March is National Kidney Month Carolyn McClain is medical director of The Urgency Room in Woodbury

March is National Kidney Month and a good time to consider the importance of your kidneys. For example, did you know…

·         Kidney disease is the 9th leading cause of death in the country.

·         More than 26 million Americans have kidney disease and most of them don’t know it!

·         There are more than 95,000 people waiting for kidney transplants.

·         More than 590,000 people in the US have kidney failure today.

What Do Our Kidneys Do?

Your kidneys are two, fist-sized organs in your lower back. They do many things like filter waste out of 200 liters of blood each day. The kidneys are also responsible for directing red blood cell production, balancing fluids in the body, releasing hormones that regulate blood pressure, regulating salt potassium and acid content in our body and removing drugs from our system, among other things.

What Is Chronic Kidney Disease?

Chronic kidney disease is defined as having some type of kidney abnormality, such as protein in the urine and having decreased kidney function for three months or longer.

There are many causes of chronic kidney disease, like diabetes and high blood pressure. Some kidney conditions are also inherited or run in families.

Kidney Infection vs. Urinary Tract Infection vs. Bladder Infection

Are you confused? Don’t worry. It’s hard to keep it all straight, especially because symptoms from these infections can cross over. It’s not uncommon for someone experiencing a kidney infection, to think they have a bladder infection. Many urinary tract infection sufferers suspect a bladder infection. And, to confuse you even more, a bladder infection is in fact a type of urinary tract infection. Perhaps these similarities contribute to all the confusion.

We see patients with all of these infections regularly at The Urgency Room in Woodbury. Here’s how to differentiate between the three and how to know when it’s time to seek help immediately:

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

Your urinary tract is the system that makes urine and carries it out of your body. This system includes your bladder and kidneys and the tubes that connect them. When germs get into this system, they can cause an infection. Symptoms include

• Pain or burning when you urinate
• Urge to urinate often, but not much urine comes out when you do
• Tender belly
• Urine is cloudy or smells bad
• Fever, chills and or nausea and vomiting

Treatment for a UTI

Antibiotics will usually cure a bladder infection. It may help to drink lots of water and other fluids and to urinate often, emptying your bladder each time.

Bladder Infection

Many times, people confuse (UTIs) with bladder infections. Your bladder is a part of your urinary tract. This means that a bladder infection is a type of UTI. More specifically, a bladder infection is a UTI of the lower part of your urinary tract. Bacteria such as E. coli or staphylococcus saprophyticus make their way into the bladder and settle, causing infection. Like upper UTIs, bladder infections are treated with antibiotics.

A bladder infection usually is not serious if it is treated right away. If you do not take care of a bladder infection, it can spread to your kidneys. A kidney infection is serious and can cause permanent damage.

Kidney Infection

A kidney infection requires prompt medical attention. If not treated properly, a kidney infection can permanently damage your kidneys or the bacteria can spread to your bloodstream and cause a life-threatening infection.

Many kidney infections start as a UTI. However, once the infection has spread to the kidney, the symptoms point to a more serious illness and include:

• Back pain
• Fever and/or chills
• Feeling sick (malaise)
• Nausea and vomiting
• Confusion (especially in the elderly)
• Blood in the urine (hematuria)

• Cloudy or foul-smelling urine
• Pain when urinating
• Increased frequency or urgency of urination

Kidney infection treatment usually includes antibiotics and often requires hospitalization in some cases, so antibiotics can be delivered intravenously to ensure that the medicine is reaching the kidneys.

A better understanding of the function and importance or your kidneys is a great way to participate in National Kidney Month. For more information about kidney health, please visit http://www.kidney.org/

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