Top 10 Signs You May Have Kidney Disease and Treat a Kidney Infection at Home

There are a number of physical signs of kidney disease, but sometimes people attribute them to other conditions. Also, those with kidney disease tend not to experience symptoms until the very late stages, when the kidneys are failing or when there are large amounts of protein in the urine. This is one of the reasons why only 10% of people with chronic kidney disease know that they have it.

While the only way to know for sure if you have kidney disease is to get tested. If you’re at risk for kidney disease due to high blood pressure, diabetes, a family history of kidney failure or if you’re older than age 60, it’s important to get tested annually for kidney disease. Be sure to mention any symptoms you’re experiencing to your healthcare practitioner.

Signs of Kidney Disease

1. You're more tired, have less energy, or are having trouble concentrating. A severe decrease in kidney function can lead to a buildup of toxins and impurities in the blood. This can cause people to feel tired, weak and can make it hard to concentrate. Another complication of kidney disease is anemia, which can cause weakness and fatigue.

2. You're having trouble sleeping. When the kidneys aren't filtering properly, toxins stay in the blood rather than leaving the body through the urine. This can make it difficult to sleep. There is also a link between obesity and chronic kidney disease, and sleep apnea is more common in those with chronic kidney disease, compared with the general population.

3. You have dry and itchy skin. Healthy kidneys do many important jobs. They remove wastes and extra fluid from your body, help make red blood cells, help keep bones strong and work to maintain the right amount of minerals in your blood. Dry and itchy skin can be a sign of the mineral and bone disease that often accompanies advanced kidney disease, when the kidneys are no longer able to keep the right balance of minerals and nutrients in your blood.

4. You feel the need to urinate more often. If you feel the need to urinate more often, especially at night, this can be a sign of kidney disease. When the kidneys filters are damaged, it can cause an increase in the urge to urinate. Sometimes this can also be a sign of a urinary infection or enlarged prostate in men.

5. You see blood in your urine. Healthy kidneys typically keep the blood cells in the body when filtering wastes from the blood to create urine, but when the kidney's filters have been damaged, these blood cells can start to "leak" out into the urine. In addition to signaling kidney disease, blood in the urine can be indicative of tumors, kidney stones or an infection.

6. Your urine is foamy. Excessive bubbles in the urine – especially those that require you to flush several times before they go away—indicate protein in the urine. This foam may look like the foam you see when scrambling eggs, as the common protein found in urine, albumin, is the same protein that is found in eggs.

7. You're experiencing persistent puffiness around your eyes. Protein in the urine is an early sign that the kidneys’ filters have been damaged, allowing protein to leak into the urine. This puffiness around your eyes can be due to the fact that your kidneys are leaking a large amount of protein in the urine, rather than keeping it in the body.

8. Your ankles and feet are swollen. Decreased kidney function can lead to sodium retention, causing swelling in your feet and ankles. Swelling in the lower extremities can also be a sign of heart disease, liver disease and chronic leg vein problems.

9. You have a poor appetite. This is a very general symptom, but a buildup of toxins resulting from reduced kidney function can be one of the causes.

10. Your muscles are cramping. Electrolyte imbalances can result from impaired kidney function. For example, low calcium levels and poorly controlled phosphorus may contribute to muscle cramping.

A kidney infection is a serious medical condition that requires prompt treatment. These infections often start as a urinary tract infection (UTI) or a bladder infection and then spread to affect one or both kidneys.

Symptoms may include:

• fever

• chills

• back or side pain

• groin pain

• abdominal pain

• nausea and vomiting

• frequent urination

• urine that’s cloudy, smells bad, or contains blood

You may be able to use home remedies together with your prescribed medical treatment to ease some symptoms and improve kidney health, but you shouldn’t try to treat yourself alone. Always go to a doctor first, for diagnosis and to discuss treatment options.

UTIs are uncomfortable, but they’re not an immediate medical emergency. Some people make the mistake of assuming the same is true with a kidney infection.

Kidney infections are serious conditions, and they do require medical attention. Untreated, a kidney infection can quickly cause long-term kidney damage or kidney scarring. These infections can also cause sepsis, which can lead to shock.

Because of this, a kidney infection can be fatal if it progresses. It’s important to have it treated immediately by a healthcare professional.

