What are the common types of dialysis?
1. What is dialysis?
The kidneys filter your blood by removing waste and excess fluid from your body. This waste is sent to the bladder to be eliminated when you urinate.
Dialysis performs the function of the kidneys if they've failed. According to the National Kidney Foundation, end-stage kidney failure occurs when the kidneys are performing at only 10 to 15 percent of their normal function.
Dialysis is a treatment that filters and purifies the blood using a machine. This helps keep your fluids and electrolytes in balance when the kidneys can't do their job.
Dialysis has been used since the 1940s to treat people with kidney problems.
2. Why is dialysis used?
Properly functioning kidneys prevent extra water, waste, and other impurities from accumulating in your body. They also help control blood pressure and regulate the levels of chemical elements in the blood. These elements may include sodium and potassium. Your kidneys even activate a form of vitamin D that improves the absorption of calcium.
When your kidneys can't perform these functions due to disease or injury, dialysis can help keep the body running as normally as possible. Without dialysis, salts and other waste products will accumulate in the blood, poison the body, and damage other organs.
However, dialysis isn't a cure for kidney disease or other problems affecting the kidneys. Different treatments may be needed to address those concerns
3. What are the different types of dialysis?
There are three different types of dialysis.
(1)Hemodialysis
Hemodialysis is the most common type of dialysis. This process uses an artificial kidney (hemodialyzer) to remove waste and extra fluid from the blood. The blood is removed from the body and filtered through the artificial kidney. The filtered blood is then returned to the body with the help of a dialysis machine.To get the blood to flow to the artificial kidney, your doctor will perform surgery to create an entrance point (vascular access) into your blood vessels.
(2)Peritoneal dialysis
Peritoneal dialysis involves surgery to implant a peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter into your abdomen. The catheter helps filter your blood through the peritoneum, a membrane in your abdomen. During treatment, a special fluid called dialysate flows into the peritoneum. The dialysate absorbs waste. Once the dialysate draws waste out of the bloodstream, it's drained from your abdomen.This process takes a few hours and needs to be repeated four to six times per day. However, the exchange of fluids can be performed while you're sleeping or awake.
(3)Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT)
This therapy is used primarily in the intensive care unit for people with acute kidney failure. It's also known as hemofiltration. A machine passes the blood through tubing. A filter then removes waste products and water. The blood is returned to the body, along with replacement fluid. This procedure is performed 12 to 24 hours a day, generally every day.
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