with their doctors.

Right now there are two sides debating this issue. One side is saying, based on animal studies, that these medications might be harmful, increasing risk of infection. The other says these same drugs might protect against lung damage and other problems associated with COVID-19.

But all of the professional societies have published articles recommending that you not change your medications, he says. Staying the course with your prescriptions, he adds, can lower the risk of heart and kidney damage from unchecked high blood pressure.

Sperati does recommend that patients with kidney issues stay away from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , such as ibuprofen and naproxen. These can raise blood pressure and increase fluid volume in the body, which puts strain on the kidneys.

When To Seek Medical Advice

Contact your GP if you have a high temperature, persistent pain, or if you notice a change to your usual pattern of urination. Contact your GP immediately if you think your child may have a kidney infection.

If you have blood in your urine, you should always see your GP so the cause can be investigated.

Kidney infections require prompt treatment with antibiotics to help relieve symptoms and prevent complications developing.

Your GP can carry out some simple tests to help diagnose a kidney infection.

See diagnosing kidney infections for more information

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Take Green Tea Extract Or Drink Green Tea

A 2013 study in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology suggests that taking green tea extract may have an antibacterial effect on common bacteria strains known to cause UTIs.

The researchers took green tea extracts and applied them to bacterial cultures in a laboratory. Over time, they found the green tea inhibited bacterial growth.

Because the study was in a laboratory and involved samples, it is hard to know if the results would be the same in humans. However, the possibility remains that green tea could have potential health benefits when a person has a UTI.

Green tea extract is available to purchase in stores and online.

You can do some things at home to feel better while you have an infection:

• Drink plenty of fluids to flush out germs.
• Get extra rest.
• When you go to the bathroom, sit on the toilet instead of squatting over it, which can keep your bladder from completely emptying.
• Take a pain reliever with acetaminophen. Donât use aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen because these can raise your risk of kidney problems.
• Use a heating pad on your belly, back, or side.

How To Get Rid Of A Kidney Infection: Can Natural Remedies Help

This article was co-authored by Zora Degrandpre, ND. Dr. Degrandpre is a Licensed Naturopathic Physician in Vancouver, Washington. She is also a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. She received her ND from the National College of Natural Medicine in 2007. This article has been viewed 44,356 times.

A kidney infection is a type of urinary tract infection that settles in one or both kidneys. It usually starts in the urethra or bladder and works its way up into the kidneys. This sounds scary, but fortunately, these infections are easy to treat with antibiotics and should clear up without any lasting problems. However, they definitely require medical treatment. Some natural remedies can prevent the infection from getting worse and complement the treatment youre receiving, but they wont cure the infection on their own. Together, medication and lifestyle treatments can heal your infection in no time.

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Antibiotics For A Kidney Infection

Antibiotics are the main treatment for a kidney infection, and are usually the only treatment thats needed.

If your doctor strongly suspects that you have a kidney infection based on your symptoms, you may be immediately prescribed an antibiotic that targets the most common bacteria that cause kidney infections.

Once your lab test results are in, your doctor may adjust your prescription based on the exact type of bacteria causing your infection. These antibiotics may be taken by mouth or IV.

Usually, your symptoms will start to get better within a few days of starting on antibiotics. But even if you feel better, its important to take the full course of antibiotics youve been prescribed.

Depending on the specific drug you take, your course of antibiotics will typically last for 5 to 14 days. Taking the full course ensures that all bacteria causing your infection are eliminated.

Antibiotics used to treat kidney infections include:

The Impact Of Alcohol & Drugs On The Excretory System

When you take drugs or drink alcohol, your digestive system helps to break down and metabolize these toxins. Then, the excretory system works to expel them. Commonly abused drugs can interfere with the normal functions of your digestive excretory system in specific ways.

• Cocaine can cause kidney damage and renal failure.
• Benzodiazepines can cause kidney damage through a breakdown of the muscles.
• MDMA, Molly, or ecstasy can trigger dehydration and hyperthermia, which can lead to kidney failure.
• Methamphetamine creates difficulties with kidney filtration, which can cause a buildup of toxins in the bloodstream.
• Opioids can cause muscle breakdown, kidney damage, and kidney failure.

