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KIDNEY DIALYSIS |
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OVERVIEW |
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Kidney
 is a possible replacement function of kidneys if they
fail |
| and
is
used
to get rid of the body's waste and excess water. |
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Kidney Function |
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 |
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| Dialysis function: |
| • removes waste
materials, salt and extra water to prevent them from |
| building up in the
body
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| • keeps a safe
level of certain chemicals in your blood, |
such as
 ,
 and
 . |
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| • helps to control blood pressure
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| In some cases,
dialysis may not start directly after a diagnosis of
kidney failure. It |
| all depends on the
patient's health. A patient's blood results are
carefully |
| monitored to
ensure that the levels of toxins are being safely
maintained. |
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| The choice of dialysis treatments
available are: |
•
 |
•
 |
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| The choice depends on medical,
lifestyle and other choice. |
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| Is dialysis enough? |
is not 100% enough. It only replaces about 19.9% of
kidney function |
| and cannot produce
the hormones needed to maintain important bodily |
asks.
 ,
for those who are suitable, offers better
rehabilitation and |
| quality of life. |
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Haemodialysis |
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What happens if my kidneys fail completely
Complete and irreversible
kidney failure is sometimes called end-stage renal
disease, or ESRD. If your kidneys stop working
completely, your body fills with extra water and waste
products. This condition is called uremia. Your hands
or feet may swell. You will feel tired and weak
because your body needs clean blood to function
properly.
Untreated uremia may
lead to seizures or coma and will ultimately result in
death. If your kidneys stop working completely, you
will need to undergo dialysis or kidney
transplantation.
Dialysis
 The
two major forms of dialysis are hemodialysis and
peritoneal dialysis. In hemodialysis, your blood is
sent through a filter that removes waste products. The
clean blood is returned to your body. Hemodialysis is
usually performed at a dialysis center three times per
week for 3 to 4 hours. With
haemodialysis, the blood is cleaned externally from
the body. The circulatory system is linked
up to an artificial filtering system (dialyser). The
blood passes through the
dialyser, is cleansed of waste materials and excess
water, then returned to the
body. This circular process is completed many times
during each session, the blood
is repeatedly filtered through the dialyser and toxins
are lost each time it
passes through the artificial filtering system. Each dialysis
session may last several hours (usually four), three
times per week, this is dependent
on the patient’s needs.
Whilst on
dialysis, a patient must follow quite a restricted
diet, limiting intake of fluid and foods
that are high in salt,
and protein. |
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Peritoneal dialysis |
In
peritoneal dialysis, a fluid is put into your abdomen.
This fluid captures the waste products
from your blood. After a few hours, the fluid
containing your body’s wastes is drained away. Then, a
fresh bag of fluid is dripped into the abdomen.
Patients can perform peritoneal dialysis themselves.
Patients using continuous ambulatory peritoneal
dialysis (CAPD) change fluid four times a day. Another
form of peritoneal dialysis, called continuous cycling
peritoneal dialysis (CCPD), can be performed at night
with a machine that drains and refills the abdomen
automatically.
This differs from
in that the blood is cleansed inside the body and it is an ongoing
process throughout the week. A fluid called
is introduced into
the abdominal cavity through a tube called a
 . |
Then using the
– the
 lining
the abdominal cavity – as a natural |
| filter waste materials
are flushed out. While the dialysate is in the |
 , a patient can go
about their usual daily activities. |
| |
Unlike haemodialysis, with
 a
patient can manage their own |
| care which may give
them more independence and flexibility. |
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| There are two
types of peritoneal dialysis. Patients are encouraged
to discuss |
| with their doctor
which is more suitable. It could be a question of
choice, or |
| medical reasons
may stipulate why one is better than the other. |
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| The two types of peritoneal
dialysis are: |
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Continuous Ambulatory
Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) |
| By attaching a bag to your
,
a patient runs between 1.5 and 3 litres of |
|
into
their abdominal cavity four times a day. This flushes out the
fluid |
| from
the previous exchange, which is now full of toxins and
excess water. This |
|
process takes about 30-40
minutes. |
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Automated Peritoneal Dialysis (APD) |
| In this case, a machine changes the
solution
at night, while the patient |
| is
asleep. The machine will exchange 8-12 litres over
8-10 hours and then leave |
| 1-2 litres into the
patient's abdominal cavity during the day |
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Kidney Transplant |
 A
donated kidney may come from an anonymous donor who
has recently died or from a living person, usually a
relative. The kidney that you receive must be a good
match for your body. The more the new kidney is like
you, the less likely your immune system is to reject
it. Your immune system protects you from disease by
attacking anything that is not recognized as a normal
part of your body. So your immune system will attack a
kidney that appears too “foreign.” You will take
special drugs to help trick your immune system so it
does not reject the transplanted kidney. |
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| AFREKID is a
registered Charity No. 1120421; Company Limited by Guarantee
No. 05424439 |
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