Note that kidney stones, if untreated, can also cause a blockage that can lead to pyelonephritis and sepsis. This may require a procedure done with intravenous antibiotics by a urologist.

Medical treatment for kidney infections

Antibiotics are always the first line of defense against a kidney infection. If the kidney infection isn’t severe, a doctor will likely give you oral antibiotics to take once or twice a day for 10 to 14 days.

It’s important to take the entire course of antibiotics, even if you feel better within several days, as stopping early could lead to antibiotic resistance or re-infection. A doctor will also encourage you to drink plenty of water.

In some cases, kidney infections may require admission to the hospital. You’ll be given fluids and antibiotics intravenously through an IV, both of which can help treat the infection.

In addition, lab work and imaging may be done to determine the severity of infection as well as the cause, such as a blockage due to a kidney stone or anatomical abnormality.

If you have recurring UTIs that increase your risk of frequent kidney infections, a doctor will help you establish the cause of their frequency and help you prevent further infections from occurring.

Some people prefer to treat medical conditions with home remedies or alternative remedies.

Because of how serious kidney infections are, it’s important that you don’t rely on home remedies. Instead, take the prescription antibiotics a doctor gives you and use home remedies to help ease symptoms or pain. You can also use home remedies to avoid UTIs and improve kidney function.

1. Drink lots of water

Drinking plenty of water can help flush bacteria from the body, helping eliminate the infection faster. It can also help clear out the entire urinary system.

Drinking plenty of water can also help prevent UTIs that can lead to kidney infections, so it’s a good practice to keep. Aim to drink at least eight glasses of fluids daily.

2. Drink cranberry juice

Cranberry juice has long been used as a remedy for UTIs and bladder infections. There’s some evidence that drinking cranberry juice may help or prevent UTIs in some people.

Many people prefer the sweet flavor of cranberry juice to water, helping them drink more. However, cranberry juices full of added sweeteners aren’t great for you. A cranberry supplement or pure cranberry juice is a better alternative to get the benefits of cranberries.

3. Avoid alcohol and coffee

The kidneys’ most important role is to filter out harmful substances and toxins, and both alcohol and caffeine can require extra work from the kidneys. This may hinder the process of healing from an infection. Alcohol and antibiotics also shouldn’t be mixed, so avoid alcohol during your treatment for this reason as well.

4. Take probiotics

Probiotics have two big benefits when it comes to treating kidney infections. The first is that they’ll help keep your body’s healthy bacteria in check, even though the antibiotics may get rid of both “good” and “bad” bacteria.

There’s also evidenceTrusted Source that probiotics can aid in decreasing antibiotic-associated diarrhea in patients.

5. Get some vitamin C

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect tissues in the body from oxidative stress, which can help promote kidney health.

There’s also older animal-based research that shows that vitamin C can prevent kidney scarring during acute kidney infection and boost the enzymes within the kidneys.

You can take vitamin C supplements or eat foods dense in this nutrient.

6. Try parsley juice

Parsley juice is a nutrient-dense diuretic that can increase the frequency and amount of urination. This can help flush out the bacteria in the kidneys faster, making antibiotics even more effective.

If you don’t like the taste of parsley outright, you can mix it into a smoothie with strong-flavored fruits, including cranberries or blueberries for best results.

7. Consume apples and apple juice

Apples are also nutrient-dense. Their high acid content may help the kidneys maintain acidity in the urine, possibly inhibiting further growth of bacteria.

They also have anti-inflammatory properties, which may be beneficial in helping the kidneys heal following the infection.

8. Take an Epsom salt bath

Both Epsom salts and warm water can ease pain. This can help make the uncomfortable side effects of the kidney infection a little more tolerable while you wait for the antibiotics to take effect.

Since abdominal pain is sometimes a symptom of antibiotics, as well as kidney infections, Epsom salts could also help even after symptoms from the kidney infection are resolved.

9. Use nonaspirin pain relievers

Nonaspirin pain relievers can help relieve discomfort. Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) and acetaminophen (Tylenol) can also help break fevers caused by the infection.

However, note that if you have kidney dysfunction, or acute kidney injury, as a result of a kidney infection, it’s important to avoid nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) and naproxen (Aleve).

10. Apply heat

While you wait for the antibiotics to kick in, you can use heat therapy to reduce pain. Apply a heating pad or hot water bottle to the affected area, and keep it on for about 20 minutes at a time.