UTI warning: Three ways to PREVENT a kidney infection that work
UTIs - or urinary tract infections - include infection of the kidneys, and can be prevented with cranberries, keeping hydrated and good toilet hygiene.
UTI warning: Kidney infections can be serious if left untreated
A kidney infection - medically known as pyelonephritis - is a painful and unpleasant condition.
It is caused by bacteria, often a E. coli, travelling from your bladder into one or both of your kidneys, according to the NHS.
While the symptoms can be similar, it is a more serious illness than cystitis - an infection of the bladder that can make urinating painful.
In the case of kidney infections, signs can also include feeling feverish, shivery, sick and with a pain in your back or side.
UTI warning: Cranberry juice does not work
Symptoms of a kidney infection include being sick, losing your appetite and having diarrhoea.
These symptoms can come on within a few hours.
Further signs may develop over a few days, including being sick, losing your appetite and diarrhoea.
Cloudy or foul smelling urine containing blood can also happen to sufferers if they have cystitis or urethritis - an infection of the urethra - at the same time.
If treated quickly, the kidney infections shouldn’t cause serious harm.
UTI warning: Drinking plenty of fluids can help prevent a kidney infection
But if ignored it can worsen and lead to permanent kidney damage.
In rare cases it cmay lead to a kidney abscess, blood poisoning, a severe infection called emphysematous pyelonephritis, and kidney failure.
These are three ways you can avoid suffering in the first place.
Cranberries
Many people traditionally turn to cranberry juice if they are suffering from a urinary tract infection (UTI), which includes an infection of the kidneys.
However, research published last year in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology found that the juice doesn’t work.
What they did find is that the fruit in a different form, - cranberry extract - did lower the risk of UTIs by 50 per cent.
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UTI warning: You should never hold urine in
Stay hydrated
Drinking plenty of fluids, like water, can help wash bacteria from your bladder and urinary tract.
Additionally, according to the NHS, this can also reduce risk of constipation.
Indeed, struggling to pass stools can increase your risk of developing a UTI.
Toilet hygiene
To keep your urinary tract free from bacteria the NHS recommend going to the toilet as soon as you feel the urge to urinate, and not holding it in.
You should also wipe from front to back after going to the toilet, wash your genitals everyday and empty your bladder after having sex.