Symptoms of a kidney infection

Most people who have a kidney infection will have two or more of the following symptoms. Each symptom can range from mild to severe.

• Pain in the back just below the rib cage on one side of the body (flank pain). Flank pain occurs when a kidney is inflamed.
• Fever or chills
• Nausea or vomiting
• Burning pain with urination
• A frequent urge to urinate without being able to pass much urine (frequency)
• Cloudy urine
• Abdominal pain

The kidneys filter waste products from your blood and produce urine. Normally, urine is sterile, which means it does not contain bacteria. However, bacteria that are normally present in the digestive tract may cause infection if they enter the urinary tract and travel to the kidneys. When a kidney infection occurs, usually only one kidney is infected.

Call your health professional if you have symptoms of a kidney infection.