What Is Pyelonephritis?
4. How Is a Kidney Infection Different than a UTI?
The difference is mainly in the location. When most people refer to a urinary tract infection, they mean an infection in either the urethra or the bladder. A UTI may occur with burning urination and lower abdominal or pelvic pain, or there may be no symptoms at all. If you have any doubt, contact your doctor for a painless UTI test.
The kidneys are actually part of the urinary tract, so technically a kidney infection is a UTI, but pyelonephritis is the term used to distinguish the two. A kidney infection, unlike a lower UTI, can be very serious and even deadly.
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