Holy Cross Home Healthcare
(EMBRACE YOUR HEALTH)
Dialysis
Dialysis is a procedure to remove waste products and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys stop working properly. It often involves diverting blood to a machine to be cleaned.
Normally, the kidneys filter the blood, removing harmful waste products and excess fluid and turning these into urine to be passed out of the body.
Why do I need dialysis?
If your kidneys aren’t working properly, for example because you have advanced chronic kidney disease (kidney failure), the kidneys may not be able to clean the blood properly. Waste products and fluid can build up to dangerous levels in your body.
Left untreated, this can cause a number of unpleasant symptoms and eventually be fatal. Dialysis filters out unwanted substances and fluids from the blood before this happens.
How long will I need dialysis for?
It depends. In some cases, kidney failure may be a temporary problem and dialysis can be stopped when your kidneys recover.
But often, someone with kidney failure will need a kidney transplant. It’s not always possible to carry out a kidney transplant straight away, so dialysis may be needed until a suitable donor kidney becomes available.
If a kidney transplant isn’t suitable for you, for example because you’re not well enough to have a major operation, dialysis may be needed for the rest of your life
Benefits of Dialysis at Home:
One major advantage of dialyzing at home is that you can dialyse more frequently with comfort and ease. Researches show that hemodialysis, when done more frequently, over longer durations and more gently (at low pump speeds and ultrafiltration rates) is much better for the body overall in terms of both short term and long term outcomes. It becomes little difficult to go to a hospital or center every day of the week for long hours. This is much easier when done at home.
It is extremely important however, to get your doctor's consent before switching to hemodialysis. This modality, though closest to ideal, may not be suited to you. Talk to your nephrologist about this and get his/her consent before you think about switching.
Process:
We have a tie-up with nephro plus for dialysis at home. Initially the agreement is signed between the client and the company, after this the process of equipment set up starts. The set up takes around 3-4 weeks of time. Once the hemodialysis machine is installed, the mineral water level of the household is checked for the smooth running of the Hemodylasis machine. Once everything is checked and verified by the technician the Dialysis procedure sessions start, as per the doctor's advice.