Kidney Failure Treatment

 There Are Several Kidney Failure Treatment Types

Kidney failure treatment is a must, because treating kidney failure is a matter of life and death. You cannot survive if your kidneys don't work.

Your kidneys perform a number of important duties. One is filtering the blood. Your kidneys remove toxins from your blood that might hurt you and also remove fluids your body doesn't need. If you're kidneys can no longer perform these function, they must be done through other means.

The kidney failure treatment method you choose will have long term consequences - not only for you, but also for your loved ones.

There are currently three common options for treating kidney failure:

Hemodialysis, which is commonly known simply as kidney dialysis, is the process of treating kidney failure with which most people are familiar. This type of kidney failure treatment employs a machine to clean your blood outside your body. The machine acts as a filter, temporarily removing excess water, salt and waste.

After your blood is filtered by the machine, it is routed back into your body through a set of tubes.

This type of kidney failure treatment is usually done 3 times a week, and each treatment takes between 3 and 5 hours. While the treatment is in progress, you'll have time to read, nap, or watch TV.

Treating kidney failure with hemodialysis also helps you maintain a healthy balance of potassium, sodium, calcium, and bicarbonate.

It also controls blood pressure. But it only accomplishes part of the job. You'll probably also need medications, and there will be some dietary restrictions.

Peritoneal dialysis is a way of treating kidney failure that is often abbreviated simply as PD. Your peritoneum is a thin layer of tissue that lines the inside of the abdominal cavity. Some people have said it resembles the kind of plastic wrap that you put around food for storage.

The peritoneum helps dissolve fluids and substances in your blood like electrolytes, urea, glucose, and albumin. This tissue can be used in the following way as a kidney failure treatment.

Fluid comes to the peritoneum through a permanent tube in the abdomen. It is flushed out either

• while the patient sleeps, or
• during exchanges throughout the day.

Peritoneal dialysis is not used for treating kidney failure as often as hemodialysis, although it is a viable alternative. The main advantage is that you don't have to have it done at a kidney failure treatment facility. Cost is comparable.

Complications are rare, although the permanent tube presents a risk for infection.

Kidney transplantation is the third kidney failure treatment option.

When you have a kidney transplant, a surgeon takes a healthy kidney from another person and places it in your body. One donated kidney, when the transplant is successful, can do the work of two organs in failure.

Kidney failure treatment has come a long way in recent decades. Not long ago, kidney failure was considered terminal. But thanks to recent advances, treating kidney failure means you can not only survive, but can live a relatively (emphasis on the word relatively) normal life.  

Learn more about the dangers of kidney disease by clicking on the book cover below or

The Kidney Disease Solution