Dialysis is a way to pump your blood through a machine that filters out the waste and returns the blood to your body.
When is dialysis needed?
You need dialysis when you develop end stage kidney failure usually by the time you lose about 85 to 90 percent of your kidney function.
What does dialysis do?
Like healthy kidneys, dialysis keeps your body in balance. Dialysis does the following:
- Removes waste, salt and extra water to prevent them from building up in the body.
- Keeps a safe level of certain chemicals in your blood, such as potassium, sodium and bicarbonate.
- Helps to control blood pressure.
What are the types of dialysis?
The 2 types of dialysis are hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.
Hemodialysis:
- For hemodialysis, a tube (catheter) is stuck into one of the veins in your neck, or an arm or leg.
- Hemodialysis treatment lasts 3-4 hours and is repeated 3 times a week.
- The blood is circulated through tubing then through a filter called a dialyzer.
- In order to be connected to this circuit, a patient will need an access via a fistula, a graft, or a catheter.
- Needles are placed into the skin to allow access to the blood.
Peritoneal Dialysis:
- It is done through a tube permanently set in your belly.
- There are two kinds of peritoneal dialysis, both done at home.
- “Continuous” ambulatory dialysis is done by exchanging clean and dirty fluid through a soft plastic tube inserted into the abdominal cavity.
- A machine can also be used to do a process called “cycling”. The machine performs the process while the patient is sleeping.