When should I be worried about kidney pain?
Fever and urinary symptoms often accompany kidney pain. Call your doctor for a same-day appointment if: You have constant, dull, one-sided pain in your back or side. You have fever, body aches and fatigue.
Kidney stones are one of the most common causes of kidney pain. Kidney stones happen when waste that builds up in your blood and sticks together in your kidneys to form clumps. Small kidney stones may move through your urinary tract and come out with your urine.
If you have kidney pain that doesn't go away, the first thing you should do is call your healthcare provider to schedule an appointment or go to the emergency room if you have symptoms such as uncontrolled pain, severe nausea or vomiting, fevers or chills, or an inability to pee.
Some people may describe it as a “stabbing” pain. The most common causes of kidney pain that radiates to the back are infections and kidney stones. A kidney infection may have started with a urinary tract infection (UTI). Kidney stones can cause a person to experience excruciating pain that feels like spasms.
Kidney infection.
Also called pyelonephritis, this infection could cause discomfort in one or both kidneys. You may feel pain in your back, in your side or both sides under your ribs, or in your groin. You'll also have a fever. Urinary tract infections also cause discomfort in this organ.
Typically, the pain fluctuates in severity but does not go away completely without treatment. Waves of severe pain, known as renal colic, usually last 20 to 60 minutes.
Severe dehydration can eventually build up waste in your kidneys, causing pain. This is why it's important to drink an adequate amount of water for your age, weight, and level of physical activity. A person who doesn't drink enough fluids over time may become dehydrated and eventually experience kidney pain.
Kidney pain is usually sharp if you have a kidney stone and a dull ache if you have an infection. Most often it will be constant. It won't get worse with movement or go away by itself without treatment. If you're passing a kidney stone, the pain may fluctuate as the stone moves.
Definition. Kidney pain — also called renal pain — refers to pain from disease or injury to a kidney. You might feel kidney pain or discomfort as a dull, one-sided ache in your upper abdomen, side or back. But pain in these areas is often unrelated to your kidneys.
- Nausea.
- Vomiting.
- Loss of appetite.
- Fatigue and weakness.
- Sleep problems.
- Urinating more or less.
- Decreased mental sharpness.
- Muscle cramps.
What does the beginning of a kidney infection feel like?
Symptoms of kidney infection
Symptoms of a kidney infection often come on within a few hours. You can feel feverish, shivery, sick and have a pain in your back or side. In addition to feeling unwell like this, you may also have symptoms of a urinary tract infection (UTI) such as cystitis.
Kidney pain can occur on one or both sides of the back just below the rib cage. Causes of kidney pain include UTIs, kidney stones, and blunt force trauma to the kidneys. Back pain can affect the entire back, but most people experience pain in the lower back.
Symptoms. In many people, kidney stones do not cause symptoms and pass during urination. Other people may have symptoms that include: Sharp, stabbing pain in the mid-back that may occur every few minutes and last from 20 minutes to one hour.
Kidney pain is usually sharp if you have a kidney stone and a dull ache if you have an infection. Most often it will be constant. It won't get worse with movement or go away by itself without treatment. If you're passing a kidney stone, the pain may fluctuate as the stone moves.
If treated promptly, a kidney infection shouldn't cause serious harm. If you experience a fever over 101°F, pain, are unable to drink or take oral medication along with some of the other symptoms, get to the nearest urgent care or ER.
Kidney stones are sometimes considered "the great mimicker" because their signs and symptoms are very similar to appendicitis, ovarian or testicular conditions, gastritis, and urinary tract infections.
Signs and symptoms of kidney stones can include severe pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills and blood in your urine.
If you have a larger kidney stone, it may get stuck in your urinary tract and block urine from getting through. You may notice symptoms, including: Pain while urinating (peeing) Blood in your urine (pee)
Stress and uncontrolled reactions to stress can also lead to kidney damage. As the blood filtering units of your body, your kidneys are prone to problems with blood circulation and blood vessels. High blood pressure and high blood sugar can place an additional strain or burden on your kidneys.
To check for a kidney infection, you may be asked to provide a urine sample to test for bacteria, blood or pus in your urine. Your health care provider might also take a blood sample for a culture. A culture is a lab test that checks for bacteria or other organisms in your blood.
How can I check my kidneys at home?
- Best blood sample test: LetsGetChecked Kidney Test.
- Best blood test for detailed results: Verisana Kidney Function Test.
- Best urine-based test: Healthy.io Minuteful Kidney.
