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No one can live without the kidney function. When the kidneys fail, Dialysis
or renal transplant are the only alternatives.
In other words dialysis is a process where the renal function is replaced by
the dialysis machine.
- What are the various modalities of dialysis available?
- Two types of dialysis can be used in patients with renal failure,
hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis
- In hemodialysis a filter is used to clear the blood from the
metabolites and the toxins which accumulate when the kidneys fail.
- In the case of peritoneal dialysis the peritoneal membrane which is
the membrane which lines the interior of the abdomen is used to provide
the filtration and toxin removal
- If I need dialysis does this mean that I have lost
both kidneys?
- The answer is yes. You need to lose both kidneys to require dialysis.
Most medical diseases which cause renal failure cause bilateral renal
disease.
- How can you measure the degree of renal failure?
At what point do patients usually require dialysis?
- Blood tests such as measurment of serum creatinine and blood urea
nitrogen (BUN) give an indication of the degree of the renal failure. These
two substances are normally produced during metabolism and are retained in
the blood when the kidneys fail. the higher the level of either substance
the more severe the renal failure.
Most patients require dialysis when they have lost close to 90 per cent of
the total kidney function
- What are the symptoms of renal failure?
- Renal failure may present with only very subtle or no symptoms at all
until very late in the course of the renal failure. when patients
develop symptoms that usually indicates severe renal failure. Symptoms
may include nausea, vomiting, abnormal taste in the mouth, swelling
of the feet, frequency of urination, lack of energy, weight loss,
poor appetite, sleepiness and sometimes insomnia as well or reversal of
sleep cycle. if the disease goes untreated patient may gradually become
more lethargic and they may die.
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