Most UTIs dont involve the kidneys.
They affect only your lower urinary tract, meaning your urethra and bladder.
But sometimes an infection that begins there moves into your upper urinary tract, affecting one or both kidneys.
In this case, your lower urinary tract may not be affected.
Kidney infections can be quite painful and require prompt evaluation and treatment.
Instead, these individuals may experience confusion, hallucinations, or difficulty speaking.
A kidney infection can cause any of these symptoms.
In newborns and very young children, the only sign of a kidney infection may be a high fever.
Normally, urine flushes any potentially harmful bacteria out of your ureters before they can cause an infection.
This happens most commonly withstaphylococcus, or staph, bacteria.
For example, if an artificial joint or heart valve becomes infected, the kidneys can become secondarily infected.
Its very uncommon for kidney surgery to lead to a kidney infection.
In men, the urethral opening is further away from the anus.
Using condoms with spermicidal coating also raises the risk that a woman will develop a UTI.
This reduced urine flow can make it easier for bacteria in your bladder to migrate into your kidneys.
This flow can be slowed by a narrowed urethra, enlarged prostate, or kidney stone.
Vesicoureteral reflux is most likely to be diagnosed during childhood.
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How Is Kidney Infection Diagnosed?
Theres no rule for how long it takes a UTI to spread from your bladder to your kidneys.
Its important, though, to continue your treatment for the entire course thats prescribed.
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For a mild kidney infection, treatment can last 7 to 14 days.
It may take a week or longer for your symptoms to resolve with treatment.
Its most common for your doctor to prescribe a 14-day course of antibiotics.
Your doctor may order follow-up tests after antibiotic treatment to confirm you no longer have an infection.
Drinking plenty of fluids can also help flush the bacteria causing the infection from your system.
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And getting plenty of rest will help in your recovery from the infection.
Treating a UTI promptly may prevent it from spreading from your bladder to your kidneys.
Blood InfectionOne of the main jobs of your kidneys is to filter waste products out of your blood.
A kidney infection can spread to your entire bloodstream in this process.
Sepsis can be life-threatening.
Pregnancy ComplicationsA kidney infection during pregnancy raises the risk of low birth weight in your baby.
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Research and Statistics: How Many People Get Kidney Infections?
Kidney infections are much more common among pregnant women, occurring in about 2 percent of pregnancies.
But, Dr. Herati says, there are some new therapies in the pipeline that are very exciting.
This approach could be useful for UTIs and kidney infections in which antibiotic resistance is a problem.
But kidney infection rarely leads to kidney failure, accounting for a tiny sliver of cases.
However, once the researchers controlled for socioeconomic differences, there were no significant differences between the groups.
But bacteria can migrate from the bladder to the kidneys, causing infection there.
