Yes, a urinary tract infection (UTI) can affect your eyes, though it's rare, primarily by causing endogenous endophthalmitis, a severe infection inside the eye, or by triggering reactive arthritis, which causes eye inflammation (uveitis). Bacteria from a UTI can travel through the bloodstream to the eye, or the body's immune response to the UTI can lead to arthritis with eye symptoms, so severe eye pain, redness, or vision changes with a UTI warrant immediate medical attention.
Symptoms of a urinary tract infection (UTI)
What are some common eye infections?
But if your UTI is not treated, the infection can spread to the kidneys and other parts of your body. The most common symptoms of kidney infection are fever and pain in the back where the kidneys are located. Antibiotics can also treat kidney infections. Sometimes the infection can get in the bloodstream.
Symptoms of sepsis may include:
Typically, if a UTI is not properly treated, it can lead to sepsis in a matter of days. Elderly individuals, those with weakened immune systems, or those with structural issues in the urinary tract are particularly at risk for rapid progression from a UTI to sepsis, or even septic shock.
Sepsis can lead to serious complications, including blindness. Although sepsis may not be something everyone has heard of, it is a common condition. September is Sepsis Awareness Month. Continue reading to learn more about how sepsis can rob you of your vision and what you can do to prevent it.
Symptoms of a kidney infection might include:
Your healthcare provider looks for physical symptoms such as low blood pressure, fever, higher heart rate, and higher breathing rate. You will need lab tests to check for signs of infection and organ damage. Some symptoms of sepsis can often be seen in other health conditions. These include fever and trouble breathing.
In mild cases, you might deal with discomfort for about a week or two, but this depends on your immune system's ability to fight off the infection. In other situations, untreated infections can persist for weeks, spreading to the kidneys and causing more severe health issues like pyelonephritis.
Chronic conditions like nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, or age-related changes in the eyes can also lead to blurry vision, as well as, health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or eye infections can contribute to blurry vision.
These are the 'big four': macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma and cataracts. How do these four conditions affect our sight? Macular degeneration means deposits around the macular (middle) part of the eye. Diabetes causes changes in the blood vessels, which can lead to bleeding or leaking.
Signs it's time to see a doctor for an eye infection. See a doctor if the eye is red, painful, swollen, or has thick yellow or green discharge. Other warning signs include vision changes, light sensitivity, or fever. If symptoms don't improve in a few days or worsen, it's time to get medical help.
Blood in Urine:
Hematuria, the presence of blood in the urine, can be a sign of a more severe UTI or other underlying issues. If you notice pink, red, or brown discoloration in your urine, it's crucial to seek medical attention promptly.
Sometimes you can sniff out a UTI. Often, your urine has a foul smell when you have a bacterial infection of the urinary tract. For some women with mild infections, strong smelling urine may be the only symptom. Put your nose to the test next time you suspect that you have a UTI and see if you can detect a strong odor.
There's no single "best" antibiotic for a UTI; the choice depends on the person and bacteria, but first-line options for uncomplicated UTIs often include nitrofurantoin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim), or fosfomycin, while cephalexin (Keflex) and others are used for specific cases like pregnancy or children. Fluoroquinolones (like Cipro) are usually reserved for complicated infections due to side effects, and a doctor always determines the right antibiotic after a urinalysis and culture to check local resistance patterns, notes National Institutes of Health (NIH) | (.gov) and Mayo Clinic.
What are the symptoms of sepsis?
However, in vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, individuals with weakened immune systems, or those with underlying health conditions, it can progress much faster. In some cases, sepsis can develop within 24 to 48 hours after the onset of severe symptoms, especially if medical intervention is delayed.
A consensus conference in 1991 defined “sepsis” as the combination of an infection with two or more features of what was called the “systemic inflammatory response syndrome” (SIRS): altered body temperature, elevated pulse rate, elevated respiratory rate and abnormal white blood cell count6.
Go to the emergency room for a UTI if you have a high fever, strong back or side pain, nausea, vomiting, or blood in your urine — but you feel alert and can get to the hospital safely without calling 911. Symptoms to watch for include: Persistent high fever (above 102°F), with chills and shaking.
Three key early warning signs of kidney problems are changes in urination (more or less frequent, especially at night), foamy or bloody urine, and persistent swelling, particularly around the eyes, feet, or ankles, indicating fluid retention. Other common signs include persistent fatigue, nausea, itching, and loss of appetite, as toxins build up when kidneys aren't filtering effectively.
But beyond these classic signs, UTIs can also cause systemic effects such as low-grade fever, body aches, and fatigue. Your body works hard to fight the infection, which can drain energy and make you unusually exhausted.
It is defined as intraocular infection resulting from haematogenous spread of organisms in which the initial focus of infection is at a site distal to the eye. A red/sore eye in a patient with a known septic focus needs urgent attention as EE can be a major cause of visual loss.
Ocular histoplasmosis syndrome (OHS) is an eye condition that can develop in people who have a lung infection called histoplasmosis. If you have histoplasmosis, the infection can move from the lungs into the eyes, leading to vision loss.
The evidence behind the “golden hour” protocol
The main finding was that patients who received antibiotics within the first hour of sepsis recognition had a 79.9% chance of survival. It was also found that with every additional hour, the chance of survival decreased by 7.6%.