“What medications help with kidney infections?”

Before I answer, we have to be clear that you mean a kidney infection and not a bladder infection. Kidney infections typically come with a fever because about 25% of the circulating blood is in the kidneys. A urinary tract infection with fever is typically in the kidneys and is called a pyelonephritis. Many of kidney infections are caused by bacteria and need antibiotics. Your doctor will get a urine sample for a urinalysis and for a urine culture to determine what is the best antibiotic. Your doctor may also choose to get some blood tests to make sure that your kidney function is not compromised and to get a blood culture and some tests to make sure that the infection has not gone into your blood. The urine culture takes 24-48 hours. In the meantime, your doctor needs to treat the infection without knowing what bacteria caused it. This will be based on epidemiological data and your past medical history. If you have a chronic bladder problem like with spina bifida and had multiple infections before, it may have to be a very strong antibiotic to be given intravenously because the bacteria may be resistant to the commonly used antibiotics. The prescription may change once the culture and the sensitivities are available. You will need a doctors prescription for this. There are no natural remedies that eradicate the bacteria from your kidneys. Also, the longer it is untreated, the higher the risk for scaring and losing a lot of your kidney filters, which cannot be made new after 34-36 weeks of gestation. Occasionally, the infection can be by other organisms such as yeasts, especially when long-term antibiotics were used. Very rarely, some atypical pathogens such as tuberculosis can cause a kidney infection. The treatment would be specific to the pathogen and the sensitivities of the pathogen. Hope this helps. Don't consider alternative medicine for a true pyelonephritis. Guido Filler, MD, PhD, FRCPC Professor of Paediatrics, Medicine, and Pathology&Laboratory Medicine Western University Children's Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre