Celebrity health: Mary-Kate Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen knows the pains of a kidney infection
Monday November 26 2007
Celebrity twin Mary-Kate Olsen has been taken to hospital after developing a kidney infection.
While the condition isn't life threatening, it is extremely painful and is expected to see Olsen, an actress-turned-fashion impresario, out of action for several months.
A kidney infection is a form of urinary tract infection that originates in the urethra or bladder and subsequently travels up the kidneys. In addition to being extremely uncomfortable, the condition can cause longer-term health problems: it can permanently damage the kidneys and, if it spreads to the blood, result in a life-threatening infection. In this case, urgent medical attention is recommended. Assuming Olsen's infection doesn't become immediately life threatening, doctors will probably treat her with regular antibiotics.
Kidney infections are serious because the kidneys are one of the body's most vital organs. Not only do they filter waste from the blood, they also conserve and excrete water from the body. Urine is produced when this water is broken down.
Normally, a kidney infection starts after bacteria access the urinary tract via the urethra and begin to multiply. In very rare cases, however, the presence of a foreign body, such as an artificial joint or heart valve, may lead to infection. Kidney infections have been known to develop following surgery.
How can you tell you've got a bladder infection? There are many giveaways. These include frequent urination, a burning sensation when passing water, abdominal cramps, the need to go to the bathroom at night, persistent groin pains and fever.
In severe cases, the tell-tale signs are even more ominous: night sweats, vomiting, fatigue and a soaring temperature. Older people may also exhibit signs of mental confusion.
Certain factors may leave you at greater risk of kidney infection.
Women, for instance, are more likely to develop the condition. That's because, in females, the urethra is shorter than in the male. Consequently, bacteria have a shorter distance to travel before reaching the bladder. Once in the bladder, the infection is liable to spread to the kidneys.
People with weakened immune systems -- such as those with HIV or cancer -- are also at greater risk. Drugs taken to stop the rejection of organ transplants can have a similar effect. Likewise, if you've developed kidney stones or, in men, an enlarged prostate gland, you may be in danger of coming down with kidney infection.
- Rowena Walsh
