What Do You Do If You Have A Kidney Infection

Prevention Of A Kidney Infection

Preventing kidney infections usually starts with preventing UTIs in the lower urinary tract. Steps you can take to help prevent UTIs include:

• Drink lots of water throughout the day.
• Urinate when you feel the urge to do so dont wait.
• After using the toilet, wipe from front to back so you don’t spread bacteria from your anus to your urethra.
• Urinate after having sex.
• Dont use unnecessary cleansing or deodorizing products in the genital area.
• Steer clear of birth control methods that can raise the risk of a UTI.

If you do develop a UTI, get it treated as soon as possible. See your primary healthcare provider for treatment, or visit an urgent-care facility for diagnosis and a prescription for antibiotics.

Treating a UTI promptly may prevent it from spreading from your bladder to your kidneys.

How Do I Know If I Have A Uti Or A Kidney Infection

It may feel like all urinary tract infections are the same they all feel pretty uncomfortable! But a UTI can occur anywhere within your urinary system and its important to know what to look for in case it travels to your kidneys. Read on to learn more about UTIs and Kidney Infections, and how to tell the difference between them.

Treatment And Medication Options For Kidney Infection

Kidney infections are treated with antibiotics, either oral or intravenous , depending on the severity of your infection and its symptoms.

People with severe illness may need to be hospitalized for several days or longer for initial treatment. During this time, you may receive IV antibiotics in addition to fluids while your medical team monitors you closely.

The oral antibiotics prescribed for kidney infection generally must be taken for 7 to 14 days, to make sure all of the bacteria causing the infection have been killed. Its most common for your doctor to prescribe a 14-day course of antibiotics.

For reasons that arent fully understood, kidney infections in men are often resistant to treatment and may require as long as six weeks of antibiotic therapy.

Your doctor may order follow-up tests after antibiotic treatment to make sure you no longer have an infection.

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What Are The Common Symptoms Of A Kidney Infection

If you have the following symptoms which are similar to basic urinary tract infection symptoms visit a nearby urgent care to treat the infection in a timely manner.

• Frequent or urgent, painful urination
• Cloudy, bad smelling, or bloody urine
• Abdominal pain
• Pressure in the pelvis
• This could also be a sign of a bladder infection.

Our Lakway, TX and Colorado Springs, CO urgent care facilities are fully equipped to help you treat your kidney infection symptoms. For late-night kidney infection symptoms, our 24-hour emergency room locations throughout Texas are also available to serve you.

Questions To Ask Your Doctor

• Why do you think I got a kidney infection?
• How much water should I drink every day to stay hydrated?
• What is the best medicine for me to treat my kidney infection?
• Once I start medicine, how long will it take for my symptoms to go away?
• Since Ive had one kidney infection, am I likely to get another?
• What is the risk of a kidney infection leading to chronic kidney disease?

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Alternative And Complementary Therapies

There are no effective alternative or complementary methods or therapies for curing a kidney infection.

But there may be ways you can increase your comfort while being treated with antibiotics, such as placing a heating pad on your abdomen, back, or side to ease any pain in those areas.

Drinking plenty of fluids can also help flush the bacteria causing the infection from your system.

And getting plenty of rest will help in your recovery from the infection.

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.

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Have A Severe Kidney Infection Head To A Complete Care Er Facility Asap

If youre ever questioning should I go to the ER for a kidney infection, dont hesitate to stop by a Complete Care emergency facility for hospital-quality emergency care service. Our ER laboratories provide precise kidney function testing and urinalysis so we can get to the bottom of your kidney infection faster.

Trust us to take complete care of you. We treat any and all medical emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Visit any of our emergency room locations in Texas and Colorado Springs today!

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When To See Your Gp

See your GP if you have a fever and persistent tummy, lower back or genital pain, or if you notice a change to your usual pattern of urination.

Most kidney infections need prompt treatment with antibiotics to stop the infection from damaging the kidneys or spreading to the bloodstream. You may also need painkillers.

If you’re especially vulnerable to the effects of an infection for example, if you have a pre-existing health condition or are pregnant, you may be admitted to hospital and treated with antibiotics through an intravenous drip.

After taking antibiotics, you should feel completely better after about two weeks.

In rare cases, a kidney infection can cause further problems. These include blood poisoning and a build-up of pus in the kidney called an abscess.

