Two Popular Myths About Dialysis And Its Various Types - Alternative Treatment For Kidney Dialysis

Table of Contents

Kidney disease also known as nephropathy attacks a human being due to high blood sugar levels, high blood pressure and genetics. If this disease is treated in earlier stage kidney disease can become low but if the treatment gets delayed kidneys may fail.

End Stage Renal Disease or ESRD as it is commonly known is a stage where either one of the kidneys or two kidneys stop to do their functioning of removing fluids and wastes piled up in high quantities from the human body. Dialysis is the only procedure which people suffering from ESRD should under go. The basic treatment of dialysis is to remove impurities or toxins accumulated in the body when kidneys fail to perform the same function. However, being on dialysis many a time gives rise to misconceptions about the chances of living a life.

Truths conceal myths and here are few myths about dialysis.

First Myth

If you have fear for needles then dialysis is not for you.

This is not true because if you count any number of persons who do not fear for needles, hardly you can find one. Before inserting the needle nurses will numb the skin area where needle should be pierced. For this, they follow a specific medical process in which they apply a numbing cream to the area where blood is allowed to travel from the dialysis machine to the body for removing toxins. This is the very first step at least one hour before the treatment.

Second Myth

Dialysis requires patient to be present at clinic.

This is not true as an increasing number of patients are opting to dialyze themselves at home. Any ways, the timings that patients choose for dialysis depend upon their requirements. The following are various methods of home dialysis.

Home HemoDialysis

In this process patients are comfortable to perform dialysis from their home and a hemodialysis machine is used to purify the blood just as it is done at a clinic.

Photo Credit: Soomaalidamaanta.com

This type of dialysis is given to patients who have stage five chronic kidney disease. In this process the patients can control their own dialysis and can also show signs of improvement with self interest.

Peritoneal Dialysis

This is the most common method of home dialysis. In this process a peritoneal membrane is used to purify the stream of blood by filtering wastes and fluids. In this process no needles are involved due to the instillation of dialysis solution in to the abdomen by using a permanent catheter. A patient can also perform manually the exchange of fluids in to the body preferably four times a day.

Yet another way of under going peritoneal dialysis is by using a cycler which is a machine used to do the functioning of exchanges. For this process of dialysis, majority of the patients connect them selves to a cycler in the night and exchange of fluids takes place while they are asleep. Some patients prefer this type of dialysis during day time too as per their comfort. The prime advantage of cycler lies in its small size so that it can be taken by the patients whose job involves traveling from one place to another.

Nocturnal Hemo Dialysis

This process of dialysis is proven to be most effective in overcoming anemia and phosphate removal from the patient’s body. This method purifies the blood slowly at a rate of three hundred to three fifty milli liters per minute. The advantage in nocturnal dialysis is that patients do not have any dietary restrictions to follow. The duration of this dialysis depends upon the number of hours a patient sleeps. So, the maximum standard limit for this dialysis to be done is six nights a week.

Short Daily Hemo Dialysis

This is a kind of dialysis that can be done six times a week, only during day time and when the patient is awake. The time that this dialysis takes is two to two and a half hours. In this treatment patients report a fast well being and energy levels also get improved due to the high frequency of treatment. Blood pressure of the patient can be controlled and there by medication for blood pressure can be reduced. Added to all these, the machine used for dialysis is small in size and can be taken along with the patient while traveling.