Dr. William Matzner explains Hemodialysis Treatment for Kidney Failure

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - April 10, 2019 - PRLog -- From cleansing the blood and maintaining the mineral balance to producing certain hormones and removing waste, our kidneys do a lot of work for our body. Dr. William Matzner has published an overview article on this issue. The complete article will be published on the Blog of Dr. Matzner at https://drwilliammatzner.blogspot.com

Unfortunately, there are multiple factors that can affect our kidney health and if not taken care of, they can even lead to kidney failure. While kidneys do not fail overnight, it may happen over a period of time due to the gradual loss of kidney function. Many people do not even know they are suffering from kidney disease until it has reached the later stages. This can happen because of the absence of symptoms at the earlier stages, in many cases. This is why healthcare professionals stress upon regular medical checkup to ensure any health problems can be identified and treated before they get worse.

Despite the fact that medical science has greatly evolved and has found several new ways to treat various health problems, we only have a few options for treating kidney failure, also called end-stage renal disease:

* Kidney transplant
* Dialysis – it is of two types; peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis

Since the first option requires finding a donor, which can take a long time, dialysis is the most viable option for treating patients suffering from kidney failure.

When it comes to treating kidney failure, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Choosing the right dialysis treatment for a patient requires considering their overall health, medical history, and lifestyle.

While peritoneal dialysis seems to be a better option (as it doesn't require the patient to go to a healthcare facility, a lot of patients prefer hemodialysis. Some of the reasons for this are:

* Peritoneal dialysis requires the patient to perform the exchange for about 4 times a day. Exchange is the process of adding fluid to the peritoneal cavity of your body and removing it after it has absorbed the waste from the blood. Each exchange takes around 30 to 45 minutes. On the other hand, hemodialysis is only performed 3 times a week.

* Performing peritoneal dialysis requires the patient to get training.

* Since hemodialysis is performed in a healthcare facility, there are both doctors and trained staff to take care of any issues that may arise during the procedure.

* Peritoneal dialysis has certain limitations. For example, it is not suitable for people suffering from certain stomach diseases, like Crohn's disease. There are no such limitations for hemodialysis.

The hemodialysis treatment is an alternative way to carry out some of the kidney functions when the organ fails to do so. It involves using a specialized machine to remove waste from the patient's blood.

For many patients suffering from kidney failure, dialysis is the only available treatment. When coupled with lifestyle changes, most patients can continue to live a normal life for long periods. Hemodialysis is a better option because it is performed under the supervision of trained staff. Hence, there are lesser chances of complications.

*** Dr. William Matzner works in the area of healthcare economics consulting at Healthcare Analytics, LLC, in California. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University.

Website: https://drwilliammatzner.com
Blog: https://drwilliammatzner.blogspot.com