When Should You Call Your Doctor
if painful urination or other symptoms of a urinary tract infection occur with:
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Fever and chills.
- Pain in the flank, which is felt just below the rib cage and above the waist on one or both sides of the back, or lower belly pain.
if you are pregnant and have symptoms of a UTI .
- Have had UTI symptoms previously and have those symptoms again.
- Have minor symptoms of a UTI that do not clear up in 1 to 2 days, such as pain or burning when you urinate, foul-smelling urine, or the urge to urinate frequently while passing only small amounts of urine.
- Notice blood or pus in your urine.
- Have symptoms of a UTI and you have diabetes.
- Have been taking antibiotics for a UTI but your symptoms do not improve after 48 hours or they come back after improving temporarily.
Do I Need Medical Care For A Yeast Infection Or A Uti
With knowledge about symptoms and causes, you may be able to make a diagnosis at home.
But in some cases, you may want to visit a healthcare provider for help. There is evidence that women often have difficulty in correctly diagnosing themselves and therefore may use the wrong treatment. So, if you are unsure which infection you have, or you want guidance on the best treatment options for you, your provider can help.
What Causes A Urinary Tract Infection
The most common causes of UTI infections are E. colibacterial strains that usually inhabit the colon. However, many other bacteria can occasionally cause an infection. In addition, yeasts and some parasites may cause UTIs. In the U.S., most infections are due to Gram-negative bacteria with E. coli causing the majority of infections.
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Will I Need An Intravenous Antibiotic For A Uti
If you are pregnant, have a high fever, or cannot keep food and fluids down, your doctor may admit you to the hospital so you can have treatment with intravenous antibiotics for a complicated UTI. You may return home and continue with oral antibiotics when your infection starts to improve.
In areas with fluoroquinolone resistance exceeding 10%, in patients with more severe pyelonephritis, those with a complicated UTI who have allergies to fluoroquinolones, or are unable to tolerate the drug class, intravenous therapy with an agent such as ceftriaxone, or an aminoglycoside, such as gentamicin or tobramycin, may be appropriate. Your ongoing treatment should be based on susceptibility data received from the laboratory.
Antibiotics For Treating Kidney Infections
Antibiotics are especially effective in treating bacterial infection. Kidney infection being mostly of bacterial origin, antibiotics are the best options, when it comes to treating it. If the disease is still in its initial stages, then oral intake of medicines is enough to treat it. However advanced cases require intravenously administered antibiotics. Here are the most widely used ones.
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Treating A Yeast Infection
Yeast infections are treated using antifungal medications. These are available in many forms, such as clotrimazole and miconazole, which are available over the counter. There is also an oral medication, fluconazole , available as a prescription if you prefer a pill to a vaginal cream or suppository.
Im Pregnant How Will A Uti Affect My Baby
If you have a UTI and it isnt treated, it may lead to a kidney infection. Kidney infections may cause early labor. Fortunately, asymptomatic bacteriuria and bladder infections are usually found and treated before the kidneys become infected. If your doctor treats a urinary tract infection early and properly, it wont hurt your baby.
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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.
What Are The Signs That An Antibiotic Is Not Working For A Urinary Tract Infection
Usually people start to feel better within 1-2 days of starting an antibiotic to treat a bladder infection. If your symptoms dont improve or you start to feel worse then your antibiotic may not be working.
The symptoms of an uncomplicated bladder infection typically include:
- Pain or a burning sensation when you urinate or pee
- Needing to pee frequently
- Feeling like you need to pee within minutes of going
- Blood stained pee
- Feeling pressure or cramping in your lower abdomen
If your antibiotic is not working then these symptoms will likely continue and you may even develop symptoms of a more serious kidney infection including:
- Fever
- Pain in your lower back or side
- Nausea and vomiting
Left untreated, kidney infections can permanently damage the kidneys and can sometimes become life-threatening.
Kidney infections are usually treated with a longer 7-14 day course of antibiotics and in more severe or complicated cases may require treatment with intravenous antibiotics and admission to hospital. If you have a kidney infection it may take you a few more days to feel better after you start antibiotics.
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What Is The Difference Between A Bladder Infection And A Kidney Infection
Kidney and bladder infections are both considered urinary tract infections. Although they share similar symptoms, there are differences between the two. A kidney infections signs and symptoms vary significantly from person to person and normally develop within a day or as fast as a few hours.
Understanding the difference between a bladder and kidney infection can ensure you take the proper steps towards healing and speeding up doctor consultation sessions.
