Guide To Kidney Disease Diagnosis And Treatment

Dialysis

Patients who have progressed to the end stages of kidney disease will require dialysis. In this treatment, waste products and extra fluids are filtered out of the blood through artificial methods. Depending on the patient's health status, they may be offered hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. In hemodialysis, the artificial filtration process is completed by a machine. This method is completed at a dialysis center, and each session is about four hours long. Most individuals have sessions at least three times a week. Patients who undergo peritoneal dialysis have a catheter inserted into their abdomen so a specialized dialysis solution can flow into the abdominal cavity. Waste products and excess fluids are absorbed by the solution, and it drains out of the body after four or five hours, taking the absorbed waste and fluids with it. This type of dialysis can sometimes be completed at home. Patients are trained to self-administer the dialysis solution, and the process must be repeated four or five times a day. An automated form of peritoneal dialysis uses a machine, and patients can use this method overnight at home.

Get more details on how kidney disease can be treated now.