Lifestyle and home remedies

To reduce discomfort while you recover from a kidney infection, you might:

• Apply heat. Place a heating pad on your abdomen, back or side to ease pain.
• Use pain medicine. For fever or discomfort, take a nonaspirin pain reliever such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Motrin IB, Advil, others).
• Stay hydrated. Drinking fluids will help flush bacteria from your urinary tract. Avoid coffee and alcohol until your infection has cleared. These products can worsen the feeling of needing to urinate.