Can you have sex with hydronephrosis?

Written by Zhou Qi

Nephrology

Updated on September 02, 2024

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Before the complete resolution of hydronephrosis, it is recommended that patients avoid sexual intercourse. This is because hydronephrosis indicates the presence of obstructive factors in the urinary system, causing urine to not be excreted smoothly. Urine accumulates within the urinary system, causing dilation of the renal pelvis, calyces, and ureter. If urine cannot be excreted, bacteria can easily ascend from the urethral opening into the urinary system, causing an inflammatory response. If patients engage in sexual intercourse during this time, bacteria at the urethral opening can easily be pressed into the bladder, ascending and potentially causing pyelonephritis or cystitis. Therefore, it is best for such patients to avoid sexual intercourse until the hydronephrosis has been thoroughly addressed.

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Written by Zhou Qi

Nephrology

45sec

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What are the symptoms of hydronephrosis?

Hydronephrosis is often due to obstructive factors in the urinary system, such as stones, tumors, prostate hyperplasia, etc., causing urine to not be excreted smoothly, so patients may have symptoms related to obstructive kidney disease. Since the kidney is in a state of water accumulation, the ureter may experience spasms, so patients may experience pain in the lower back area. Especially in patients with kidney stones leading to hydronephrosis, as these kidney stones can cause severe pain. Furthermore, patients may experience hematuria. If the hydronephrosis is bilateral, it can lead to a sudden decrease in urine output and acute renal failure.

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Written by Chen Feng

Urology

54sec

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What foods can be eaten with hydronephrosis?

Patients with hydronephrosis should pay attention to a light diet, eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, avoid spicy and stimulating foods, and consume less high-salt foods, while also abstaining from alcohol. Besides controlling their diet, patients with hydronephrosis should also actively search for the underlying causes of the condition. Common causes of hydronephrosis in clinical practice include urinary tract stones or prostate hyperplasia, mainly due to obstructions in the ureter or urethra, preventing the urine produced by the kidneys from being excreted, which then leads to hydronephrosis. Once the cause of the urinary obstruction is identified, it is necessary to actively treat the underlying cause to restore the patency of the urinary tract. After the condition improves, it is also important to drink more water and urinate frequently to maintain health.

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Written by Zhou Qi

Nephrology

55sec

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Is hydronephrosis serious?

Whether the condition of hydronephrosis is serious depends on various factors such as the duration of hydronephrosis, the cause, the extent of fluid accumulation, and more. For example, some patients may have mild hydronephrosis in only one kidney and it may have developed recently; generally, this condition is not very serious. Some patients might have urinary obstructions caused by urinary system stones, and the issue could be resolved using extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy or surgical stone removal, making the condition not serious. However, in some cases, the cause could be bladder cancer or a tumor near the urinary system compressing the ureter, and if the tumor is difficult to remove, the hydronephrosis might be hard to manage. Long-term fluid accumulation might lead to kidney failure, and these scenarios are considered quite serious.

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Written by Zhou Qi

Nephrology

58sec

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Is hydronephrosis with hematuria serious?

Whether hematuria in patients with hydronephrosis is serious cannot actually be determined by the amount of blood in the urine. It is important to identify the cause and assess kidney function, because hydronephrosis can lead to serious consequences, mainly kidney failure. If the hydronephrosis persists for a long time, it can compress the renal cortex and cause kidney shrinkage, leading to chronic kidney failure. The dangers of hematuria mainly include: first, it may cause significant bleeding, leading to anemia. Second, this type of hematuria could be caused by certain conditions, such as bleeding caused by a tumor in the urinary system, which is quite serious. Whereas bleeding caused by urinary tract infections or urinary system stones, in terms of the nature of the cause, is not considered very serious. However, significant bleeding can also lead to severe anemia and even shock, which would be more serious.

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Written by Zhou Qi

Nephrology

41sec

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Causes of hydronephrosis

The so-called hydronephrosis often occurs because there is some factor in the patient's kidney or ureter that prevents the urine from being excreted smoothly, causing fluid accumulation and dilation in the renal pelvis, renal calyx, and ureter. The causes of this obstruction are often mechanical, such as urinary system stones, tumors, urinary tract deformities, or compression of the ureter caused by enlargement or tumors in nearby organs of the urinary system. In a few cases, it may also be related to a decline in the function of the ureter itself, such as a neurogenic bladder, ureteral reflux, or decreased ureteral motility.