The symptoms of a kidney infection usually develop quite quickly over a few hours or days.
Common symptoms of kidney infection
Common symptoms include:
- pain and discomfort in your side, lower back or around your genitals
- high temperature - 38 degrees Celsius or above, it may reach 39.5 degrees Celsius
- shivering or chills
- feeling very weak or tired
- loss of appetite
- feeling sick or being sick
- diarrhoea
In older people, a kidney infection may cause confusion.
Other symptoms
You may have other symptoms if you also have a urinary tract infection (UTI) such as cystitis.
These may include:
- pain or a burning sensation when you pee
- a need to pee suddenly or more often than usual
- blood in your pee
- smelly or cloudy pee
- pain in your lower tummy
- pain in your genitals
Non-urgent advice: Contact your GP if you:
- feel feverish and have pain in your tummy, lower back or genitals that does not go away
- have symptoms of a UTI that do not improve after a few days
- have blood in your pee
Symptoms of kidney infection in children
Children with a kidney infection may:
- have smelly pee
- have blood in their pee
- wet the bed
- feel unwell with a high temperature
- have a tummy ache
- vomit
Children younger than 2 years may only have a high temperature and no other obvious symptoms.
Urgent advice: Contact your GP immediately if:
- you think your child may have a kidney infection
Content supplied by the NHS and adapted for Ireland by the HSE
