Question

In a 400-600 word answer, properly cited with an APA-formatted reference list and in-text citations, please answer the following questions. In addition to the researched facts you present as your answer, you may provide opinions and real-world experiences where appropriate.

Scenario: You are a physician’s assistant at a local medical practice. You noticed that some of your patients could benefit from additional educational materials, especially to be given after their appointment or made available on your practice’s website. Your colleagues could benefit from reading this information and may also find it helpful to have on hand in case a patient poses similar questions to them in the future.

-Choose a single pathogen or health topic related to infection and research medical facts about the condition and current medical recommendations. In planning your answer,

-Select a relationship of the author with the audience. Examples include: doctor to patient, nurse educator to other nurses, or counselor to family members of a patient.

-Provide an informational brochure or blog post in the form of a Q&A or an expert advice column. Include five (5) or more original questions. The answers should be original, factual, and provide relevant information for the audience.

-Assume your target audience is not familiar with the material but would have a keen interest in learning more.

Your complete Q&A should include at least five individual questions with complete answers. Clearly identify the question and answer (e.g., “Q:” before the question) and go into detail in each answer. You may advise the reader to read more elsewhere, but first be sure each question in your submission has a thorough, informational answer.

Answer 1

Kidneys are the main excretory organs of humans. They extract waste from blood, balance body fluids by regulating ion concentration, regulate pH and even produce hormones. Any damage to the kidneys results in slow progression towards the failure of othe body organs. Kidney diseases can occur due to different causes but bacterial infections are one of the prime reasons.

Kidney infections occur by bacteria spreading out from elsewhere in the urinary tract, into the kidneys. Many a times, urinary tract infections by bacteria lead to pyelonephritis which is extremely serious. If the bacteria in the lower parts of the urinary tract are not killed, they make their way into the kidneys. The real concern with kidney infections is that the symptoms do not appear until a major part, about 70% to 80%, of both the kidneys is damaged. So, any symptom, however slight it might be, should not be ignored and a specialist should be consulted immediately.

A doctor can ask the following questions to his patients to come to a conclusion that it could be an infection of the kidneys-

Q.- Do you experience a constant, nagging pain in your lower back, sides or the groin ?

Ans- I do. But how does it concern to my problem ? I have a constant urge to urinate and get a terrible burning sensation after that. The pain has started recently and I think it is because I have been exerting myself recently.

Q.- Did you have a urinary tract infection recently ?

Ans.- I've been having urinary tract infections off and on in recent years. Generally, it goes off by itself after I increase my water intake and take some home remedies like cranberry juice.

Q.- Did you take any medications, like antibiotics, for your infection? Do you realize that frequent urinary tract infections can cause damage to your kidneys ?

Ans- Well... I did not take it so seriously because it would subside by itself. Do I need to worry ?

Q. - Have you noticed any change any change in your urine, like color or a foul smell ?

Ans- Well..Yes. The urine appears darker ...sort of reddish in color and has a strange, unpleasant smell. Sometimes, it pains while I pass urine.

Q.- Do you also get fever ?

Ans - Yes, recently I have been getting fever along with chills. Also, I get a tendency to vomit too. What does all this mean, doctor ?

Q- I think, we will have to go for further investigations and some tests need to be performed before we can arrive to a diagnosis. The symptoms you present point to a likely infection of the kidneys. We need to test for the extent of damage caused so that the course of treatment can be charted.

Ans- Doctor, all this sounds quite scary. Is there a cure for kidney infections? How do I deal with all this ?

Q- Why did you neglect your symptoms for so long ? However, the good news is that kidney infections are treatable but it's all about how soon you seek treatment once the symptoms begin to appear. Let's hope that we have a fair chance of treatment and complete cure.

Kidney infections do not go on their own. As soon as a person experiences symptoms like back pain, frequent urination, fever and chills, no time should be wasted and medical attention should be sought.

Once the infection is confirmed, doctors prescribe oral antibiotics or maybe even IV antibiotics, depending on the case. After the symptoms have gone, urine culture is done again to see whether the infection has gone or not. If the tests show that the infection is persisting, doctors will put the patient on another course of antibiotics and maybe for a linger time.

As the old saying goes 'Prevention is better than cure', so bladder infections should not be taken lightly and treated at the onset before it reaches the kidneys. So, this is a disease which can be caught earlier and treated before it becomes a threat to life.