Signs and Symptoms of UTI

Symptoms of UTI in young children include the following:

• Diarrhea
• Excessive crying that cannot be resolved by typical measures (e.g., feeding, holding)
• Loss of appetite
• Fever
• Nausea and vomiting

Older children may experience the following symptoms with UTI:

• Flank or lower back pain (with a kidney infection)
• Frequent urination
• Inability to produce more than a small amount of urine at a time
• Incontinence
• Pain in the abdomen or pelvic area
• Painful urination (dysuria)
• Urine that is cloudy or has an unusual smell

Symptoms of lower UTI (e.g., cystitis, urethritis) in adults include the following:

• Back pain
• Blood in the urine (hematuria)
• Cloudy urine
• Inability to urinate despite the urge
• Fever
• Frequent need to urinate
• Painful urination (dysuria)
• Malaise (general discomfort)

Symptoms that indicate upper UTI (e.g., pyelonephritis) in adults include the following:

• Chills
• High fever
• Nausea
• Pain below the ribs
• Vomiting

Complications

Hormonal changes and shifts in the urinary tract during pregnancy increase the risk for kidney infection. Prenatal care includes regular urine testing because bacteria are often present without causing symptoms and UTI during pregnancy may result in complications (e.g., premature birth, high blood pressure) for the mother and fetus. Diseases that suppress the immune system (e.g., HIV) and debilitating diseases (e.g., cancer, sickle cell anemia) increase the risk for UTIs and complications.