Unfortunately, no, you can’t treat your kidney infection at home. However, there are complementary treatments that you can do at home, such as taking OTC pain relievers and drinking lots of water.

Learn more from our AFC Urgent Care TN team below!

What Is a Kidney Infection?

A kidney infection, or pyelonephritis, is a type of urinary tract infection where one or both kidneys become infected. They can be infected by bacteria or a virus and can cause people to experience life-threatening sickness when not treated quickly and effectively.

Although kidney infections can be very serious, they are quite rare. They can also happen to anyone but are most common among women. We’ve listed some common symptoms of a kidney infection below.

Common Symptoms of Kidney Infections

• Fever
• Chills
• Back or side pain
• Groin pain
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea and vomiting
• Frequent urination
• Urine that’s cloudy, smells bad or contains blood

How Can a Kidney Infection Be Successfully Treated?

Kidney infections are often successfully treated by antibiotics. If you have experienced any of the above symptoms, it’s important to visit our AFC center quickly to get an accurate diagnosis and to get the proper treatment for your infection.

When you visit, you’ll likely be asked to provide a urine sample to test for bacteria, blood or pus in your urine to confirm the diagnosis. Your doctor might also take a blood sample for a culture, which is a lab test that checks for bacteria or other organisms in your blood. If the test results do show that you have a kidney infection, oral antibiotics will likely be prescribed, and these usually take care of the problem in about two weeks.

At-Home Complementary Treatments

• Drink lots of water.
• Drink unsweetened cranberry juice.
• Avoid alcohol and coffee.
• Take probiotics.
• Use non-aspirin pain relievers.
• Consume apples and apple juice.

Concerned you have a kidney infection? Don’t wait to get the care and treatment you need! Visit one of our AFC Urgent Care TN centers today.