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Symptoms Of Kidney Infection Or Signs Of Kidney Infection

What are the signs of a kidney infection. Symptoms of kidney infections or pyelonephritis symptoms, usually develop within two days of the infection. These are the symptoms of kidney infection.

• Urine containing blood or pus
• Strange urine smell

Other signs and symptoms of kidney infection, indicative of a urinary tract infection may be present, including a burning or painful sensation while urinating, frequent or more frequent urination, and difficulty urinating.

Kidney infection can sometimes be invisible to children and the elderly. Kidney infections can cause confusion and slurred speech in the elderly. This condition can also affect children as it can cause them to be fussy or wet their beds.

Can A Uti Kill The Elderly

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Can a uti cause death in the elderly?

Furthermore, can a UTI cause death in the elderly?Urinary tract infections are common. But they increase the odds for delirium, hospitalization and death in older adults who are frail.

Contents

• 10 Why do dementia patients get UTI?

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Research Is Revealing More About Sars

While kidney damage in COVID-19 is still not well understood, more data will reveal how this occurs. Sperati, who also conducts research on kidney disease, says the Johns Hopkins Division of Nephrology is exploring exactly how SARS-CoV-2 and the bodys response to it is affecting kidney health.

He says that patients with COVID-19-related kidney damage should follow up with their doctors to ensure kidney function is returning to normal. Lasting kidney damage might require dialysis or other therapies even after recovery from COVID-19.

Mostly, Sperati stresses the importance of adhering to guidelines around physical distancing and hand-washing, the basics of prevention. For everyone, especially people with underlying chronic disease, avoiding infection with COVID-19 for as long as you can is crucial, he says.

Right now, we dont have a treatment or vaccine for this disease. The longer a person can go without getting infected, the better chance they have of benefiting from a future therapy.

Coronavirus

How Do Health Care Professionals Diagnose A Kidney Infection

Health care professionals use your medical history, a physical exam, and tests to diagnose a kidney infection.

A health care professional will ask if you have a history of health conditions that make you more likely to develop a kidney infection. During a physical exam, the health care professional will ask you about your symptoms.

If you are a man and the health care professional suspects you have a kidney infection, he or she may perform a digital rectal examination . During a DRE, the health care professional has you bend over a table or lie on your side while holding your knees close to your chest. After putting on a glove, the health care professional slides a lubricated finger into your anus to check for a swollen or enlarged prostate blocking the neck of your bladder.

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How Is The Infection Spread

It is difficult to spread a UTI between individuals, as the type of bacteria causing the infection is almost never contagious.

The most common way that a UTI is contracted is through the movement of bacteria from the anus to the urethra, either when wiping after going to the toilet or during sexual intercourse. Taking care during each of these activities can help to prevent the transfer of bacteria, which may then have the opportunity to overgrow.

Vigorous sexual intercourse may also lead to symptoms of UTI or cystitis in women , although there may be no bacteria present.

Groin Side Or Back Pain

The kidneys are located in the upper abdomen, near your back muscles. It is common to feel pain there. When I examine you, I will first tap your back to locate your kidneys. People with kidney infections may jump off the table. Itâs because your kidneys are located in a small capsule, which is very painful.

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Ok Got It But Then What Is A Kidney Infection

A kidney infection is, in essence, a UTI that has spread into the kidneys. While this type of infection is rare, its also very dangerous and if youre experiencing any of the following signs of a kidney infection, you should see a doctor immediately:

• Upper back or side pain

• Fever, shaking or chills

• Feeling nauseous

• Vomiting

While most kidney infections can be treated simply with an antibiotic, if left untreated, a kidney infection can cause damage to your kidneys, leading to chronic kidney disease. The bacteria could even spread to your bloodstream creating a life-threatening situation.

Signs Of A Kidney Infection To Know And When To Go To The Hospital

Youre probably not constantly on the lookout for signs of a kidney infection. But getting a urinary tract infection can open you up to also getting an infection in one or both kidneys, which means this is an illness that should be on your radar. Yep, it’s an unfortunate truth: A urinary tract infection can lead to a kidney infection, which is medically known as pyelonephritis and can be incredibly serious. So if youre experiencing symptoms of a UTI and thinking, Eh, I can wait a few more days to get those antibiotics, think again. Heres what you need to know about the signs of a kidney infection, its underlying causes, why its so important to get treatment as soon as you can, and more.

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