| For the average person, getting a kidney infection | | | | especially boys in which infections are rare, an |
| is relatively uncommon. There are some | | | | X-Ray should be done to determine whether or |
| conditions, however, that can lead to kidney | | | | not the child is born with an abnormally placed |
| infections. The medical term for this kind of | | | | ureters or ureters. |
| infection is called pyelonephritis. It can lead to | | | | Women in pregnancy are prone to kidney |
| kidney failure and also to spread of infection from | | | | infection. They often present with blood in the |
| the kidneys to the bloodstream, leading to a | | | | urine and extreme pain on the side where the |
| dangerous case of gram negative sepsis, which | | | | infected kidney is. This can cause irritability of the |
| can be fatal in the elderly. | | | | uterus and preterm labor. |
| Kidney stones can be a cause of chronic or | | | | Most kidney infection problems occur when |
| recurrent kidney infection. Stones are foreign | | | | bacteria come up from the outside through the |
| bodies inside the "pelvis" or urinary side of the | | | | bladder and up inside the ureters. In rarer cases, |
| kidney and can allow bacteria to seed onto them. | | | | however, the individual can have infection first in |
| The kidney stones then become a reservoir for | | | | the bloodstream, a condition called gram negative |
| bacteria, leading to recurrent infection. | | | | sepsis. Because the kidney filters blood, it can |
| Prostate disease can cause kidney infection. When | | | | collect bacteria and cause infection in the kidneys |
| the prostate is enlarged or inflamed, it can result | | | | themselves. |
| in a back up of urine from the bladder all the way | | | | The signs and symptoms of a kidney infection |
| up to the kidneys. This can trap bacteria in the | | | | are often unmistakable. The individual experiences |
| urinary tract and can lead to both bladder and | | | | a fever with flank pain on the side where the |
| kidney infections. These can be very dangerous | | | | kidney is infected. They also have bacteria, blood |
| because prostate enlargement is most common in | | | | and sometimes kidney cells showing up in the |
| elderly men who often do not fight off infection | | | | urinalysis. This is a very painful infection and must |
| well. The mortality rate from kidney infections is | | | | be treated aggressively. |
| higher in the elderly than they are in young people. | | | | The primary cause of a kidney infection is that of |
| Any kind of narrowing or blockage further down | | | | bacteria called Gram negative bacteria. They are |
| the urinary tract can cause kidney infection. | | | | the type of bacteria found in the stool and |
| Children can be born with abnormal ureters that | | | | because of the proximity of the rectum and the |
| cause them to develop kidney infections at a | | | | urethra, bacteria from the stool can come up |
| very early age. Only through X-Rays involving dye | | | | through the urethra, into the bladder and up |
| can the blockage be found and repaired. Anytime | | | | through the ureters to the kidneys. |
| a child gets frequent bladder or kidney infections, | | | | |