What Is A Kidney Infection
Kidney infection, or pyelonephritis, is a bacterial infection of the kidneys that constitutes a medically urgent condition requiring immediate antibiotic treatment. Untreated kidney infection runs the risk of an abscess, kidney damage, loss of kidney function, blood poisoning , and, in a worst-case scenario, kidney failure.
Kidney infections are a commonly experienced type of kidney disease, accounting for over 250,000 cases per year. They are typically caused by an active urinary tract infection that begins in the bladder, called cystitis. Because women are at a higher risk for cystitis, they are also at a higher risk for kidney infection. Approximately 15-17 out of every 10,000 women are diagnosed with kidney infection annually compared to 3-4 out of every 10,000 men. Other risk factors include urinary system blockage, a compromised immune system, urinary catheters, or vesicoureteral reflux, a condition in which urine flows up from the bladder back into the kidneys.
Most kidney infections are the result of urinary tract infections caused by a bacteria called Escherichia coli, or E. coli, which normally lives in the colon. Bacteria that finds its way into the bladder and goes untreated can travel up the ureters, the tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder, and spread to the kidneys and their collecting systems.
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Amoxicillin/potassium Clavulanate Cefdinir Or Cephalexin
How it Works: is another combination drug that belongs to the penicillin class of antibiotics. and belong to a different class of antibiotics thats closely related to penicillins.
All three antibiotics kill bacteria by destroying one of its most important components: the cell wall, which normally keeps bacteria structurally intact.
Common doses:
-
Amoxicillin/clavulanate: 500 twice a day for 5 to 7 days
-
Cefdinir: 300 mg twice a day for 5 to 7 days
-
Cephalexin: 250 mg to 500 mg every 6 hours for 7 days
Notable side effects: Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and rash are common side effects of these antibiotics. In rare cases, all three have the potential to cause the dangerous skin reactions, SJS and TEN.
If you have a penicillin allergy, your healthcare provider wont prescribe amoxicillin/clavulanate. They may or may not prescribe cefdinir or cephalexin since there is a small chance that a person with a penicillin allergy may also be allergic to these two.
About Urinary Tract Infections
Urinary tract infections are common infections that can affect the bladder, the kidneys and the tubes connected to them.
Anyone can get them, but they’re particularly common in women. Some women experience them regularly .
UTIs can be painful and uncomfortable, but usually pass within a few days and can be easily treated with antibiotics.
This page is about UTIs in adults. There is a separate article about UTIs in children.
This page covers:
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Related Resources For Kidney Infection
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This article is not medical advice. It is intended for general informational purposes and is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. If you think you may have a medical emergency, immediately call your physician or dial 911.
What Happens When A Uti Goes Untreated
Thanks to early diagnosis and proper treatment, the vast majority of lower urinary tract infections result in no complications. However, if left untreated, a UTI can have serious ramifications notes the Mayo Clinic, including:
- Recurrent UTIs
- Premature birth and low birth weight
- Kidney damage, which can occur is an untreated UTI spreads from the bladder to the kidneys.
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What Are The Symptoms
You may have an infection if you have any of these symptoms:
- You feel pain or burning when you urinate.
- You feel like you have to urinate often, but not much urine comes out when you do.
- You have pain in your lower belly.
- Your urine is cloudy, looks pink or red, or smells bad.
- You have pain on one side of your back under your ribs. This is where your kidneys are.
- You have fever and chills.
- You have nausea and vomiting.
- You have a fever, nausea and vomiting, or pain in one side of your back under your ribs.
- You have diabetes, kidney problems, or a weak immune system.
- You are older than 65.
- You are pregnant.
Do I Need To See A Doctor
Yes. Painful urination can be a symptom of a more serious problem. You should tell your doctor about your symptoms and how long youve had them. Tell your doctor about any medical conditions you have, such as diabetes mellitus or AIDS, because these could affect your bodys response to infection. Tell your doctor about any known abnormality in your urinary tract, and if you are or might be pregnant. Tell your doctor if youve had any procedures or surgeries on your urinary tract. He or she also need to know if you were recently hospitalized or stayed in a nursing home.
If your doctor thinks your pain may be from vaginal inflammation, he or she may wipe the lining of your vagina with a swab to collect mucus. The mucus will be looked at under a microscope to see if it has yeast or other organisms. If your pain is from an infection in your urethra , your doctor may swab it to test for bacteria. If an infection cant be found, your doctor may suggest other tests.
