Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Let's Talk Kidney Infections


With the recent hospitalization of Mary-Kate Olsen for a kidney infection, I kept asking myself how does one get a kidney infection if you are a woman? Well, I am glad I asked.

About 200,000 people in the US are admitted to hospitals annually for kidney infections and the vast majority are women.

According to WebMD, the most common reason for women under the age of 50 to get a kidney infection is if they have sex more than three times weekly or have been using lots of spermicide which would also seem to me to be a clue that maybe you were having sex frequently. Having sex more than 3 times weekly was found to increase the risk of kidney infections more than fivefold.

Most of the reasons for a young, not pregnant woman to get a kidney infection seem to be about frequent sex, or having a new sex partner. It can also be a result of diabetes or not being able to hold your pee.

With all the vast medical knowledge at my fingertips, I am going to lean towards favoring the theory that Mary-Kate has been getting some hot and heavy sex almost every night or is wearing Depends and we just didn't know it. I don't know how she would wear them without us noticing, so I am going with the sex thing. Now, if this were Ashley, then we could be saying things like, "I guess Lance Armstrong is giving her more than just a ride on a bike."

Get better Mary-Kate, and do click on the link above if you want to learn more about kidney infections and why having sex with multiple new partners can lead to more kidney infections.

36 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:11 PM

    Or Lance had some poopy bacteria on his unsheathed lance and someone got a urinary tract infection that went a little too far. She probably thought she was just getting her period again for the first time in years because she was so skinny.

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  2. El i just emailed you becasue i don't like this post one bit..its kinda insenstive to women who actually suffer from this.

    Just becaseu you get a kidney infection doesnt make you a slut.
    Please don't source WEBmd,they have been proven time and again that their info is about as reliable as Wikipedia.

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  3. lol..oh and ps that article you linked to is from 2005..a dinosaur in the medical field.

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  4. jax-

    I don't think EL is disrespecting women who get kidney infections. If you go by the article (and you certainly don't have to), it simply states that if a woman has sex more than three times a week she might be more prone to an infection. Having sex three or more times a week doesn't make a woman a slut. Nothing about that says slut. It just means she has an active sex/love life. In which case, more power to her.

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  5. Anonymous12:37 PM

    A good excuse for women to cut down on sex LOL.. Honey I have a headache LOL.

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  6. then why did he not link to a current article about the dangers of a kidney infection and how to avoid it rather than and independent study about the link between sex and kidney infections?
    He was sending a message that is you have lots of sex with more than one partner you could get a kidney infection. Which of course you can..but i've suffered for the last 10 years myself and not once was it ever linked to sex. Same goes for about 10 out of 15 women in our online support group. There is a lot doctors don't yet know about infections but what they do know has changed signifigantly since the article that El linked to.

    IMO

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  7. This is just more bullshit. UTI's (urinary tract infections) are generally caused by having a lot of sex, but that's not necessarily true with kidney infections. There could be any number of reasons for kidney infections - kidney stones, narrow pathways or blockage, a blood infection or something more serious.

    Geeze, this automatic jumping on things is really getting old. EL the less real scoops you have, the bitchier you get.

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  8. Another reason for a kidney infection is if a UTI (urinary tract infection) is left untreated and it moves to the kidneys. This actually happened to me. It was not from lots of sex. This also happened to another friend of mine too - same reason. Sometimes cranberry juice is not a cure all for a UTI. Might have happened to Mary-Kate. Also, a kidney infection is extremely painful.

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  9. Hmm. Well, one gets a urinary tract infection because of the e. coli creeping up from the rear. Literally. Those e. coli are covered in flagella, the same whip like structures found on sperm. We call them 'highly motile'. Why and how they find themselves there is the question. Lots of fuids allow a nice little conduit for them, also actually physically movement of them helps as well. Add a little heat and you have an e. coli disco. {insert music here} This little recipe can be found in a number of scenarios. One of them is sexual acivity. Why do women get them more often? They have a shorter distance to the bladder, well depending on the fella, but as a rule this applies. These same congo loving bacteria will continue up, and it is a way, up to the kidneys. One will be suffering a fever, pretty intense back pain to go along with the painful urination. Additionally, one can present with blood in their urine. What I am putting forth here is the most common form of u.t.i.'s. Are there additional causes? Sure. However, occam's razor shall apply to a young, apparently quite healthy young woman. She banged herself into it...

