{"id":155,"date":"2020-02-19T15:41:03","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T15:41:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthissues24.co.za\/?p=155"},"modified":"2020-02-19T15:41:03","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T15:41:03","slug":"is-a-kidney-infection-painful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/is-a-kidney-infection-painful\/","title":{"rendered":"Is a kidney infection painful?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A\u00a0kidney infection<\/strong>\u00a0(pyelonephritis) is a\u00a0painful<\/strong>\u00a0and unpleasant illness caused by bacteria travelling from your bladder into one or both of your\u00a0kidneys<\/strong>. …\u00a0Symptoms<\/strong>\u00a0of a\u00a0kidney infection<\/strong>\u00a0often come on within a few hours. You can feel feverish, shivery, sick and have a\u00a0pain<\/strong>\u00a0in your back or side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About kidney infections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A kidney infection (pyelonephritis) is a painful and unpleasant illness caused by bacteria travelling from your bladder into one or both of your kidneys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s more serious than\u00a0cystitis, a common infection of the bladder that makes urinating painful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If treated promptly, a kidney infection doesn’t cause serious harm, but will make you feel very unwell. If a kidney infection isn’t treated, it can get worse and cause permanent kidney damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symptoms of a kidney infection often come on within a few hours. You can feel feverish, shivery, sick and have a pain in your back or side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When to see your GP<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most kidney infections need\u00a0prompt treatment with\u00a0antibiotics\u00a0to stop the infection from damaging the kidneys or spreading to the bloodstream. You may also need painkillers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re especially vulnerable to the effects of an infection \u2013 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After taking antibiotics, you should feel completely better after about two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In rare cases, a kidney infection can cause further problems. These include blood poisoning (sepsis) and a build-up of pus in the kidney called an abscess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What causes a kidney infection?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A kidney infection usually happens when bacteria \u2013 often a type called E. coli \u2013 gets into the urethra (the tube which carries urine out of the body) and travels up through the bladder and into the kidneys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who’s at risk?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kidney infections are relatively rare. It’s estimated that one in every 830 people develops a kidney infection each year in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They can happen at any age, but are much more common in women. In fact, women are six times more likely to get a kidney infection than men. This is because a woman’s urethra is shorter, making it easier for bacteria to reach the kidneys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Younger children are also vulnerable to developing kidney infections because they may be born with an abnormality of the urinary tract or have a condition called vesico-ureteric reflux, where there is a backflow of urine from the bladder up to the kidneys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can kidney infections be prevented?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can reduce your chances of developing a kidney infection by keeping your bladder and urethra free from bacteria. This can include drinking plenty of fluids, keeping your genitals clean and treating any constipation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A\u00a0kidney infection\u00a0(pyelonephritis) is a\u00a0painful\u00a0and unpleasant illness caused by bacteria travelling from your bladder into one or both of your\u00a0kidneys. …\u00a0Symptoms\u00a0of a\u00a0kidney infection\u00a0often come on within a few hours. You can feel feverish, shivery, sick and have a\u00a0pain\u00a0in your back or side. About kidney infections A kidney infection (pyelonephritis) is a painful and unpleasant illness caused by bacteria\u2026 Read More »<\/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\/155"}],"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=155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}