Kidney and Bladder Infections
The kidneys filter out waste materials and poisons from the blood and get rid of them in the urine. However, sometimes the blood that reaches the kidneys is so full of toxins (poisons manufactured by germs) from a severe inflammation elsewhere in the body that the kidneys themselves become inflamed.
For instance, it is possible that a very bad infection of the tonsils may allow a great deal of poisonous toxin to get into the blood and eventually reach the kidneys. And these toxins can be so strong that they cause an inflammation of the kidneys. Also, every once in a while, germs will travel through the blood to the kidneys, where they will cause an infection.! And, sometimes, an infection of th bladder may travel up the ureters (the tubes connecting the kidneys and the bladder) and cause a kidney infection.
The kidneys and bladder are parts of the body’s waste-disposal system, and so when we have a kidney infection, we often have an infected bladder, too. The way to get over a kidney infection is to stay in bed, drink plenty of water and other liquids, and take the antibiotic or other medicines the doctor prescribes.
An inflammation or infection of the kidneys can usually be diagnosed because the child has a high fever, a pain in his back under his ribs where t. kidneys are located, and he is tender when the doctor touches the kidneys during his examination. Also, when the doctor examines the urine, he finds pus or other cells which show that the kidneys are inflamed. In order to get over a kidney inflammation or infection, a child must do following:
-
1. Stay in bed.
2. Drink the proper amounts of fluids that the doctor tells him to drink.
3. Take antibiotic medicines or other medicines that the doctor prescribes.
In most cases, a kidney infection will get well without too much trouble, but some of the inflammations caused by toxins may take a long time to get over. Often, when the kidneys are infected, the bladder also becomes infected. That is quite natural as the urine, containing germs, travels from the kidneys down to the bladder. It is easy to know when children have bladder infections. Here’s what happens in most cases:
-
1. There is a desire to urinate much more often than usual. Sometimes, a child wants to go every hour, or even more often than that.
2. The urine may burn as it passes out of the body.
3. Even though the child has finished urinating, he or she still feels like doing more.
4. There may be a fever, and the child may perspire a great deal.
5. The urine, instead of being clear, looks cloudy. That’s because it contains germs and pus cells.
Luckily, almost all bladder infections can be cleared up quickly if the child stays in bed, drinks large amounts of liquids, and takes the antibiotic medication that the doctor tells him to take. But even after the bladder is all better, it is important to drink lots of water for several weeks afterward. That will prevent the infection from coming back.
Tags: bladder, Bladder Infections, Kidney, kidneys, ureters, urethra, urinary