What are the dangers of a woman losing a kidney?

Whether male or female, there are two kidneys in the body. The kidneys are the excretory organs of the human body. In daily life, the kidneys are very important to people, but some people have to remove one kidney due to illness. If a woman loses one kidney, although it will not affect her daily life, it may affect her future fertility. The following is a detailed introduction to the dangers of having only one kidney for women.

The harm of losing a kidney in a woman

Under normal circumstances, the kidneys have a great compensatory capacity. A healthy kidney can compensate and keep the patient's renal function normal. But if a woman loses one kidney, she can survive normally if her remaining kidney is functioning normally. If a young woman is diagnosed with the disease, it may have a significant impact on her pregnancy and childbirth. If the glomerular filtration rate of the retained kidney decreases, because renal blood flow increases during pregnancy, the burden on the kidney increases. If the remaining kidney has insufficient compensatory capacity, renal damage will occur, and in severe cases, renal failure may occur. During pregnancy, it can cause fetal death or premature birth, and pregnant women may develop high blood pressure, eclampsia, etc., which can be life-threatening in severe cases.

Is it a big deal to lose a kidney?

Generally there will be no impact.

In fact, there are many cases of congenital single kidney, and the daily life of most patients is not affected.

Generally speaking, as long as two-thirds of the normal function of one kidney is achieved in a normal person, the body's normal metabolism can be maintained. A more reliable indicator for evaluating kidney function is the GFR, or glomerular filtration rate. The normal value for a normal person is 60. Generally, if it is lower than 20, it is considered that the kidney has no function and a nephrectomy can be performed, provided, of course, that the contralateral kidney function is normal.

The human body is a highly complex organic whole. Generally, when one kidney fails, the function of the other kidney will increase compensatorily. When both kidneys lose their function, the patient can be diagnosed with uremia and needs dialysis or kidney transplantation. The expected survival time of the two treatments is similar, but the quality of life after kidney transplantation is much higher than that of dialysis. Generally speaking, kidney disease and renal dysfunction are based on problems with both kidneys and their inability to function normally. A single kidney does not fall into this category.

The effect of losing a kidney on the human body depends entirely on the function of the remaining kidney. Two kidneys are actually a double insurance. After losing one kidney, even if the current renal function is normal, subsequent kidney disease (the simplest one, such as obstruction caused by stones, can cause one kidney to lose function) cannot be ruled out, causing the person's only remaining kidney to lose function.

However, in extreme situations (such as excessive intake of nephrotoxic drugs or other substances), the workload of one kidney will be very heavy and it will be more prone to renal failure. If there are two, just like normal people, even if one is broken, there is still one left.

Life with one kidney

1. The key is to reduce the burden on the kidneys. It is necessary to choose drugs with low nephrotoxicity, use contrast agents with caution, and pay attention to the treatment of complications such as hypertension, diabetes, infection, etc. Although having only one kidney does not affect daily life, it means that the upper limit of kidney function is much lower. Any factor that puts a burden on the kidney is more likely to cause serious consequences.

2. Eat calcium and high-quality protein foods intermittently. Such as milk, pork rib soup, etc. to prevent osteoporosis; eat less salt and less plant protein, such as beans and whole grains; eat less nuts, such as melon seeds, peanuts, walnuts, chestnuts, pistachios, water chestnuts; eat less bananas and oranges; eat less shiitake mushrooms and enoki mushrooms.

3. Pay attention to get enough rest, don’t overwork, and avoid catching cold, because infection is also a common cause of chronic nephritis. Avoid high-intensity exercise, as it may cause disturbances in the body's internal environment.