Kidney infections are serious. If left untreated or treated poorly, they can cause life-threatening health complications.
Read on as our team at AFC Urgent Care Chapman Highway provides more important information about kidney infections.
What Causes Kidney Infections?
The most common cause of kidney infections is when bacteria enter the urinary tract through the tube that carries urine from your body (urethra) and multiplies and travels to the kidneys.
Bacteria from an infection elsewhere in your body also can spread through your bloodstream to your kidneys, such as if you have an artificial joint or heart valve that becomes infected. These instances are certainly more rare, but they can happen. We’ve listed some common symptoms of kidney infections below.
Common Symptoms of Kidney Infections
- Pain in your abdomen, back, groin or side
- Nausea or vomiting
- Frequent urination or the feeling that you have to urinate
- Burning or pain while urinating
- Pus or blood in your urine
- Bad-smelling or cloudy urine
- Chills
- Fever
What Are the Health Complications of Kidney Infections?
A kidney infection is a serious medical condition that requires prompt treatment by a doctor. While some at-home remedies can help with pain and symptoms in conjunction with medical care, you definitely need to visit our AFC center ASAP if you are experiencing any of the above-mentioned symptoms.
We’ve listed some serious complications that can occur below if your kidney infection is left untreated.
Potential Serious Health Complications
- Kidney scarring. This can lead to chronic kidney disease, high blood pressure and kidney failure.
- Blood poisoning (sepsis). Your kidneys filter waste from your blood and return your filtered blood to the rest of your body. Having a kidney infection can cause the bacteria to spread through your bloodstream.
- Pregnancy complications. Women who develop a kidney infection during pregnancy may have an increased risk of delivering low birth weight babies.
Kidney infections are no joke! Don’t wait to get the medical treatment you need by walking into AFC Urgent Care Chapman Highway today.
