Duration of Kidney Infection
There's no rule for how long it takes a UTI to spread from your bladder to your kidneys. 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.
About 1 in every 30 cases of UTI leads to a kidney infection. You are more likely to get a kidney infection if you have frequent bladder infections or have a structural problem in the urinary tract.
If left untreated, UTIs can continue to spread upward into your kidneys. A kidney infection can lead to serious complications, including kidney damage or a life threatening condition called sepsis. In other words, kidney infections are generally the result of a less severe UTI's progression due to lack of treatment.
Symptoms of kidney infection
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. In addition to feeling unwell like this, you may also have symptoms of a urinary tract infection (UTI) such as cystitis.
Symptoms of a kidney infection may include chills; fever; and frequent, painful urination. A child younger than 2 years old with a kidney infection may only have a high fever.
Most people with a kidney infection can be treated at home with a course of antibiotics, and paracetamol if needed. See a GP if you feel feverish and have pain in your tummy, lower back or genitals that will not go away.
Lower UTIs are common and aren't usually a cause for major concern. Upper UTIs can be serious if left untreated, as they could damage the kidneys or spread to the bloodstream.
Kidney infections are actually a type of UTI. They typically occur when a lower UTI is left untreated, allowing the bacteria to spread upward and infect the kidneys. Kidney infections are the most serious type of UTI and can cause serious complications without fast and proper treatment.
You feel kidney pain in the area where your kidneys are located: Near the middle of your back, just under your ribcage, on each side of your spine. Your kidneys are part of the urinary tract, the organs that make urine (i.e., pee) and remove it from your body.
Cloudy or murky urine
Urinary tract infections and kidney stones can cause urine to look cloudy or murky.
You'll have to take another pee test to make sure you're officially rid of that awful UTI. Never assume your urinary tract infection magically vanished on its own, because bacteria is “sticky,” and isn't easily removed from the urinary tract.
If your UTI goes untreated, it may progress into a more serious infection. “An untreated bladder infection can become a kidney or prostate infection. These infections are more serious, because they can travel through the blood stream causing sepsis. Sepsis makes people very ill and can even be critical,” Dr.
If you have a UTI that isn't responding to antibiotic treatment, further testing will likely begin with a urine culture to analyze the bacteria causing the infection. If another type of bacteria, fungi, or virus is responsible for your UTI, your doctor will prescribe a more appropriate treatment.
Blood Tests. Because your kidneys remove waste, toxins, and extra fluid from the blood, a doctor will also use a blood test to check your kidney function. The blood tests will show how well your kidneys are doing their job and how quickly the waste is being removed.
When to go to the ER for UTI Symptoms. If your symptoms have progressed to the point of lethargy, pain, fever, chills, nausea, vomiting and/or blood in the urine, you need to get to the nearest Advance ER right away.
People usually develop kidney infections quickly, within a day or a few hours. Kidney infection symptoms include : diarrhea.
It's important to see a healthcare provider right away if you experience symptoms of a kidney infection, which include painful or frequent urination, cloudy or smelly urine, fever and chills, pain in your lower back or side, and nausea and vomiting.