It is an awful moment to learn that a patient at hospice‌ ‌care‌ in ‌Burbank‌ ‌Ca‌ who is suffering from kidney disease has advanced to a point where dialysis is needed. Without a doubt, it is a devastating and overwhelming diagnosis that many carers at ‌‌a hospice‌ have seen patients and their families have to go through.  

Back in the day, dialysis would mean spending long hours at a dialysis center several times a week. However, kidney dialysis at home is now an option at a hospice‌ ‌care‌ in ‌Los‌ ‌Angeles‌ or Burbank Ca ‌for those determined to manage their treatment. 

What Is Chronic Kidney Disease? 

Chronic kidney disease, which is sometimes referred to as chronic kidney failure, describes the slow loss of kidney function. The kidneys’ job is to filter wastes and excess fluids from your blood, which are then excreted in your urine. However, when chronic kidney disease goes to an advanced stage, alarming fluid levels, electrolytes, and wastes can accumulate in the body.

During the early stages of chronic kidney disease, medical professionals at hospice‌ ‌care‌ ‌Burbank‌ ‌Ca‌ ‌tell us that patients may experience a few signs or symptoms. Chronic kidney disease may not become completely obvious until your kidney function is extremely impaired. 

Treatment for chronic kidney disease mainly concentrates on slowing down the progression of the kidney damage, usually by controlling the underlying cause. Chronic kidney disease can become end-stage kidney failure, which is fatal without artificial filtering (dialysis) or a kidney transplant.

What Are The Symptoms Of Chronic Kidney Disease?

The signs and symptoms of chronic kidney disease can develop over a period of time if kidney damage progresses gradually. Signs and symptoms of kidney disease may include:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Loss of appetite
• Fatigue and weakness
• Sleep problems
• Changes in how much you urinate
• Decreased mental sharpness
• Muscle twitches and cramps
• Swelling of feet and ankles
• Persistent itching
• Chest pain, if fluid builds up around the lining of the heart
• Shortness of breath, if fluid builds up in the lungs
• High blood pressure (hypertension) that’s difficult to control

Most of the time, the signs and symptoms of kidney disease are nonspecific, which means other illnesses can also cause them. Due to the fact that the kidneys are very adaptable and can make up for the loss of function, signs and symptoms may not show up until irreversible damage has happened. 

What Are The Causes And Risk Factors of Chronic Kidney Disease?

Chronic kidney disease happens when a disease or condition impairs kidney function, causing kidney damage to become more severe over several months or years.

Diseases and conditions that cause chronic kidney disease include:

• Type 1 or type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the kidney’s filtering units (glomeruli)
• Interstitial nephritis (inflammation of the kidney’s tubules and surrounding structures
• Polycystic kidney disease
• Prolonged obstruction of the urinary tract, from conditions such as enlarged prostate, kidney stones, and some cancers
• Vesicoureteral ( a condition that causes urine to back up into your kidneys
• Recurrent kidney infection, also known as pyelonephritis 

Some risk factors that may increase your chances of suffering from chronic kidney disease are the following:

• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease
• Smoking
• Obesity
• Being African-American, Native American, or Asian-American
• Family history of kidney disease
• Abnormal kidney structure
• Older age

How Does Dialysis Work?

Individuals with advanced kidney disease usually have to undergo treatment that requires a dialysis machine to manage the jog of a patient’s kidneys. Typically, at hospice‌ ‌care‌ ‌in Burbank,‌ ‌Ca‌, ‌the beginning of each dialysis treatment uses two needles that are placed in the patient’s vein. 

Then blood travels from this vein through plastic tubing and into the dialysis machine, where it cleans the waste and extra fluid from the blood before bringing it back to the patient. Medical professionals at hospice‌ ‌care‌ ‌Burbank‌ ‌Ca‌ tell us that the machine allows the blood to move steadily and controls the treatment time, temperature, fluid removal, and pressure.

Whether you are going to do this procedure at a dialysis center or in a home, it is pretty much the same. However, in a home, the patient and a care partner are trained to do the treatment alone. Training can take a few weeks to a few months as the patient and their care partner discover how to use the machine and handle problems when they occur. 

What Are The Different Types Of Home Dialysis?

Patients who are thinking about doing kidney dialysis at home have to work with their medical provider to determine the correct type of dialysis treatment for their condition. Three different types of dialysis available can be used in the home. These include the following: 

• Conventional Dialysis: Conventional dialysis is carried out three times a week for a few hours each time.
• Short Daily Dialysis: Short daily dialysis is performed five to seven times a week. Each treatment lasts two hours. While the treatment is more frequent, the shorter procedure needs less fluid to be removed, reducing symptoms such as headaches, cramping, nausea, and tiredness after treatment.
• Nocturnal Dialysis: Nocturnal dialysis includes long treatments done overnight while the patient sleeps. It is usually performed every other night or six nights a week. The treatments last six to eight hours.

Some medical professionals may recommend combining methods of dialysis. However, this really depends on the patient’s specific condition and lifestyle.

What Do You Need For Home Dialysis?

Not everyone can do dialysis at home. This is because you have to be serious about training and very disciplined about your treatment. When thinking about home dialysis, make sure you meet the following requirements:

• Determination: Home dialysis requires a commitment to an intensive training program, daily cleaning to keep sanitary conditions, and an ability to deal with problems that may come up throughout your treatment.
• Good Eyes and Hands: You have to work with the tubing and fill out paperwork, which requires good eyesight and good fine-motor coordination.
• A Prepared Partner: This could be a family caregiver or an aide who visits the home. It’s important to have a care partner to help set up each treatment.
• The Proper Space: The patient’s home has to have sufficient space to home the equipment and supplies needed to perform home dialysis. In some cases, electrical and/or plumbing upgrades may be required to accommodate home treatment.

If you want to learn more about kidney dialysis at home and you can meet the requirements above, talk to your physician and local dialysis centers about home dialysis options in your area.