Simple Kidney Cyst Feels Like Urinary Tract Infection

Most simple kidney cysts have no obvious symptoms and in most cases they are found by accident while taking health examination or imaging examinations done for other illness conditions.

However in some cases, for example cyst bleeding, cyst infection or urinary tract obstruction due to oppression of too large cysts, patients will fell back pain, lower abdomen pain, fever, chill, nausea, vomiting, renal colic and blood in urine, etc.

Since these symptoms are very like that of urinary tract infections, many people just think these discomforts are due to urinary tract infections and very few people will think that they have cysts forming in their kidneys especially for women because they are more susceptible to frequent urinary tract infections compared with men.

Another reason is that kidney cysts are easy to cause urinary tract infections in patients when cysts oppress the ureteral or calyces and cause hydronephrosis and secondary infections. In case of the complication of urinary tract infections, there will be back pain, fever, frequent urination, urinary urgency and other typical symptoms of UTI. Therefore in some cases kidney cysts will be neglected and it can only be detected while taking B ultrasound, CT scan and other imaging tests.

Therefore if there is recurrent urinary tract infections or if the symptoms and discomforts can not be alleviated after taking antibiotics and other medicines, B ultrasound is recommended to make clear if there is kidney cysts or kidney stones. B ultrasound should be preferred because it is simple, safe and causes no additional traumas to the renal tissues. And abdominal CT scan can help make clear the property of the cysts if necessary.

The following are the common and typical symptoms and signs of simple kidney cysts which often make patients feel like urinary tract infections.

Back pain, lower abdominal pain

Urinary urgency, urinary frequency, urinary pain

Blood in urine

Fever, headache

Nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite

In case of the above mentioned symptoms and discomforts, go for an ultrasound which is very simple and effective for making clear the exact cause and can provide valuable guidance for more effective and targeted treatment. Treatments for kidney cysts should focus on not only alleviating the symptoms but also controlling the growth rate of the cysts.