Read more about treating a kidney infection and the complications of a kidney infection

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Consume Apples And Apple Juice

Apples are also nutrient-dense. Their high acid content may help the kidneys maintain acidity in the urine, possibly inhibiting further growth of bacteria.

They also have anti-inflammatory properties, which may be beneficial in helping the kidneys heal following the infection.

Should I Go To The Er For A Kidney Infection

Urinary Infections

Should I go to the ER for a kidney infection? Kidney infections occur when bacteria from your bowel enter your urinary tract, causing an infection that requires medical attention. However, you may not need to visit the emergency room for a kidney infection if your symptoms are not severe. If you do believe youre having severe kidney infection symptoms, visit an emergency room as soon as possible.

Check out the answers to other ER-related questions:

• When should you go to the ER for kidney stones?

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What Are The Best Antibiotics For A Kidney Infection

The kidneys are responsible for filtering waste materials from the body and forming urine. When bacteria enter the kidneys, usually through the tube known as the urethra that connects the bladder to the outside of the body, an infection may develop. Antibiotics are almost always used to treat these infections. Some available antibiotics for a kidney infection include fluoroquinolones, beta-lactam antibiotics, trimethoprim, and co-trimoxazole. Choosing the best antibiotics depends upon the severity and frequency of the infections as well as the overall health of the patient.

Fluoroquinolones are commonly used to treat a kidney infection. These medications are in a class known as broad-spectrum antibiotics. This means they may be used to treat a wide variety of infections, including kidney infections. This type of antibiotic is used primarily when there has been an ongoing history of kidney problems. A rash resembling measles may occur in some patients taking this type of antibiotic.

How Are Kidney Infections Diagnosed

Two common laboratory tests are performed to diagnose kidney infections . A urine sample is examined under a microscope to determine if white and/or red blood cells are present. The urine is also sent to the lab to see if bacteria grow in a urine culture. If a person is very sick, blood cultures may also be sent. The strain of bacteria that are cultured will determine the type of therapy used in your treatment.

Pyelonephritis can often be treated without X-ray studies, unless your doctor suspects there may be an addition problem. CT scans produce images of structures and organs and these scans are usually done without contrast . A renal ultrasound may sometimes suffice for evaluation.

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Complications Associated With Bladder Infections

If you get chronic urinary tract infections , have symptoms again within 2 weeks of treatment, or dont respond to treatment within 48 hours, you should contact your doctor again for more testing as you may have a more serious health problem, such as a kidney infection.

If left untreated for a long period of time, UTIs can move past the bladder and urethra into the upper urinary system, which includes the kidneys and ureters. When this occurs, a common bladder infection can turn into a more serious kidney disease called pyelonephritis.

Pyelonephritis has the potential to spread to the blood and cause a more severe illness, which is why it is so important that you are treated for kidney infection right away. If diagnosed with a kidney infection, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics and you should start feeling better in about a week.

The bottom line on UTIs is that they are common, easy to diagnose, and respond well to physician recommended antibiotics. Only rarely will you need in-depth testing and examination and you should be back to your normal self in no time.

If you experience any symptoms of a UTI or bladder infection, to set up a phone appointment with a top U.S. doctor today.

Feeling Faint Dizzy Or Weak

Why this happens:

Anemia related to kidney failure means that your brain is not getting enough oxygen. This can lead to feeling faint, dizzy, or weak.

What patients said:

I was always tired and dizzy.

It got to the point, like, I used to be at work, and all of the sudden I’d start getting dizzy. So I was thinking maybe it was my blood pressure or else diabetes was going bad. That’s what was on my mind.

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Back Side Or Groin Pain

Your kidneys are located deep against the back muscles in your upper abdominal area, so its common to experience pain in that region. If Im examining you, Im going to first tap you on the back where your kidneys are and people with a kidney infection will likely jump right off the table from the pain, says Leisman. Thats because your kidneys are in a capsule where theres not a lot of space, so if it gets inflamed at all, its incredibly painful.

Can You Prevent Kidney Infections

Prevention of urinary tract and kidney infection primarily focuses on reducing the associated risk factors. As mentioned earlier, the majority of urinary tract infections are caused by the bacteria gaining entry into the urinary system through the urethra. Therefore, personal hygiene plays an important role in preventing kidney infection.

