According to the news, some uremic patients do dialysis at home and even make their own dialysis instruments.
Isn’t dialysis supposed to be complicated? How can you still do it at home?
Dr. Clove will talk about hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.
What is hemodialysis?
Hemodialysis is to draw the patient’s blood out of the body, remove toxins from it through a hemodialysis machine, and then inject it back into the body. The dialysis machine undertook the original task of kidney.
Hemodialysis requires the establishment of vascular access. For patients requiring long-term hemodialysis, it is best to operate on the arm to establish arteriovenous fistula.
This is a minor operation at the elbow bend. The arteries and veins here are connected to increase blood flow, facilitate needle insertion and improve dialysis efficiency.
During dialysis, like infusion, the needle is tied on the arm to connect the tube. Generally, dialysis can be completed in about 4 hours. In the process, there is usually no very discomfort.
What is peritoneal dialysis?
Peritoneal dialysis is to make a small opening in the patient’s stomach, place a tube, pour dialysate into the stomach through the tube several times a day, and use the filtering effect of peritoneum to discharge toxins and excess water in the body.
Every time you replace it, you should be in an independent and sterilized room and pay strict attention to aseptic operation.
For example:
Every morning at 8: 00 a.m., the patient pours peritoneal dialysis fluid into the stomach, releases it at 11: 00 noon, and pours in new fluid. This is done again at 4: 00 p.m. and 11: 00 p.m.
Patients are more free to move outside the time when peritoneal dialysis fluid is replaced.
In order to be more convenient, some people also use the peritoneal dialysis machine to replace the peritoneal dialysis fluid at night, so that they can have more free time during the day.
Peritoneal dialysis can be completed by patients or their families themselves. The dialysis reported in the media at home is basically peritoneal dialysis.
How do you choose between the two?
Advantages of hemodialysis:
- Home nearby hemodialysis room, the road is more convenient. Heart function and peripheral vascular function is better. No hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, HIV and other blood-borne diseases. Personal time is relatively loose, such as retirees, freelance or flexible working hours of patients.
The biggest disadvantage of hemodialysis is that it needs to be guaranteed to go to the hospital three times a week for treatment. In addition, the impact on life is almost negligible.
Advantages of Peritoneal Dialysis:
- Family living conditions are good, there are independent, sterilizable rooms. Far from the hospital, or need to work or study during the day, it is difficult to free up time. Patients have strong self-care ability, can master peritoneal dialysis technology. Appetite is good (because peritoneal dialysis patients need more protein intake than hemodialysis patients). The price is relatively cheap.
However, the effect of peritoneal dialysis is not well controlled by doctors and must be determined according to the patient’s peritoneal function. If the peritoneal function is too poor or there are related contraindications, peritoneal dialysis cannot be performed.
Can we not have dialysis?
Whether you can break away from dialysis depends entirely on the recovery of the patient’s renal function. Your kidney can work and naturally there is no need for dialysis to replace it.
Some patients with acute kidney injury can be separated from dialysis after renal function recovers.
However, if the patient’s renal function is not restored and dialysis is suspended without authorization, obvious edema, poor appetite, fatigue, electrolyte disturbance, etc. will often occur within about one month, and serious cases will also lead to dangerous heart diseases.
Irregular dialysis will also lead to high levels of toxins in the body. If it continues, osteoporosis, bone deformation and pathological fractures will easily occur. Not only will life expectancy be affected, but also the quality of life will be greatly reduced.
Dialysis is not a scourge and should be treated scientifically. When doctors think it is necessary to start dialysis, they are advised to actively face and cooperate with treatment. Taught to treat diseases or superstitious folk remedies and deceptive [high-tech treatment methods] often lead to a shortage of people and money.