What is the Difference Between Kidney Infection and Kidney Stone

The kidneys are responsible for maintaining the body’s pH balance, regulating salt and potassium, and other essential functions. Various kidney conditions can disrupt their normal function, including kidney cancer, acute and chronic kidney injury, pyelonephritis, and more.

The difference between kidney infection and kidney stone is their etiologies. Kidney infection is a type of urinary tract infection caused by bacteria, while kidney stone is a collection of salt and minerals that harden and turn into a stone in the kidneys.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Kidney Infection  
3. What is Kidney Stone
4. Similarities – Kidney Infection and Kidney Stone
5. Kidney Infection vs Kidney Stone in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Kidney Infection vs Kidney Stone
7. FAQ – Kidney Infection and Kidney Stone

What is Kidney Infection?

Kidney infection is a painful and unpleasant kidney illness. It is usually caused by cystitis or infection of the bladder. The symptoms of this condition may include feverish, shivery, sickness, pain in the back or side, needing to urinate suddenly or more often than usual, pain or burning sensation when urinating, smelly or cloudy urine, and blood in the urine.

Kidney infection can be diagnosed through physical examination, culturing in the lab, ultrasound, CT scan, and X-ray. Furthermore, kidney infections can be treated through antibiotics and surgery to repair structural problems.

What is a Kidney Stone?

Kidney stones are due to the formation of solid masses or crystals from substances such as minerals, acids, and salts in the kidneys. The symptoms of this condition may include flank pain in the lower back, belly, or side, nausea and vomiting, bloody pee, inability to urine, feeling the urge to urinate a lot, fever or chills, cloudy or foul-smelling urine, and smelling urine. Kidney stones are caused by too many substances, such as calcium, sodium, oxalate, and uric acid. Furthermore, too little liquid can lead to stick together of these substances, forming stones.

Kidney stone is dignosed through physical examination, urine test, X-rays, CT scans and blood tests. Furthermore, kidney stone can be treated through relaxing ureter to help stone pass by using medications like tamsulosin, nifedipine,, managing pain like pain relievers, shockwave lithotripsy, ureteroscopy, percutaneous neprolithotomy and laparoscopic surgery.

Similarities Between Kidney Infection and Kidney Stone

1. Kidney infections and kidney stones have different aetiologies.
2. Both share some common symptoms.
3. Both can be diagnosed through physical symptoms evaluation and Imaging testing.
4. They can be treated through specific medications and surgeries.

Difference Between Kidney Infection and Kidney Stone

Definition

a. Kidney infection is a painful and unpleasant kidney illness usually caused by cystitis or infection of the bladder.
b. Kidney stone is due to the formation of solid masses or crystals from substances such as minerals, acids, and salts in the kidneys.

Causes

a. Kidney infection is often caused by bacteria.
b. Kidney stones form when substances like calcium, sodium, oxalate, and uric acid are present in high concentrations, combined with insufficient fluid intake, leading to the aggregation of these substances into stones.

Symptoms

a. Symptoms of kidney infection include fever, chills, nausea, back or side pain, frequent or urgent urination, painful urination, cloudy or bloody urine.
b. Symptoms of kidney stones include flank pain in the lower back, abdomen, or side, nausea, vomiting, blood in the urine, difficulty urinating, frequent urge to urinate, fever, chills, and cloudy or foul-smelling urine.

Diagnosis

a. Diagnosis of kidney infection involves physical examination, urine culture, ultrasound, CT scan, and X-ray.
b. Diagnosis of kidney stones includes physical examination, urine test, X-rays, CT scans, and blood tests.

Treatment

a. Treatment for kidney infection typically involves antibiotics and surgery to repair structural problems.
b. Treatment for kidney stones may include medications to relax the ureter and manage symptoms such as nausea and pain, shockwave lithotripsy, ureteroscopy, percutaneous nephrolithotomy, or laparoscopic surgery.

The infographic below presents the differences between kidney infection and kidney stone in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Kidney Infection vs Kidney Stone

Different kidney conditions, such as kidney infection and kidney stones, affect kidney function. Both these conditions share some common symptoms. However, a kidney infection is a type of urinary tract infection due to bacteria, while a kidney stone is a collection of salt and minerals that harden and turn into a stone in the kidneys. So, this summarizes the difference between kidney infection and kidney stone.

FAQ: Kidney Infection and Kidney Stone

1.  What are the warning signs of a kidney infection?

• The warning signs may include fever, chills, a burning feeling or pain while urinating, having to urinate often, a strong, lasting urge to urinate, back, side, or groin pain, nausea, vomiting, pus or blood in the urine, etc.

2. What can cause kidney infection?

• A kidney infection normally happens when bacteria such as E. coli get into the urethra and travel up through the bladder and ultimately into the kidneys.

3. Will a kidney infection go away on its own?

• For some people, lower urinary tract infections can go away on their own, but kidney infections can lead to serious complications such as pyelonephritis if left untreated. So, for many people with this condition, healthcare providers may prescribe antibiotics.

4. What is kidney stone pain like?

• Kidney stones often may cause a sharp, cramping pain in the back and side. This feeling may move to the lower abdomen or groin. This pain often starts suddenly and comes in waves. These sensations may change when kidney stones make their way through the body.

5. What is the best treatment for kidney stones?

• The healthcare provider may recommend a procedure called extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). ESWL uses sound waves to create strong vibrations or shock waves that break the stones into tiny pieces that can be passed in the urine.

Reference:

1. “Overview -Kidney Infection.” NHS Choices, NHS.
2. “What Are Kidney Stones?” Cleveland Clinic.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Kidney stone 1” By User:Михајло Анђелковић – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Depiction of a man suffering from a Kidney Infection” By MyUpchar (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia