Various Kidney Failure Treatment Options
When your health provider tells you that your kidneys are failing, it is easy to fall into hopelessness and slowly slip into depression. Unfortunately, going into depression will only make things worse. Discussing the various treatment options available as soon as you learn about your kidney failure increases the chances of turning the situation around.
Dialysis
This is the most common type of medical treatment among people with chronic stage 5 kidney failure or those with permanent loss of kidney function. Simply put, dialysis refers to the process that helps keep your body in balance when your kidneys cannot. It achieves this by carrying out the functions that would have otherwise been accomplished by healthy kidneys such as removing wastes, excess water and salts hence preventing them from building up and causing more problems in your body. Dialysis also helps maintain a balanced level of chemicals such as potassium and sodium in your blood, while at the same time helps keep your blood pressure in check.
In a nutshell, dialysis helps keep you alive and while it is easy to feel hopeless and helpless when your doctor recommends it, looking at it as a chance to be alive helps make things more manageable. Additionally, gone are the days where dialysis meant sitting in a hospital for endless hours because nowadays, there are various Dialysis treatment options. Even though you’ll have to make slight changes to your lifestyle, these treatment options give you a chance to live a normal life.
Hemodialysis
This type of dialysis can either be carried out at home or a dialysis center by professional healthcare personnel. During the process, your blood is cleaned externally by being pumped into a machine with an artificial kidney filter which filters all the wastes, extra water or salts. The blood is then pumped back using tubes that connect it to your body. As noted, this can be done at home or the clinic. If you opt to do it at home, you have the option to set your schedule .There are pros and cons of doing it at home. For instance, one advantage is that you have control of your schedule, but the disadvantage is that you lack access to professional health personnel in case you have a concern that needs to be addressed with immediate effect.
Peritoneal dialysis
Contrary to hemodialysis, during peritoneal dialysis, your blood is cleaned internally using the inside lining of your body as the filter. To make this possible, you will have to undergo a surgery during which a catheter is placed inside your belly lining. Afterward, a cleansing fluid known as the dialysate is put into your belly using the catheter and once the process is done, the liquid comes out through the catheter. Peritoneal dialysis is a much gentle approach to dialysis. There are two types as shown below
CAPD: In full it is known as Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. It is machine free and allows you to go about your normal routines as all you need to do is place two-quarters of dialysate into your belly, and once the cleansing is done, you drain it out. However, you have to exchange four to five times a day. Automated PD: The only difference between this form of PD with the one outlined above is that a machine delivers and drains the dialysate from your body. Hence more suitable during night time when you are asleep.