kidney Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys can no longer do the same. It gets rid of your body’s waste, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure.

There are two kinds of dialysis:

Hemodialysis.

Peritoneal dialysis.

Hemodialysis and Peritoneal dialysis are both used to treat kidney failure. The former uses a man-made dialyzer to filter waste and remove extra fluid from the blood. The latter uses the lining of the abdominal cavity (peritoneal membrane) for the removal of waste and extra fluid from the body.

Now let’s understand how the two works:

Hemodialysis:

First, you’ll need minor surgery to create direct access to your bloodstream. During the procedure, you’ll have to sit or lie back in a chair. Two needles will be placed in your arm where the fistula or graft is located. A pump in the hemodialysis machine slowly draws out your blood, then sends it through another machine called a dialyzer.

Your doctor will help determine as to when you should start hemodialysis based on the following factors:

Overall health

Kidney function

Quality of life

Most people who require hemodialysis have a variety of health problems. While hemodialysis can prove to be efficient at replacing some of the kidney’s lost functions, yet you may experience some of the conditions mentioned before:

Low blood pressure: It can be caused by shortness of breath, abdominal cramps, nausea or vomiting.

Problem in sleeping: People receiving hemodialysis often face trouble sleeping.

Hypertension : If you end up consuming too much salt or drink too much fluid, your high blood pressure is likely to get worse and lead to heart problems or strokes.

Amyloidosis: Dialysis-related amyloidosis develops when proteins in blood are deposited on joints, causing pain and stiffness in the joints.

Depression: Mood swings are common in people with kidney failure. If you’re experiencing depression or anxiety, you should consult the doctors for effective treatment options.

Peritoneal Dialysis:

A soft plastic tube is placed in your belly by surgery. After the filtering process is finished, the fluid leaves your body through the placed catheter.

Pros and Cons about being on peritoneal dialysis- With continuous dialysis, all the extra fluid can be controlled easily, leaving your heart stress free. However, there are many people out there for whom peritoneal dialysis may not be appropriate. The people who are morbidly obese or those with multiple prior abdominal surgeries may make peritoneal dialysis treatments difficult or impossible.

At NU Hospitals, our team includes nephrologists, certified dieticians and a team of attentive nurses to give you the best kidney dialysis. Here, we adhere to the highest quality of treatment which makes us one of the best dialysis hospitals in Bangalore.