Examples of preventative measures include:

• Emptying the bladder after sexual intercourse or wiping from front to back after going to the bathroom may significantly reduce the chance of developing kidney infection in women.
• Drinking plenty of fluids has been shown to be the single most effective measure for preventing urinary tract infections.
• In individuals with long-standing urinary catheters, routinely scheduled changing of the catheter as well as regular cleaning around the catheter’s entry into the urethra are important steps in prevention of urinary tract infections.
• If kidney stones are the predisposing factor to repeated kidney infections, the removal of the stone and preventing future stones from forming may be necessary. These individuals may be referred to a specialist for further evaluation and removal of kidney stones.
• Cranberries and cranberry juice can be beneficial in preventing kidney infections. It is important to note that cranberries may not treat an existing kidney infection, but have been found to be a simple preventive measure in addition to the other measures listed above.

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Is It Safe To Take Antibiotics Long

While there are some common side effects and risk for creating antibiotic-resistant bacteria, it is safe to take antibiotics preventively under the guidance of your physician.

If you have recurring UTIs , you may benefit from a low-dose prophylactic antibiotic, Dr. Sussman said. Some may require intermittent treatment at the sign of symptoms, while others may require a single dose after sexual intercourse or when symptoms occur. However, its important you discuss the underlying causes with your doctor before being prescribed antibiotics prophylactically.

Symptoms Of Kidney Infection

Symptoms of pyelonephritis often begin suddenly with chills, fever, pain in the lower part of the back on either side, nausea, and vomiting.

, including frequent, painful urination. One or both kidneys may be enlarged and painful, and doctors may find tenderness in the small of the back on the affected side. Sometimes the muscles of the abdomen are tightly contracted. Irritation from the infection or the passing of a kidney stone can cause spasms of the ureters. If the ureters go into spasms, people may experience episodes of intense pain . In children, symptoms of a kidney infection Urinary Tract Infection in Children A urinary tract infection is a bacterial infection of the urinary bladder , the kidneys , or both. Urinary tract infections are caused by bacteria. Infants and younger… read more often are slight and more difficult to recognize. In older people, pyelonephritis may not cause any symptoms that seem to indicate a problem in the urinary tract. Instead, older people may have a decrease in mental function , fever, or an infection of the bloodstream .

In chronic pyelonephritis, the pain may be vague, and fever may come and go or not occur at all.

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What Is A Uti Anyway

A UTI, or urinary tract infection, happens when bacteria enters into any part of your urinary system, which includes the urethra, the bladder, the kidneys or the uterus. If not flushed out of the system, the bacteria can lead to an infection, or a UTI.

If youve ever had a UTI , you probably havent forgotten the symptoms. UTIs are very unpleasant, to say the least, and are often accompanied with one or more of the following:

• A burning sensation when urinating

• A strong urge to urinate often, usually passing only small amounts of urine at a time.

• Cloudy and/or strong smelling urine

• Pelvic pain

How To Prevent A Kidney Infection

Preventing a kidney infection is really all about preventing urinary tract infections and getting prompt treatment if you ever get one. Sorry, but dont rely on cranberry juice or supplements for thisthe science is far too mixed to consider either of these a definitive UTI-prevention method. Instead, whenever you feel a bladder infection coming on, make it a habit to drink enough water every day to stay hydrated. That will ensure youre peeing often enough to help flush out bacteria that could lead to an infection. The NIDDK recommends peeing as often as you get the urge, but definitely at least every three to four hours, since urine hanging out in your bladder for too long may help bacteria to grow, the organization says.

Kaufman also stresses the importance of urinating like a fire hose after sex. It might even be helpful to skip peeing before sex as long as that doesnt make you uncomfortable, he says. This allows you to build up a forceful stream that may better help remove any bacteria that might have been pushed up there during sex.

Also, we referenced this above, but its important to reiterate: After you pee , you should be sure to wipe from front to back, as wiping back to front can spread harmful bacteria from your rectum to your urethra, where it can cause an infection.

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When To See Your Doctor

Kidney pain is almost always a sign that something is wrong with your kidney. You should see your doctor as soon as possible to determine whats causing your pain.

If the condition that has caused kidney pain isnt treated promptly and appropriately, your kidneys can stop working, which is called kidney failure.

Its especially important to see your doctor right away if your pain is severe and started suddenly because this is often caused by a serious problem such as renal vein thrombosis or bleeding into your kidney that needs emergency treatment.