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.
How Do Antibiotics Treat A Uti
UTIs can be caused by many different types of germs including bacteria or fungi and in rare cases, even viruses. But bacterial UTIs are the most common.
If you have a bacterial UTI, the only way to treat it is by getting rid of the bacteria thats causing it. Thats where antibiotics come in. They either stop those bacteria from growing or directly kill the bacteria altogether.
Its worth noting that antibiotics only treat UTIs and other infections caused by bacteria. If you have a fungal or viral UTI, antibiotics wont help.
Prevention And Treatment Of Kidney Infection
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Antibiotics
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Occasionally surgery
Antibiotics are started as soon as the doctor suspects pyelonephritis and samples have been taken for laboratory tests. The choice of drug or its dosage may be modified based on the laboratory test results , how sick the person is, and whether the infection started in the hospital, where bacteria tend to be more resistant to antibiotics. Other factors that can alter the choice or dosage of drug include whether the person’s immune system is impaired and whether the person has a urinary tract abnormality .
Outpatient treatment with antibiotics given by mouth is usually successful if the person has:
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No nausea or vomiting
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No signs of dehydration
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Take An Epsom Salt Bath
Both Epsom salts and warm water can ease pain. This can help to make the uncomfortable side effects of the kidney infection a little more tolerable while you wait for the antibiotics to take effect.
Since abdominal pain is sometimes a symptom of antibiotics, as well as kidney infections, this could also help even after symptoms from the kidney infection are resolved. Read about how to make an Epsom salt detox bath, as well as potential side effects to keep in mind.
When Should You Go To The Hospital For A Kidney Infection
Kidney infection is a potentially hazardous illness. Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to prevent potentially permanent loss of kidney function. If you notice kidney infection symptoms such as pain in your side, fever, or nausea, see a doctor immediately. If you canât make an appointment with your regular doctor, do not hesitate to visit urgent care or an emergency room.
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How Should This Medicine Be Used
Meropenem and vaborbactam injection comes as a powder to be mixed with liquid and injected intravenously . It is infused intravenously over a period of 3 hours every 8 hours for up to 14 days. The length of treatment depends on your general health and how well you respond to the medication. Your doctor will tell you how long to use meropenem and vaborbactam injection. After your condition improves, your doctor may switch you to another antibiotic that you can take by mouth to complete your treatment.
You may receive meropenem and vaborbactam injection in a hospital, or you may administer the medication at home. If you will be receiving meropenem and vaborbactam injection at home, your healthcare provider will show you how to use the medication. Be sure that you understand these directions and ask your healthcare provider if you have any questions.
You should begin to feel better during the first few days of treatment with meropenem and vaborbactam injection. If your symptoms do not improve or if they get worse, call your doctor.
Use meropenem and vaborbactam injection until you finish the prescription, even if you feel better. If you stop using meropenem and vaborbactam injection too soon or if you skip doses, your infection may not be completely treated and the bacteria may become resistant to antibiotics.
Ask your pharmacist or doctor for a copy of the manufacturer’s information for the patient.
Increase Vitamin C Intake
This vitamin is the most important nutrient from the list of home remedies for kidney infection as it can support your immune system in combating infection. It will increase the level of acid in the kidneys which will destroy the bacteria that trigger the development of infection.
Vitamin C
How to use:
- Consume 1 2 grapefruits, oranges as well as other citrus fruits every day.
- Also consume more foods which are rich in vitamin C such as broccoli, potatoes, peppers, sprouts, tomatoes, strawberries and kiwi.
- Another way is takingthe supplement of vitamin C once per day at the breakfast but only after consulting the doctor.
Note: Avoid taking the supplement of vitamin C in high dose as it might be linked with kidney stones, especially for men.
You might also sê vitamin C among Home Remedies for Dysuria.
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Signs Of A Kidney Infection
What does a kidney infection feel like? According to the NIDDK, the most common kidney infections symptoms are:
Nausea
Vomiting
But depending on a persons age, they may not experience all of these kidney infection symptoms. Children younger than two may only experience high fever as a sign of kidney infections, the NIDDK says, and people older than 65 might only present with cognitive issues, like confusion, hallucinations, and disorganized speech.
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 43,713 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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How Long Should I Take Antibiotics
Your doctor will let you know. Typically, for an uncomplicated infection, you’ll take antibiotics for 2 to 3 days. Some people will need to take these medicines for up to 7 to 10 days.
For a complicated infection, you might need to take antibiotics for 14 days or more.
A follow-up urine test can show whether the germs are gone. If you still have an infection, you’ll need to take antibiotics for a longer period of time.
If you get UTIs often, you may need to a prolonged course of antibiotics. And if sex causes your UTIs, you’ll take a dose of the medicine right before you have sex. You can also take antibiotics whenever you get a new UTI f youâre having symptoms and a postive urine culture.
Risk Factors For A Kidney Infection
There are a few things that can up your risk factor of contracting a kidney infection, according to the Mayo Clinic, and some you have zero control over:
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Having avagina. The urethra, that small tube that carries urine out of your body, is shorter in people with vaginas than it is in people with penises. That makes it easier for bacteria to travel from outside your body into the bladder. Your urethra is also close to your vagina and anus, which opens you up to more chances that bacteria from one of those areas will get into your urinary tract.