- Best combination kit: Labcorp OnDemand Kidney Health Test Package.
A kidney infection is not to be taken lightly, and you should never ignore the symptoms. Left untreated, this type of infection can cause permanent damage to your kidneys and lead to other severe complications.
Signs and symptoms of acute kidney failure may include: Decreased urine output, although occasionally urine output remains normal. Fluid retention, causing swelling in your legs, ankles or feet. Shortness of breath.
CKD can be diagnosed using blood and urine tests. These tests look for high levels of certain substances in your blood and urine that are signs your kidneys aren't working properly.
- Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS)
- Alport syndrome.
- Amyloidosis.
- Cystinosis.
- Fabry disease.
- Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)
- Glomerulonephritis (glomerular disease)
- Goodpasture syndrome.
The symptoms of a kidney infection usually develop quite quickly over a few hours or days. Common symptoms include: pain and discomfort in your side, lower back or around your genitals. high temperature (it may reach 39.5C or 103.1F)
If it's a backache, a change of position may momentarily alleviate the pain. With kidney stones, the pain won't disappear when you move, and some positions may even make it worse.
To find out if you have a kidney infection, doctors may do tests such as: Urine tests to look for bacteria or other signs of infection, such as white blood cells, in your urine. Blood tests. Imaging tests to look at your kidneys, such as an X-ray, ultrasound or CT scan.
A kidney infection, also called pyelonephritis, is when bacteria or viruses cause problems in one or both of your kidneys. It's a type of urinary tract infection (UTI). Your kidneys' main job is to remove waste and take extra water from your blood.
Nephritis (kidney inflammation) is most often caused by autoimmune diseases that affect major organs, although it can also result from infection. Nephritis can cause excessive amounts of protein to be excreted in urine, and fluid to build up in the body.
How painful is kidney infection pain?
Generally speaking, the symptoms of a kidney infection tend to come on over a period of several hours to a day. The symptoms may include: Pain. This is often a dull, aching type of pain that most commonly affects the back, side, or abdomen.
You should go to the hospital or seek medical attention for these kidney stone symptoms: A sharp pain in the side, back or lower abdomen. Pain when urinating. Blood in the urine (hematuria)
Over-the-counter pain medications, like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB), acetaminophen (Tylenol), or naproxen (Aleve), can help you endure the discomfort until the stones pass. Your doctor also may prescribe an alpha blocker, which relaxes the muscles in your ureter and helps pass stones quicker and with less pain.
If you do suspect a kidney stone, a trip to an emergency room is advisable, especially if you are experiencing intense, uncontrollable pain. At the hospital, doctors can make the diagnosis and provide treatment for an active kidney stone. Imaging such as x-rays, or a CT scan, will confirm if a stone is present.
Back pain red flags – Night Pain
Back pain that worsens at night or while you're sleeping might indicate something more severe like an infection or cancer. This is especially true if you also have other symptoms in addition to your back discomfort when you sleep or relax.
If left untreated, a kidney infection can lead to potentially serious complications, such as: Kidney scarring. This can lead to chronic kidney disease, high blood pressure and kidney failure.
- Extreme tiredness (fatigue).
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Confusion or trouble concentrating.
- Swelling (edema), particularly around your hands, ankles or face.
- Peeing more often.
- Cramps (muscle spasms).
- Dry or itchy skin.
A kidney infection is not to be taken lightly, and you should never ignore the symptoms. Left untreated, this type of infection can cause permanent damage to your kidneys and lead to other severe complications.
This condition is serious and requires prompt medical attention. If you develop symptoms of a kidney infection, go to an urgent care center or a hospital as soon as you can. While many kidney infections are very treatable with antibiotics, serious complications can happen if there's a delay in treatment.
You can feel feverish, shivery, sick and have a pain in your back or side. In addition to feeling unwell like this, you may also have symptoms of a urinary tract infection (UTI) such as cystitis. These include: needing to pee suddenly or more often than usual.
How does the ER check your kidneys?
In the emergency department (ED), it is common to obtain blood tests as part of a patient's evaluation. A routine part of this analysis is to check kidney function, and we do this by testing for levels of 'creatinine' (abbreviated as Cr).
To check for a kidney infection, you may be asked to provide a urine sample to test for bacteria, blood or pus in your urine. Your health care provider might also take a blood sample for a culture. A culture is a lab test that checks for bacteria or other organisms in your blood.
Dehydration. Not drinking enough water can cause pain in one or both kidneys. Water loss happens through sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, or too much urine.