{"id":115,"date":"2020-02-19T12:26:32","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T12:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthissues24.co.za\/?p=115"},"modified":"2020-02-19T12:26:32","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T12:26:32","slug":"what-does-kidney-infection-feel-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/what-does-kidney-infection-feel-like\/","title":{"rendered":"What does kidney infection feel like?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>A kidney infection is a painful and unpleasant illness usually caused by cystitis, a common infection of the bladder.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most people with cystitis will not get a kidney infection, but occasionally the bacteria can travel up from the bladder into 1 or both kidneys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If treated with antibiotics straight away, a kidney infection does not cause serious harm, although you&#8217;ll feel very unwell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a kidney infection is not treated, it can get worse and sometimes cause permanent kidney damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Symptoms of kidney infection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Symptoms of a kidney infection often come on within a few hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can feel feverish, shivery, sick and have a pain in your back or side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to feeling unwell like this, you may also have symptoms of a urinary tract infection (UTI) such as cystitis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>needing to pee suddenly or more often than usual<\/li><li>pain or a burning sensation when peeing<\/li><li>smelly or cloudy pee<\/li><li>blood in your pee<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>Diagnosing kidney infection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To work out if you have a kidney infection, your doctor will ask about your symptoms and recent medical history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They&#8217;ll carry out a urine test to see if you have a UTI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re a male with a confirmed UTI, a GP will refer you straight to a specialist (a urologist) for further investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Treatment of kidney infection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Most kidney infections need\u00a0prompt treatment with\u00a0antibiotics\u00a0to stop the infection damaging the kidneys or spreading to the bloodstream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may also need painkillers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re especially vulnerable to the effects of an infection (for example, if you have a long-term health condition or are pregnant), you may be admitted to hospital and treated with antibiotics through a drip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After taking antibiotics, you should feel completely better after about 2 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Causes of kidney infection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A kidney infection usually happens when bacteria, often a type called E. coli, get into the tube that carries urine out of your body (urethra).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bacteria travel up to your bladder, causing cystitis, and then up into your kidneys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>E. coli bacteria normally live in your bowel, where they cause no harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They can be transferred from your bottom to your genitals during sex or if you&#8217;re not careful when wiping your bottom after going to the loo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A kidney infection can sometimes develop without a bladder infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, if you have a problem with your kidney, such as kidney stones, or if you have diabetes or a weakened immune system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Who&#8217;s at risk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Kidney infections can happen at any age and are much more common in women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is because a woman&#8217;s urethra is shorter, making it easier for bacteria to reach the kidneys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Younger women are most at risk because they tend to be more sexually active, and having frequent sex increases the chances of getting a kidney infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Preventing kidney infection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The best way to prevent a kidney infection is to keep your bladder and urethra free from bacteria by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>drinking plenty of fluids (plain water is best)<\/li><li>going to the loo as soon as you feel the need to, rather than holding it in<\/li><li>going to the loo after sex<\/li><li>wiping from front to back after going to the loo<\/li><li>washing your genitals every day, and before having sex if possible<\/li><li>treating any constipation \u2013 being constipated can increase your chance of developing a UTI<\/li><li>not using a diaphragm or condoms coated in spermicide if you&#8217;re prone to getting UTIs \u2013 it&#8217;s thought spermicide can increase your risk of getting a UTI<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you keep getting urine infections, a GP may prescribe you a low dose of antibiotics to take regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This may help to prevent the infection returning or any infection spreading to the kidneys.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A kidney infection is a painful and unpleasant illness usually caused by cystitis, a common infection of the bladder. Most people with cystitis will not get a kidney infection, but occasionally the bacteria can travel up from the bladder into 1 or both kidneys. If treated with antibiotics straight away, a kidney infection does not\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/what-does-kidney-infection-feel-like\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}