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  10. And just so you know, an untreated vaginal yeast infection* can also cause a kidney infection.

    *Vaginal yeast infections are not linked to having lots of sex, so don't even go there.

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  11. ...your e coli ref is ONE way to get it,not the same way everytime. many women present with symptoms and the culture comes back negative.

    so stick your tons of sex excuses.

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  12. ~sigh~ at least we are assuming she is getting sex!!! I'm married, I wish I could say the same. LOL

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  13. I don't know about that. Given what I know about yeast, I would have to disagree. And I did mention there are other bacterium that can cause infections. E.coli is the most common. If you would like TS, I can research it for you, if you would like.

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  14. Rare Avis, I get my information from sites like Mayo Clinic. I think they know what they're talking about.

    I don't mind gossip, but when it's based on nothing but someones twisted imagination, especially where young women are concerned, it really chaps my ass.

    Jolara, LMAO!!!

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  15. Girls, girls, girls. There are many ways to get a VYI--sex being one of them (friction). Got one once after spending hours in a pool--the chlorine, I guess. Not pleasant by any stretch of the imagination.

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  16. Princess Pea, you can get a vaginal yeast infection in a matter of hours with the right antibiotics, but that's not really the debate. The debate is how one gets a kidney infection. EL does sucky research for an attorney.

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  17. Twisted--you're absolutely right, Tetracycline (sp?) being one of the worst offenders.

    Not a doctor, but I think a kidney infection can occur when there are stones and/or gravel (which would cause fever, the passing of blood and tremendous pain). Not seeking medical help ASAP probably only exascerbates things.

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  18. Princess, YES, that's one of the WORST offenders is right.

    And you're not a doctor but you're right that a kidney infection can be a result of kidney stones. Maybe you should do some research for EL. ;-)

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  19. Aww, Twisted. I'm blushing. Thanks for the compliment.

    I know so many people who've had kidney stones/infections. My dad had three bouts with kidney stones--the third time he ended up hospitalized for five days, and it took a two tries before they successfully removed the stone(s). And he never complained.

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  20. my personal fav is Cipro..nothing like a bladder infection turning into bread.

    sick i just grossed myself out.

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  21. I am well into my masters, my concentration is microbiology. I am not an MD. Biochemistry is my thing. I just thought that I would give you my two cents. I would still like you to consider occam's razor. 'Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate'

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  22. Bladder infections are common in all women. Untreated bladder infections can turn into kidney infections. Nuns can get kidney infections. Even ones that don't have sex.

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  23. Jax wrote:
    "my personal fav is Cipro..nothing like a bladder infection turning into bread."


    Gross as that is, you've outdone yourself, Jax. LMAO!

    Rare Avis, I'll take your .02 any time, and I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at EL.

    Melody, I was going to write that about nuns, too, but was afraid I'd get comments about nuns that must be fucking.

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  24. the frequent sex/multiple partners thing causes BLADDER infection, not kidney!!!!!!!

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  25. You know....on second thought, I can't believe EL is really this stupid. I think he's using ghost writers, probably one of us, and they're this stupid. I especially don't think he wrote this blurb given the comment about having all this vast medical knowledge at his/her fingertips, when it's obvious NO research was really done.

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  26. ...or it could be a sign of kidney disease?
    i was a complete virgin (nobody believed me) and i had chronic kidney infections/stones. This is when I was 16-17.

    I then met my biological family (i'm adopted), my biomom has kidney disease. a couple years later, I had extreme complications with my pregnancy with my son. Turns out I have the same kidney disease as biomom. FSGS. www.nephcure.org

    Kidney disease doesn't get enough airtime. Oh, and I think diabetes could be a factor, also.

