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Can You Treat A Kidney Infection At Home

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Are Kidney Infections Serious What Is The Prognosis

10 Home Remedies For Kidney Infection | Can You Treat A Kidney Infection at Home

Generally, urinary tract and kidney infections are common conditions with an overall favorable outlook.

  • A kidney infection can be managed at home if the infection is diagnosed and treated early with antibiotics.
  • Severe or complicated infections may require more intensive treatment and possible hospitalization.
  • Personal hygiene is important in the prevention of recurring kidney infections.
  • Cranberry juice is a simple natural remedy to prevent recurring kidney infections.

Rarely, serious complications from a kidney infection occur.

Kidney Infection Fast Facts

A kidney infection is a type of urinary tract infection that can affect one or both of your kidneys.

What causes a kidney infection?

The infection usually starts in your bladder or urethra and flows upstream to your kidneys. It can be bacterial or viral.

What are the symptoms of a kidney infection?

Common symptoms are painful urination and dark, cloudy, or bloody pee. You may also experience a dull ache in your back, abdomen, groin, or sides.

More serious symptoms can include chills, rashes, fever, mental confusion, fast breathing, or a rapid heart rate.

How to treat a kidney infection

Kidney infections require urgent attention and are usually treated with prescription antibiotics.

How serious is a kidney infection?

Kidney infections can get serious if left untreated. They can lead to permanent kidney damage and other health concerns.

  • mid-back pain below your ribs on one side

Although rare, a skin rash is also a sign of a serious infection.

Anyone with a kidney can get a kidney infection. But there are some factors that bump up your risk:

When To Seek Medical Advice

Contact your GP if you have a high temperature, persistent pain, or if you notice a change to your usual pattern of urination. Contact your GP immediately if you think your child may have a kidney infection.

If you have blood in your urine, you should always see your GP so the cause can be investigated.

Kidney infections require prompt treatment with antibiotics to help relieve symptoms and prevent complications developing.

Your GP can carry out some simple tests to help diagnose a kidney infection.

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Things You Can Try Yourself

If you have a kidney infection, try not to “hover” over the toilet seat when you go to the loo because it can result in your bladder not being fully emptied.

It’s also important for most people with a kidney infection to drink plenty of fluids because this will help to flush out the bacteria from your kidneys. Aim to drink enough so that you’re frequently passing pale-coloured urine.

If you have kidney failure, get advice from your doctor on how much to drink.

Make sure you get plenty of rest. A kidney infection can be physically draining, even if you’re normally healthy and strong. It may take up to 2 weeks before you’re fit enough to return to work.

Complications Of Kidney Infections

20 Home Remedies For Urine Infections

Most kidney infections are treated successfully without complications, although some people may develop further problems.

Complications of a kidney infection are rare, but youâre more likely to develop them if you:

  • rapid heartbeat

Blood poisoning is a medical emergency that usually requires admission to a hospital intensive care unit while antibiotics are used to fight the infection.

If youâre taking certain medications for diabetes, such as metformin or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, they may be temporarily withdrawn until you recover. This is because they can cause kidney damage during an episode of blood poisoning.

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How Can I Treat A Kidney Infection At Home

Treating kidney infection solely at home or with natural remedies is not a good idea. However, several home remedies can help manage the pain while the infection is treated with antibiotics. These include drinking water, using a heating pad to reduce pain, and taking over-the-counter acetaminophen to manage both pain and fever.

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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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Tea Tree Essential Oil

E.coli bacteria account for about 80% of urinary tract infections, which eventually lead to chronic kidney infections.

Tea tree essential oil is considered a great remedy against the E.coli bacteria.

Although it is rich inanti-inflammatoryand antiseptic compounds, a 2006 study has confirmed the presence of antimicrobial properties as well.

A study was published in 2002. It shows tea tree oil has preventive effects against E.coli.

Another study was published in the Journal of Applied Bacteriology Banner. It states that tea trees can neutralize bacteria.

You can use this oil for both massage and bath to soothe infection.

Home Remedies And Treatments For Kidney Infections

Treatment For Kidney Infection At Home – Heal Kidney Disease Easily At Home

Some people prefer to treat medical conditions with home remedies or complementary 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.

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How Do I Know If The Treatment Isnt Working

If the treatment isnt working, your symptoms will stay the same, get worse, or you will develop new symptoms. Call your doctor if you have a fever , chills, lower stomach pain, nausea, and vomiting. You should also call your doctor if, after taking medicine for 3 days, you still have a burning feeling when you urinate. If you are pregnant, you should also call your doctor if you have any contractions.

