Know More About Dialysis.

WHAT IS DIALYSIS?

The incidence of renal patients has skyrocketed all over the world since the recent past. It is assumed that one’s lifestyle has the most significant role in his health and illness. People’s food preferences have changed. They like to consume palatable junk foods which destroy their health instead of fostering them. There is also a boom in the invention and modification of a number of medicines. Surely these inventions have helped mankind in many ways. But we ways fail to realize that no drug is available which doesn’t have any side effect.  Even the food or water we take will show adverse effects when taken unnecessarily. So how can we believe drugs? Most of the drugs are either nephrotoxic or hepatotoxic. For some, gene really matters. We cannot rule out the possibility of transmitting kidney disease from one generation to the next.  Other lifestyle associated conditions like diabetes and hypertension also play a remarkable role in the development of renal problems. Once an acute illness is left unnoticed or neglected, it will turn out to be a big mess. In chronic renal diseases, no pharmacological management is considered effective. So the only options left are either dialysis or kidney transplantation.

Dialysis is a treatment method of removing the waste products from blood, when one’s kidneys are not capable of performing this duty.   What waste? The wastes in the blood are urea, uric acid and creatinine. Kidneys also regulate the level of electrolytes like sodium, potassium, etc by two processes known as diffusion and osmosis. The water in excess is also removed by ultrafilteration. The kidneys are responsible for the regulation of electrolytes, BP and the buffer system. The production of erythropoietin (for RBC formation), calcitriol and renin is undertaken by these two beans.  Dialysis cannot do all these works. It’s helpful only in the waste clearance. Besides, the production works which are halted due to kidney failure should be rectified by supplementation or injections. That means dialysis can never substitute the normal kidney. Blessed are those whose organs are in good conditions.

WHO SHOULD UNDERGO DIALYSIS?

It may not be necessary to start dialysis as soon as one is diagnosed with a possible kidney failure. Acute cases may get cured by lifestyle modification and pharmacological interventions.  It is advised to start dialysis as soon as possible if the GFR is below 15ml/min. Up to 8-10ml/min is also ok, but who wants to take the risk? The blood studies also should be carried out to know the urea, creatinine and electrolyte levels. High concentrations of electrolytes are an indication for immediate dialysis. Some patients with poisoning and snake bite would benefit from haemodialysis. Those disease prone people with the baseline kidney functions and suffering from pulmonary edema will get relief from the dyspnoea associated with fluid accumulation in the lungs.  Profound edema will get a mild relief from a number of short, consecutive dialyses.