Live Life Team
Dialysis is a process of artificially moving the wastes from the body, including waste products and extra water, removed from the blood. The function which is performed by the kidneys is picked up by the dialysis machine. This is used when the kidneys stop to function properly which could happen due to various reasons like failure in function, or some damage to the kidneys.
Why is it necessary
The amount of work which kidney does is enormous and can be up to 1500 litres of blood filtered in a day’s time. The waste products have to be removed from the blood on a daily basis and they are extremely important to an individual. In the case, where the kidneys do not work properly, the waste starts to build up in the blood quite fast and this can become life threatening to a larger extent. The dialysis would be then needed to level the waste products out of the blood to sustain a normal balance. The waste if not removed, can become toxic and lead to coma or death also in short term. The process is also used sometimes to rescue the individual from effect of a drug or some poison which needs to be removed quickly out of the blood.
How is it performed
There are two types of ways to do it, haemodialysis and the other is peritoneal dialysis. During the haemodialysis the blood circulation is done outside the body with the machine having filters, by inserting a tube in the vein. Filters remove the waste products from blood. After that with the help of Catheter, blood returns back into the body. This method is also known as putting a diabetic patient on to artificial kidney. Before this dialysis process, person needs to undergo surgery on the arm to increase a blood vessel which in turn gets connected with the dialysis machine. The duration for the haemodialysis ranges from 3-4 hours, thrice on weekly basis. Peritoneal dialysis is done using the natural filters of the internal lining of the abdomen. A small surgical procedure to insert the catheter in the abdomen is carried out. Duration of dialysis depends on the condition of kidney. Dialysis can be done at any dialysis centre or in a special dialysis unit at hospital. It can also be done at home if there is ample space as well as facility available at home and the patient wants to go with continuous treatment. In case of peritoneal dialysis, the diabetic patient needs to go with small surgery in the abdomen. During treatment, a bag filled with special fluid is inserted into the abdomen through the catheter. It is left for 6-24 hours depending on the type of peritoneal dialysis used. This needs to be performed continuously either by a relative or by you as it needs no machine. This type of dialysis is called as continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Peritoneal dialysis is a gentle and less time consuming method. For babies, children and older people peritoneal dialysis is used.
