This is a disease characterized by an inflammatory process in the kidneys as a result of the appearance of bacteria in the urinary tract.[1]… It occurs, as a rule, due to the effects of pathological microflora. If you do not start treating the disease in a timely manner, it can develop into a chronic form.
Causes of pyelonephritis
Kidney infections are caused by bacteria or viruses. Scientists believe that most infections begin in the lower urinary tract. The bacteria enter the body through the urethra and begin to multiply and spread to the bladder. From there, they travel through the ureters to the kidneys. Most often, the infection is caused by intestinal bacteria, less often – streptococcus, staphylococcus.
In some cases, bacteria or viruses can be carried from other organs to the kidneys through the blood[5].
Symptoms of pyelonephritis
Symptoms usually appear within two days of infection. Common symptoms include:
- Increased body temperature. This symptom is not always present, but sometimes the patient’s body temperature can rise to 39 – 39,5 degrees.
- Backache, which can have different intensities. As a rule, it is localized on the side where the kidney affected by the infection is located, but the entire lower back can also hurt.
- Nausea and / or vomiting It is also a symptom, the severity of which can range from complete absence to severe.
- Hemorrhagic cystitis – This is a type of cystitis in which blood appears in the urine. This is due to inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bladder wall. This symptom is more common in women than in men.[2].
- Pain in the abdomen, back, side, or groin.
- Painful urination, sometimes it may become more frequent than usual. Urine may have a specific unpleasant odor[3].
Other symptoms may also include:
- shaking or chills;
- nausea;
- vomiting;
- fatigue.
- increased sweating.
As a rule, different groups of people, for example, children and the elderly, may have different symptoms. In people with a chronic form of the disease, symptoms may be less acute or completely absent in external manifestations. If you notice any warning signs, be sure to consult your doctor for advice.[3].
Types of pyelonephritis
The two main types of this disease are acute and chronic forms… Primary acute pyelonephritis is inflammation of the renal parenchyma and affects one or both kidneys. It is a simple form of the disease and is the most common.
This condition can present with lower back pain localized in the side, high fever, increased sweating, headache, nausea, vomiting, general malaise, and kidney edema. In addition, symptoms of a lower urinary tract infection may be present. Obvious signs of the disease can develop quickly enough – within one or two days.
Secondary acute pyelonephritis can occur in women with urinary tract abnormalities, pregnant women, children, and men, and is generally considered more serious than acute primary pyelonephritis. Predisposing factors may include bladder catheterization, immunosuppressive drugs, kidney transplants, diabetes mellitus, polycystic kidney disease, and some tumors.
Symptoms of secondary acute pyelonephritis (sometimes called complex acute pyelonephritis) resembles a primary infection, although this disease may also be asymptomatic.
Chronic pyelonephritis is a diffuse, interstitial inflammatory kidney disease that is not always infectious in origin. Emphysematous pyelonephritis is a serious necrotizing renal parenchymal infection. A chronic, destructive granulomatous process that arises from an atypical, incomplete immune response to a subacute bacterial infection is known as xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis[6].
Complications of pyelonephritis
A possible complication of acute pyelonephritis is chronic kidney disease. If not treated promptly, a kidney infection can lead to potentially serious complications, such as:
- Kidney inflammation. This can lead to chronic kidney disease, high blood pressure, and kidney failure.
- Sepsis. The kidneys filter waste from the blood and deliver the filtered blood to the rest of the body. Having a kidney infection can cause bacteria to spread through the blood to other organs. This can be potentially fatal.
- Complications during pregnancy. Women who develop a kidney infection during pregnancy may have an increased risk of having a low birth weight baby[4].
- Recurrent kidney infections.
- Acute kidney failure.
Prevention of pyelonephritis
You can reduce your risk of getting sick by trying to keep infection from entering your urinary tract. Women, in particular, can reduce their risk of urinary tract infection if they drink enough fluids. It will help flush bacteria out of the body while urinating. It is also important to empty the bladder after intercourse to help clear bacteria from the urethra, reducing the risk of infection. It is advisable not to delay urination when you feel such a desire and not to endure too long[4].
Risk Factors
Women are more at risk of developing pyelonephritis because their urethra is shorter than men’s, which makes it easier for bacteria to move from outside the body to the bladder. The proximity of the urethra to the vagina and anus also creates more opportunities for bacteria to enter the bladder.[4]… Also, people with:
- a suppressed immune system (suffering from AIDS, cancer, diabetes);
- sufferers of vesicoureteral reflux (a condition in which a small amount of urine flows back from the bladder to the ureters)[3];
- having a blockage of the urinary tract (anything that slows the flow of urine or decreases the ability to empty the bladder when urinating – including kidney stones, abnormalities in the structure of the urinary tract, or an enlarged prostate in men)[4].
Chronic forms of the disease are more common in people with urinary disorders. It can be caused by a UTI, vesicoureteral reflux, or anatomical abnormalities. Chronic pyelonephritis is more common in children than in adults[3].
Treatment of pyelonephritis in official medicine
The most common treatment is antibiotics. Their appearance depends on whether it is possible to determine the type of bacteria that provoked the disease. If not, then broad-spectrum antibiotics are prescribed. Although the medication can clear up pyelonephritis in three to four days, it is most commonly recommended for the entire prescription period of about 10 days.
In some cases, drug therapy is ineffective. In case of severe illness, the doctor may offer the patient hospitalization. The length of hospital stay depends on the severity of the condition and how well the body responds to treatment. It can include intravenous hydration and antibiotics for 24 to 48 hours. While the patient is in the hospital, doctors will monitor their blood and urine to monitor the activity of the infection. After discharge, you may also need to take a course of antibiotics.
