Pyelonephritis: Life threatening disease, says doctor

Dr Simon Abraham, a medical practitioner, has described pyelonephritis as a life threatening disease that could permanently damage the kidney.
Abraham said on Wednesday in Abuja that the disease was a severe kidney infection which could cause the kidney to swell, resulting to permanent damage of the organ.
He said that an acute pyelonephritis was a sudden and severe kidney infection, which caused the kidneys to swell and may permanently damage them.
According to him, women are more prone to kidney infections and puts at a higher risk of acute pyelonephritis.
Other people who are at increased risk include anyone with chronic kidney stones or other kidney or bladder conditions.
According to him, when repeated or persistent attacks occur, the condition is called chronic pyelonephritis.
However, he noted that the chronic form was rare, but it happens more often in children or people with urinary obstruction
He said that the symptoms often appeared within two days of infection which include high fever, pain in the abdomen, cloudy urine, smelling urine, fatigue, moist skin and mental confusion
He also explained that symptoms could be different in children and older adults than they were in other people.
According to him, mental confusion is common in older adults and is often their only symptom.
Abraham stated that people with chronic pyelonephritis could experience only mild symptoms or lack noticeable symptoms altogether.
According to him, bacteria enter the body through the urethra and begin to multiply and spread up to the bladder and from there, the bacteria travel through the ureters to the kidneys.
The medical practitioner however stated that serious infection in the bloodstream could also spread to the kidneys and cause acute pyelonephritis.
“Any problem that interrupts the normal flow of urine causes a greater risk of acute pyelonephritis,” he said.
He noted that a urinary tract that was an unusual size or shape would likely lead to acute pyelonephritis.
He disclosed that women’s urethras were much shorter than men’s, hence it was easier for bacteria to enter their bodies.