How do I tell the difference between a bladder infection and a kidney infection?
When the bladder is infected the child feels like he or she has to urinate more often (frequency), they may have to pee ‘right away!’, they may complain that the urine burns or hurts when it is coming out. They may not be able to hold their urine and therefore leak urine. There may be a bad smell or cloudy appearance of the urine. Children who have a kidney infection usually feel quite sick with a high fever and pain in their back in addition to all the complaints that a child with a bladder infection may have. They may also loose their appetite or have pain in their abdomen. Kidney infections may start out as bladder infections that move up into the kidneys.
