What is Kidney Failure? What are the Treatments for Kidney Failure

Kidneys are the bean-shaped organs that are two in number and each of them is about the size of a fist. They’re located below the ribcage and on each side of the spine. Their main function is to filter out wastes and extra fluids from our body!

What is Kidney Failure?

Kidney failure in simple terms means that the functionality of the kidney is reduced by 85-90%, GFR (Glomerular Filtration rate) falls below 15 and kidneys are not in a position to keep you alive! This condition doesn’t happen instantly but is a result of a gradual decrease in functionality. Usually, the symptoms show up quite late.

When your kidneys fail, the amount of creatinine in your blood rises, which is a factor in calculating the GFR. As the creatinine in blood increases, GFR decreases. When kidney failure occurs, some people may have nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, weakness, muscle cramps, itching, and tiredness.

There is no cure for kidney failure but treatment may help affected to live a long and healthy life. Some people live a long, healthy and fulfilling life even after kidney failure with the aid of treatments.

Treatments for Kidney Failure

There are two treatments for kidney failure:-

1)      Kidney Transplantation- This is an operation that replaces the unhealthy kidney in your body with a healthy one. This kidney can be given by a dead person or a healthy donor. The new kidney functions immediately but you need to avoid certain medications so that your body doesn’t reject the new kidney. If the kidney gets rejected, you’ll have to undergo dialysis and may consider a new kidney transplant. Kidney transplant recipients may still have chronic kidney diseases and require taking medication they took before the transplant. It is also possible to have a kidney transplant while undergoing dialysis.

2)      Dialysis- There are two types of dialysis:-

(i)Hemodialysis (HD) - It is a treatment that filters the blood and other fluids of your body. During dialysis, a small amount of your blood is pumped to the dialysis machine containing a special filter called ‘dialyzer’ and after passing the blood through the artificial filter, the blood is sent back to the body. This process takes up about 3-5 hours and requires to be done 3 times per week. It can also be done for 1-1.5 hours daily. People undergoing this method of treatment have flexibility about the frequency of the treatment.

(ii) Peritoneal Dialysis (PD)– It is a home-based treatment that can be done anywhere. It should be done daily. It requires the patient to undergo a minor operation to place a catheter in the abdomen. In this treatment, blood is cleaned inside the body where the lining of the abdomen (peritoneum) acts as a natural filter. A cleansing solution, called dialysate, flows inside into the abdomen through a soft tube called a PD catheter. Wastes and extra fluid pass from the blood to the cleansing solution. After several hours, patients drain out this solution and refill it again which takes about half an hour.

-Dr. B. Vijay Kiran

Author Bio:

Dr. B. Vijay Kiran is a highly qualified doctor, who has done- MBBS, MD, DM (Nephrology), DNB (Nephrology), MNAMS, FPN, MRCP, SCE (UK) - Nephrology. He is a specialist in renal biopsy, kidney transplantation, and pediatric nephrology. He is the best kidney doctor for kids. He also serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nephrology, Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Telangana, Hyderabad.

Visit Website: http://ourhardworkingkidneys.com