Is this an urinary tract infection or a kidney infection?

Steffy, the Urinary tract (UT) includes the urethra, the urinary bladder, both ureters, and both kidneys. Most UT infections (UTIs) are caused by bacteria named E. coli (Escherichia coli) which is very common on the skin of everyone's groin area ("down there"). If the E.coli enters the external opening of the urethra, it can travel the short distance up into the bladder. Then the burning and frequency begin. Simple E. coli infections are well cured by appropriate antibiotics. They may recur one or more times later in life. If the UTI is not cured after 10 days, the doctor should get a clean-catch urine sample for a lab culture to identify the bacteria and determine which antibiotics are effective before treating again. If the UTI is not treated with antibiotics, though the pain may go away, the infection can spread up one or both ureters to infect the kidney(s). This causes very serious acute pyelonephritis which could do further kidney damage and spread the bacteria to the rest of the body. At this time, you need further lab tests = a urine clean-catch culture and antibiotic sensitivity study to choose your next antibiotic IF bacteria are present in the culture.