In some cases, kidney infections may be the result of an underlying medical problem. In such cases, surgery may be required to remove any obstructions or any structural problems in the kidneys. Surgery may also be required to drain an abscess that does not respond to antibiotics[3].
Useful foods for pyelonephritis
With pyelonephritis, it is definitely worth sticking to a diet. Its general goals are to create the correct, gentle conditions for the kidneys to work, lower blood pressure, reduce edema, alkalinize urine (since bacteria multiply better in an acidic environment), as well as the safe elimination of toxins, salts and nitrogenous substances from the body. It is important to limit proteins a little, and leave fats and carbohydrates at a level that corresponds to the physiological norm of a person. At the same time, it is very important to enrich the diet with vitamins. Food should be light. It is advisable to boil food or steam it. Refuse fried or reduce its use to a minimum. It is recommended to include such foods in the diet.
- 1 Fluid – its total volume per day needs to be increased in order to flush the urinary tract and remove microbes and toxins from the kidneys. Drinks such as weak black, green or herbal tea, rosehip broth have a beneficial effect on the body. If you drink mineral water, then the content of sodium salts in it should be reduced.
- 2 It is important to include dairy products in your diet, as they help to move the urine pH level towards the alkaline side.
- 3 It is desirable to eat yesterday’s bread without salt.
- 4 Dairy or vegetable soups are allowed.
- 5 Salads made from vegetables such as squash (they have a diuretic effect), potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, beets, parsley and dill.
- 6 It is important to enrich the diet with vitamins, because you can eat raw vegetables and fruits, juices, compotes, fruit mousses and jelly. You can eat honey in small quantities.
Food does not need to be chopped, since with pyelonephritis, the work of the gastrointestinal tract is not hampered. The diet should be aimed at eliminating the inflammatory process and alleviating the course of the disease. That is why it is important to stick to a diet and exclude prohibited foods, the list of which is given below.
Traditional medicine for pyelonephritis
It should be noted that in most cases, the treatment of this disease is carried out in an inpatient department or under the strict supervision of the attending physician. Traditional methods of treatment are not basic, but auxiliary, and will bring an effect if they are coordinated with a doctor, as well as with strict adherence to the drug treatment prescribed by a doctor. In the acute stage of the disease, all methods are aimed at eliminating inflammation.
- Prepare a decoction of coltsfoot leaves. They need to be dried, ground into powder, pour the oxen and cook for about 5 minutes over low heat. Then cool the broth, strain through cheesecloth folded in several layers, and drink 1/3 cup three times a day one hour before meals. Proportion: 1 tbsp. leaves for 0,5 liters. water.
- An herbal collection for eliminating the inflammatory process can be prepared from simple plants. It will take 1 tbsp. dioecious nettle, calendula flowers, horsetail, birch leaves, millennials, and 2 tbsp. fennel seeds and 2 glasses of water. Pour boiling water over the collection, let it brew for an hour, and then take 50 ml 3-4 times a day during periods of exacerbation of the disease.
- An infusion of herbs and elderberries is prepared as follows. All components are taken in a proportion of 25 grams. It is necessary to mix the flowers of black elderberry, chamomile, linden perforatum and St. John’s wort. Pour this mixture with a glass of boiling water, let it brew for an hour, under the lid, then strain and take a glass before bedtime.
- Infusion of blue cornflower has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effect. You need 2 tsp. flowers of blue cornflower pour two glasses of boiling water, let it brew for half an hour, strain and drink half a glass three times a day before meals[1].
Dangerous and harmful foods for pyelonephritis
During both acute and chronic stages of pyelonephritis, there are a number of dietary restrictions for patients. It is forbidden to use any products that irritate the urinary tract or provoke excitation of the nervous system. Prohibited foods include:
- Salt. Due to inflammation in the kidneys, their filtering and excretory functions are impaired. This leads to a difficult elimination of toxins and excess salts. This provokes an increase in pressure, the formation of edema, and kidney stones. So it is advisable for the patient to cook food without salt. At the discretion of the attending physician, he may be given a small amount of salt for self-distribution.
- Alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are categorically contraindicated in this disease, as they exert a tremendous stress on the kidneys. Because of this, the withdrawal of metabolic products from the body worsens, fluid is retained in it, from which edema appears and the course of the disease is greatly aggravated.
- It is important to reduce the amount of animal protein found in any meat, fish, eggs, since this substance oxidizes urine, and this environment is favorable for the growth of bacteria. For the same purpose, it is important to reduce the amount of fast carbohydrates consumed, as well as beans.
- It is important to refuse irritating foods: canned food, sausages, smoked products, fatty meat and fish, garlic, radish, radish, mushrooms, bread and flour products with added salt, strong tea, coffee, water with sodium salts, sweets, fatty sour cream, animal fats, sauces, horseradish, mustard.
- The newest folk medicine. Treatment of the most common diseases. – M .: Ripol classic, 2007.-544 p.
- Article: “Acute Pyelonephritis”, source
- Article: “Pyelonephritis”, source
- Article: “Kidney infection”, source
- Article: “Symptoms & Causes of Kidney Infection (Pyelonephritis)” Source
- Article: “What is Pyelonephritis?”, Source
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The administration is not responsible for any attempt to use the information provided, and does not guarantee that it will not harm you personally. The materials cannot be used to prescribe treatment and make a diagnosis. Always consult your specialist doctor!