Q:
What are the symptoms and risk factors of pyelonephritis?
A:
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of a kidney infection might include:
- Fever
- Chills
- Back, side (flank) or groin pain
- Abdominal pain
- Frequent urination
- Strong, persistent urge to urinate
- Burning sensation or pain when urinating
- Nausea and vomiting
- Pus or blood in your urine (hematuria)
- Urine that smells bad or is cloudy
Risk factors
Factors that increase your risk of a kidney infection include:
- Being female. The urethra is shorter in women than it is in men, which makes it easier for bacteria to travel from outside the body to the bladder.
- Having a urinary tract blockage.
- Having a weakened immune system.
- Having damage to nerves around the bladder.
- Using a urinary catheter for a time.
- Having a condition that causes urine to flow the wrong way.