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Will Supplements Cure A Uti

The ones listed above might help with prevention, but unfortunately theres no cure-all supplement that works for everyone. People ask about different things like pumpkin seeds and celery root, says Dr. Eilber. Id say theres probably no data about those things, but if you tried it and you tell me that its helped and its not harmful, Im totally fine with that. Just make sure you ask your doctor before you start taking any supplement in case it can trigger new symptoms or interfere with meds you take.

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Water To Flush The Infection

Most kidney diseases are due to improper drinking habits. People either drink excess water or never notice their very low consumption of water.

Drinking very low water makes it easy for kidney infections to spread to the organ.

Excess of water will lead to low sodium levels in the blood and it is very dangerous.

Therefore, you must try to be conscious about how much water your drink every day. Never drink water if you arent thirsty.

Drink only when you are thirsty. Thirst is an important signal from our body that indicates the need for water. So, drink only water when you are thirsty.

Dont drink any other liquid items such as juices when you are thirsty. It will not quench your thirst as well as doesnt help the kidneys.

While drinking water, dont rush it. Find a comfortable spot to sit and take small sips. Do not gulp the entire bottle in one go. Try to take small sips and feel the thirst-quenching with every sip.

Following this treatment will solve most kidney-related problems.

Home Remedies To Help Fight A Kidney Infection

Home remedy for kidney pain

In this article:

The urinary tract is made up of a pair of kidneys, which make urine by filtering the waste products from the blood. Thin tubes known as ureters stem from each kidney and drain the urine into the bladder, which stores the urine until it is excreted out of the body through another tube called a urethra.

Oftentimes, infection-causing bacteria find their way into the urinary tract through the genitals, moving upstream from the urethra to the bladder and traveling up the ureters to infect the kidneys.

If not treated in time, a kidney infection can lead to serious complications and can permanently damage your kidneys. Often, antibiotics are recommended to treat the infection. You can also use some home remedies to reduce the symptoms and promote healing.

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Health & Wellnesswhy Some Women Get Kidney Infections From Uti And How To Protect Yourself

While treating UTIs at home might not be as easy as having a glass of cranberry juice, the experts say women can stop urinary infections from happening. The most basic way to prevent UTIs is to wipe in the right direction after using the toilet women should always wipe from front to back.

Thats kind of a common sense thing, Greves said. If you wipe from back to front, what if there is fecal material, which has e-coli or other bacteria? They could be introduced to the urinary tract.

Women also might want to urinate after intercourse.

We often tell people that, but theres little specific data, Giugale said, that says that those things are going to prevent urinary tract infection.

However, its another low-risk way to lower the chance of getting a UTI. Urinating after sex might help the body dispel some bacteria moved around during intercourse.

Sometimes there can be e-coli involved in it and the thought is to urinate afterwards, Greves said.

If UTI symptoms dont dissipate after a few days or women notice blood in their urine its time to contact a doctor. Untreated UTIs can become more severe or spread into the kidneys, which might require treatment with intravenous antibiotics.

The ultimate thing is theres a bacterial infection growing and festering, Greves said, and they need to talk to their doctor to go on some antibiotic and fight this so it doesnt spread up into the kidney.

How To Get Rid Of A Kidney Infection: Can Natural Remedies Help

This article was co-authored by Zora Degrandpre, ND. Dr. Degrandpre is a Licensed Naturopathic Physician in Vancouver, Washington. She is also a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. She received her ND from the National College of Natural Medicine in 2007. This article has been viewed 46,736 times.

A kidney infection is a type of urinary tract infection that settles in one or both kidneys. It usually starts in the urethra or bladder and works its way up into the kidneys. This sounds scary, but fortunately, these infections are easy to treat with antibiotics and should clear up without any lasting problems. However, they definitely require medical treatment. Some natural remedies can prevent the infection from getting worse and complement the treatment youre receiving, but they wont cure the infection on their own. Together, medication and lifestyle treatments can heal your infection in no time.

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What Does Flank Pain Indicate

Flank pain refers to discomfort in your upper abdomen or back and sides. However, constant or severe flank pain may indicate a serious medical condition, such as dehydration or a urinary tract infection. Kidney stones or another kidney problem may also cause persistent flank pain.

In respect to this, what does flank pain feel like?

Kidney pain, or flank pain, typically feels like a dull ache on one side of your upper back. The pain usually begins on your side or back. Attributes of kidney pain, including how severe it is, how often it occurs, and whether its isolated or radiating, vary.

One may also ask, how do you get rid of flank pain? Treatment depends on the cause. Rest, physical therapy, and exercise may be recommended if the pain is caused by muscle spasm. You will be taught how to do these exercises at home. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and physical therapy may be prescribed for flank pain caused by spinal arthritis.

Also to know, when should I be worried about flank pain?