    Either way, Not fun. And I hope MK gets better soon. (just so you know, i'm not in anyway shape or form diagnosing ms olsen with kidney disease. i'm just saying that you don't have to be a slut to get kidney infections/utis)

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  27. Anonymous4:10 PM

    I'm gonna get gross here for a second...
    I had a kidney infection in my early twenties, and it was awful. Horribly painful and actually debilitating. I was mis-diagnosed twice because I had no symptoms of a bladder infection. The most common cause of a kidney infection is a bladder infection that has spread. The most common cause of a bladder infection is sexual contact (even masturbation), which spreads bacteria. This is why women are supposed to pee after sex. This is why we all run into the bathroom afterwards. It drives the bacteria out. And this is the case whtehr a condom is used or not.
    My doctors finally decided that my kidney infection was the result of a bladder infection (I was dating one guy and yes, we were having sex more than three times a week-nothing wrong with that) for which I showed no symptoms. They don't know why I showed no symptoms. It is true that some people are more prone to this than others. I have been more careful, and have not had another problem.

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  28. wow look at the controversy El..lol.

    286 poeple NOW dead from tasers!

    (that will not make sense to anybody but El..sorry)

    ps..ladies i hear ya ll on the nightmares of Kidney infections...i never get sypmtoms until its too late.

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  29. OK, well i'm gonna be honest here and say i developed a kidney infection a few years ago now when Cooper's daddy and i had just met and we were still in that 'shagging-like-rabbits' phase of the relationsip. i first off developed cystitis but was too lazy to treat it and because of that it spread to my kidneys and i can honestly say it was one of the most painful experiences ever; i had to be hospitalized too and it was just very traumatic. The big lesson i learned was not to be so fucking lazy next time and treat that cystitis ASAP!

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  30. Back to the source of her "kidney infection"... I saw somewhere this week that Mary Kate has been hanging' with her/Paris' Ex Starvos. So we might surmise that the source of MK's discomfort would be apparent. It is called the Paris Effect. BTW, once I got a kidney infection from vigorous sex. (That's what the doctor told me and it was true) I was sleeping with the cable guy years ago before I met my husband. He was very sweet and he lived on a little house boat. He told me he was the illegitimate son of one of the guys from Three Dog Night. His mama had been a waitress in a diner in Oklahoma in the seventies. Memories.....

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  31. Back to the source of her "kidney infection"... I saw somewhere this week that Mary Kate has been hanging' with her/Paris' Ex Starvos. So we might surmise that the source of MK's discomfort would be apparent. It is called the Paris Effect. BTW, once I got a kidney infection from vigorous sex. (That's what the doctor told me and it was true) I was sleeping with the cable guy years ago before I met my husband. He was very sweet and he lived on a little house boat. He told me he was the illegitimate son of one of the guys from Three Dog Night. His mama had been a waitress in a diner in Oklahoma in the seventies. Memories.....

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  32. if you don't like mary-kate, just say so. accusing her of being promiscuous is such a "man-thing". why do men always assume that if a woman gets an infection; kidney or yeast, she must be sleeping arounds.

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  33. I'm surprised nobody's mentioned whether or not kidney problems can reslut from heavy or frequent cocaine use. I remember a celeb in the 90's said she got serious kidney problems from it. Just a thought. Nice eyes in the photo, btw.

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  34. Oops--heh heh--funny typo given the topic. I meant RESULT from...

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  35. When I whore it up and bang alot, I've been known to get a bladder infection (occasional, at best), but I've never noticed a connection in my body between a kidney infections and t3h rough sex.

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  36. playing devil's advocate here, a LOT of people are mis-informed or just plain stupid when it comes to medical knowledge or how to research diseases/conditions.
    i was wondering, off the top of my head (meaning not reasearching), couldn't there be an awful lot of things causing this, including eating disorders? i know the kidneys shut down at certain points in serious heath issues, so could this be part of her problem?
    just an honest question.

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