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What Antibiotics Are Commonly Used To Treat Urinary Tract Infections
A handful of antibiotics are used to treat the most common urinary tract infections . In 75-95% of these cases, the infection is caused by bacteria called Escherichia coli , so experts know which antibiotics work well against the infection. These antibiotics are called first-line antibiotics.
They are given orally and include:
Amoxicillin and ampicillin are no longer used because of a high level of antibiotic resistance.
How Is A Uti Diagnosed In A Person With Delirium
Making a UTI diagnosis in a person with delirium is not always straightforward.
As we already mentioned, delirium may be the only noticeable symptom of a UTI in older adults. This is because it can be hard to tell if adults who are bedbound or have dementia are having pain with urination or having to urinate more often. They may not be able to communicate their symptoms. Or if they wear diapers for incontinence , its hard to tell how often they urinate.
But healthcare providers are trained to look carefully for infection and other underlying causes in any person who experiences sudden confusion.
A healthcare provider will usually start by doing a thorough physical exam and asking the person or their caretaker about their symptoms. In some cases, a fever, smelly urine, or blood in the urine can be a helpful clue.
The diagnosis of delirium is made based on specific criteria, like making sure the change in mental status has occurred over a short amount of time, and that these changes are different from how the person usually acts. So, if someone who has dementia is usually calm most of the time but all of a sudden becomes violent, this may mean they are experiencing delirium.
To confirm a diagnosis of delirium, the provider will look for a cause. Not everyone with delirium has an infection, which could be due to medications or exposure to a toxic substance. Tests can help with this process, including:
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Who Is More Likely To Get A Kidney Infection
Anyone can get a kidney infection, but it is more common in some people, such as:
- Women: A woman’s urethra is shorter than a man’s. Having a shorter urethra makes it easier for bacteria to get into the urinary tract. The urethra is also closer to the anus in women. Bacteria can spread from the anus or vagina into the urethra, and then travel up the urinary tract. Pregnant women are even more likely to have a kidney infection.
- People with diabetes
- People with a weakened immune system: This could be caused by a disease, such as diabetes or HIV, or by certain medicines called immunosuppressives. People who have had a kidney transplant or other organ transplant take immunosuppressives.
- People who have nerve or spinal cord damage that keeps them from feeling pain in and around their urinary tract: This can keep them from noticing symptoms of a bladder infection, which can lead to a kidney infection.
- People who use a catheter to drain urine from their bladder
- People with vesicoureteral reflux : People with VUR have urinary tracts that allow urine to flow backwards from the bladder to the kidneys.
What To Think About
These medicines are often prescribed in a less costly generic form rather than under a brand name. A pharmacist might also decide to give you a generic instead of a brand name medicine unless the prescription says “no generic.”
Take all of the antibiotics your doctor has prescribed. Most people begin to feel better soon after they begin the medicine. But if you stop taking the medicine as soon as you feel better, the infection may return. And not taking the full course of antibiotics encourages the development of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. This not only makes antibiotics less effective but also makes bacterial infections harder to treat.
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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.
Eating Diet & Nutrition
Experts dont think eating, diet, and nutrition play a role in preventing or treating bladder infections. If you have any type of UTI, talk with a health care professional about how much to drink each day to help prevent or relieve your infection.
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and other components of the National Institutes of Health conduct and support research into many diseases and conditions.
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Are There Any Complications From A Kidney Infection
Most people who develop a kidney infection make a full recovery if treatment is given promptly. Possible complications which occur in a small number of cases include:
- Sometimes germs from a kidney infection get into the bloodstream, particularly if treatment is delayed. This may cause blood poisoning . This can be serious or even life-threatening.
- In pregnant women who develop pyelonephritis occasionally, it may result in the baby being born early or with a lower birth weight.
- A kidney abscess can develop. This is a collection of pus that forms within the kidney.
- The infection can sometimes cause some permanent damage to kidney tissues.
These complications are uncommon but may be more likely if:
- You become severely ill with the kidney infection.
- You have kidney stones.
- Your immune system is suppressed – for example, if you have cancer, if you are taking medication such as steroids or chemotherapy, or if you have AIDS.
- You have poorly controlled diabetes.
- You are an older person .
- You are pregnant.
Emphysematous pyelonephritis is also a rare complication. In this condition the kidney tissues are rapidly destroyed by the infection and the bacteria can release toxic gases which can build up in the kidneys. You become very unwell if you develop this complication. This complication seems mostly to affect people who have poorly controlled diabetes.