Although kidney infections are rare, they’re quite serious. In fact, when left untreated, kidney infections can be life-threatening!
Certainly, nobody wants to experience anything like that, so how can you stay healthy and protect your kidneys? Our AFC Urgent Care Farragut team has some answers, so read on.
What Are Kidney Infections?
When harmful bacteria get into the kidneys, it can cause an infection. The bacteria that cause kidney infections usually come from another part of the urinary tract, such as the bladder, ureters or urethra.
Kidney infections can affect one kidney at a time or both of the kidneys at the same time. It is very important to treat kidney infections as soon as possible because, as we said before, infections that are not treated soon enough can cause serious damage. We’ve listed common kidney infection symptoms below.
Kidney Infection Symptoms
- Fever
- Chills
- Back or side pain
- Groin pain
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Frequent urination
- Urine that’s cloudy, smells bad or contains blood
What’s the Best Way to Prevent Infections?
There is no foolproof prevention technique, but there are certainly ways to lower your future kidney infection risk—especially for women.
We’ve listed some common and effective kidney infection prevention techniques below.
Ways to Prevent Kidney Infections
- Drinking plenty of water
- Urinating as soon as you feel the need to do so
- Urinating after intercourse
- Wiping from front to back after going to the bathroom if you are a woman. This helps to keep bacteria from the vagina from getting into the urethra.
- Avoiding the use of deodorant sprays or douches in the genital area
You can never be too careful when guarding against kidney infections! If you have any other infection-related questions or are in need of general medical care, don’t hesitate to visit us at AFC Urgent Care Farragut today.