Flank pain has many possible causes, including a kidney stone, a urinary tract infection, or back strain. Flank pain may get better on its own. But dont ignore new symptoms, such as fever, nausea and vomiting, urination problems, pain that gets worse, and dizziness. These may be signs of a more serious problem.

Is flank pain a sign of cancer?

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Kidney Infection Treatment Options

Kidney Disease: 8 Home Remedies for Kidney Infection without Antibiotics

Kidney infections are treated with antibiotics, pain relievers, and fever reducers. Uncomplicated kidney infection and few complicated kidney infections will be treated on an outpatient basis by a general practitioner, but people with a complicated kidney infection likely require hospitalization and intravenous antibiotics.. Pregnant women may require additional consultation with an obstetrician or gynecologist.

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What Causes A Kidney Infection

Most kidney infections develop from a bladder infection . Bacteria travel up the tube between the bladder and kidney to infect a kidney. These bacteria are usually those normally living in the bowel – eg, E. coli. Most people with cystitis don’t get a kidney infection.

Some kidney infections develop without a bladder infection. This is sometimes due to a problem in the kidney. For example, people are more prone to kidney infections if they have a kidney stone or an abnormality of the kidney.

Kidney infections are also more common in children, in older people and during pregnancy. They are uncommon in men.

When Will I Begin To Feel Better

Once you start treatment, you should start to feel better in a few days.

Can I have sex while being treated for a kidney infection?After you have started treatment and your symptoms have gone away, it is usually safe to have sex. Remember to urinate after sex to avoid getting more bacteria in your urinary tract.

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Cut Bladder Irritants From Your Diet

When you have a UTI, caffeine, alcohol, spicy food, nicotine, carbonated drinks, and artificial sweeteners can irritate your bladder further, making it harder for your body to heal, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Focus on healthy foods, such as high-fiber carbohydrates , that are good for your digestive health, says Holly Lucille, ND, RN, a naturopathic doctor in private practice in West Hollywood, California, and the author of Creating and Maintaining Balance: A Womans Guide to Safe, Natural Hormone Health.

Avoid Alcohol And Coffee

Prev post1 of 3Next A kidney infection, also known as pyelonephritis ...

The kidneys most important role is to filter out harmful substances and toxins, and both alcohol and caffeine can require extra work from the kidneys. This may hinder the process of healing from an infection.

Alcohol and antibiotics also shouldnt be mixed, so avoid alcohol during your treatment for this reason as well.

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Take An Epsom Salt Bath

Both Epsom salts and warm water can ease pain. This can help make the uncomfortable side effects of the kidney infection a little more tolerable while you wait for the antibiotics to take effect.

Since abdominal pain is sometimes a symptom of antibiotics, as well as kidney infections, Epsom salts could also help even after symptoms from the kidney infection are resolved.

When To Contact A Doctor

A person who is experiencing kidney pain should contact a doctor as soon as possible to find out what is causing it.

People must contact a doctor to diagnose and treat kidney pain. Receiving the correct treatment ensures that the kidneys do not become damaged, which can lead to kidney failure.

Doctors may order tests such as:

  • urine tests, which can help them identify any infections

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Causes Of Kidney Infection

that persist, or, more commonly, reflux of urine from the bladder into the ureters Urinary Reflux Urinary reflux is when urine flows backward from the bladder into the ureter and sometimes the kidney, usually because of a birth defect of the urinary tract. Each kidney continuously filters⦠read more . Chronic pyelonephritis can cause bacteria to be released into the bloodstream, sometimes resulting in infections in the opposite kidney or elsewhere in the body. Rarely, chronic pyelonephritis can eventually severely damage the kidneys.

Diagnosing A Kidney Infection

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Most kidney infection diagnoses require a pee sample. Urinalysis will test for bacteria and white blood cells in your pee. A urine culture will determine what type of bacteria is to blame. This helps your doctor prescribe the right type of antibiotics.

Your doc might also suggest an imaging test like an ultrasound or a computed tomography scan.

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Drink Parsley Juice To Detox Your Kidneys

Parsley juice works as a cleanser for the kidneys by promoting increased urine flow. This means it can help flush out harmful toxins and microorganisms present in the kidneys.

How to consume:

  • Add 1 tablespoon of crushed fresh parsley or dried parsley to a cup of boiling water. Steep for 5 minutes, let the water cool, and then strain it. Drink this tea twice daily for a couple of weeks to combat a kidney infection.
  • Another option is to mix ¼ cup of parsley juice, ½ cup of water, and a little honey and lemon juice. Drink the mixture two times daily for 1 to 2 weeks.

Note: Parsley may help in minimizing the symptoms and promoting recovery from a kidney infection, but it is advisable to consult your doctor before using this herb as it may interfere with certain medications.

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