
You’ll likely notice a deep, dull ache in the area, which is where your kidney pain would likely manifest. This pain is known as flank pain in the medical community and usually presents on either side of your body between your upper abdomen and lower back. “Both bladder and kidney infections share some symptoms such as painful urination, frequency, and urgency, but usually only kidney infections present with back pain, nausea or vomiting, fever, and chills,” Dr. What are the signs of a kidney infection? And what does a kidney infection feel like, anyway? You have other urinary tract issues: Kidney stones, enlarged prostate glands, nerve damage around the bladder, or vesicoureteral reflux (when a small amount of urine flows the wrong way up the urinary tract) may all make a person more prone to a kidney infection.You recently used a catheter: Sometimes used after surgery, catheters are used to drain urine from the bladder, but they can also increase infection risk.You have a weakened immune system: Conditions like diabetes and HIV, as well as taking immunosuppressant drugs, can make it harder for your body to fight off the harmful bacteria that can cause a kidney infection.You’re older than 65: As you age, you’re more likely to end up with a kidney infection due to anatomical and urinary tract function changes, Dr.One highly effective treatment for postmenopausal people with a history of recurrent UTIs is topical vaginal estrogen. You’ve gone through menopause: After menopause, a drop in estrogen production can cause vaginal dryness, increasing the risk for vaginal irritation that can lead to UTIs, Mehran Movassaghi, MD, urologist and director of Men’s Health at Providence Saint John’s Health Center and assistant professor of urology at Saint John’s Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, California, tells SELF.You’re pregnant: Anatomical changes that happen when you’re pregnant can increase the risk for kidney infections even more.You have a vagina: Because the vagina and the anus are anatomically close together and the urethra in a vagina is shorter than the urethra in a penis, bacteria have an easier time getting into the bladder and possibly spreading into the kidneys-in this case, it’s all about the short travel distance.According to the Mayo Clinic, you’re more likely to develop a kidney infection if you have one of the following risk factors: If you’re at a higher risk, it’s even more important to be aware of the possible signs of a kidney infection (which we’ll dig into next). More rarely, you can get a kidney infection if bacteria enters your blood during surgery and gets to your kidneys, the NIDDK says.Īs for who’s most likely to get them? Certain people are more prone than others. From there the bacteria can move into the bladder, then into the kidneys through the ureters, which are the tubes that connect the bladder to the kidneys.īacteria can more easily make its move from the anus to the urethra if you do things like wipe back to front instead of front to back. coli is common in the GI tract) to the urethra, the small tube that carries urine out of your body-and the entrance to the urinary tract, according to the Mayo Clinic. How do the bacteria get to your bladder in the first place, you ask? Well, usually the bacteria move from the anus (remember, E. What causes a kidney infection and what risk factors should be considered?