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Having something blocking your urinary tract. That can be anything that slows down the flow of urine or makes it hard for you to fully empty your bladder when you pee, like a kidney stone.
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Having a weak immune system. Having an underlying medical condition like diabetes or HIV, or using medications that tamp down on your immune system, can increase your risk.
Other potential risk factors include having damage to the nerves around your bladder, using a urinary catheter for the first time, and having a condition like vesicoureteral reflux, which causes urine to flow the wrong way, the Mayo Clinic says.
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How Do Health Care Professionals Treat Kidney Infections
If you have a kidney infection, a health care professional will prescribe antibiotics. Even before your test results are in, the health care professional may prescribe an antibiotic that fights the most common types of bacteria. Although you may feel relief from your symptoms, make sure to take the entire antibiotic treatment that your health care professional prescribes.
Once your lab results are in, the health care professional may switch the antibiotic to one that better treats the type of infection you have. You may take these antibiotics by mouth, through a vein in your arm, called by IV, or both.
If you are very sick from your kidney infection, you may go to a hospital for bed rest. A health care professional may give you fluids through an IV.
If something such as a kidney stone or an enlarged prostate is blocking your urinary tract, a doctor can sometimes treat the problem with surgery or another procedure.
How Can I Manage My Symptoms
- Drink liquids as directed. You may need to drink extra liquids to help flush your kidneys and urinary system. Water is the best liquid to drink. Ask your healthcare provider how much liquid to drink each day and which liquids are best for you.
- Urinate as soon as you feel the urge. This will help flush bacteria from your urinary system. Do not wait or hold your urine for too long.
- Clean your genital area every day with soap and water. Wipe from front to back after you urinate or have a bowel movement. Wear cotton underwear. Fabrics such as nylon and polyester can stay damp. This can increase your risk for infection. Urinate within 15 minutes after you have sex.
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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.
What Is The Best Medication For A Kidney Infection
Kidney infections are treated with antibiotics. The âbestâ antibiotic will be the one most suitable for the bacteria causing the condition, its resistance to specific antibiotics, and taking into account any patient allergies.
| Best medications for a kidney infection | |
|---|---|
| Drug Name | |
| Two 325 mg tablets every 6 hours | Nausea, stomach pain, loss of appetite |
Many of the standard dosages above are from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health. Dosage is determined by your doctor based on your medical condition, response to treatment, age, and weight. Other possible side effects exist. This is not a complete list.
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What You Can Do
When you make the appointment, ask if there’s anything you need to do in advance, such as restrict your diet for certain tests.
Make a list of:
- Your symptoms, including any that seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment, and when they began
- Key personal information, including recent life changes, such as a new sexual partner, and whether you’ve had previous urinary tract or kidney infections
- All medications, vitamins and other supplements you take, including doses
- Questions to ask your doctor
Take a family member or friend along, if possible, to help you remember the information you’re given.
For kidney infection, questions to ask your doctor include:
- What is the likely cause of my kidney infection?
- What tests do I need?
- What treatment do you recommend?
- What are the potential side effects of treatment?
- Will I need to be hospitalized?
- How can I prevent future kidney infections?
- I have other health conditions. How can I manage them together?
- Are there brochures or other printed material I can have? What websites do you recommend?
Don’t hesitate to ask other questions.
What Causes A Kidney Infection
Most kidney infections develop from a bladder infection . Bacteria travel up the tube between the bladder and kidney to infect a kidney. These bacteria are usually those normally living in the bowel – eg, E. coli. Most people with cystitis don’t get a kidney infection.
Some kidney infections develop without a bladder infection. This is sometimes due to a problem in the kidney. For example, people are more prone to kidney infections if they have a kidney stone or an abnormality of the kidney.
It is usually only one kidney that develops an infection. A kidney infection can occur at any age. It is much more common in women. This is because women are more at risk of developing a bladder infection . In women, the urethra is closer to the anus, which makes it easier for bacteria to get from the bowel to the urethra. The urethra is also shorter in women than in men, so bacteria can reach the bladder more easily.
Kidney infections are also more common in children, in older people and during pregnancy. They are uncommon in men.
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When You Need Themand When You Dont
Antibiotics are medicines that can kill bacteria. Doctors often use antibiotics to treat urinary tract infections . The main symptoms of UTIs are:
- A burning feeling when you urinate.
- A strong urge to urinate often.
However, many older people get UTI treatment even though they do not have these symptoms. This can do more harm than good. Heres why:
Antibiotics usually dont help when there are no UTI symptoms.
Older people often have some bacteria in their urine. This does not mean they have a UTI. But doctors may find the bacteria in a routine test and give antibiotics anyway.
The antibiotic does not help these patients.
- It does not prevent UTIs.
- It does not help bladder control.
- It does not help memory problems or balance.
Most older people should not be tested or treated for a UTI unless they have UTI symptoms. And if you do have a UTI and get treated, you usually dont need another test to find out if you are cured. You should only get tested or treated if UTI symptoms come back.
Antibiotics have side effects.
Antibiotics can have side effects, such as fever, rash, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headache, tendon ruptures, and nerve damage.
Antibiotics can cause future problems.
Antibiotics can kill friendly germs in the body. This can lead to vaginal yeast infections. It can also lead to other infections, and severe diarrhea, hospitalization, and even death.
Antibiotics can be a waste of money.
When should older people take antibiotics for a UTI?
10/2013
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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