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March is National Kidney Month: What Everyone Needs to Know
Special to The Truth
March is National Kidney
Month, a great time to focus on kidney health and treatment.
If you don’t know much about the topic, get informed --
kidney disease is common and can be deadly.
In fact, kidney disease is
the ninth leading cause of death in America, according to
the National Kidney Foundation, and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention estimates that one in three Americans
are at risk for kidney disease.
Risk factors include high
blood pressure, diabetes and a family history of a kidney
disease.
Staying Healthy
Certain lifestyle changes
can help promote healthy kidney function. Your doctor may
prescribe a well-balanced diet low in cholesterol, sodium,
processed foods and sugar. Get plenty of physical activity.
Stay hydrated. Avoid unhealthy habits such as smoking.
Talk to your doctor about
your risk and preventive steps you can take.
How Treatment Works
In a healthy body, kidneys
clean the blood by removing excess fluid, minerals and
wastes. However, for patients with kidney failure, kidneys
don’t function properly and they need a medical treatment
called dialysis to clean their blood.
More than 430,000 people
in the U.S. undergo dialysis at home or in clinics yearly,
according to the United States Renal Data System.
There are two types of
dialysis: peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis. Peritoneal
dialysis uses a cleansing fluid that is instilled into the
patient’s peritoneal cavity, the fluid-filled gap between
the walls of the abdomen and organs, and then drained after
a prescribed period of time. The patient’s own peritoneal
membrane acts as a natural filter for removing excess fluids
and wastes.
Hemodialysis requires the
patient to have a permanent access site to his or her
cardiovascular system and uses a machine to remove blood
from the patient, pump it through an artificial kidney that
removes toxins and excess fluids, and then return the blood
to the body.
Home Hemodialysis
For those undergoing
hemodialysis, there is good news. At home care can benefit
patients looking for more control of their care.
Traditionally, patients on
hemodialysis receive treatments at a dialysis clinic three
days per week, lasting between three and five hours per
visit. And patients must comply with the clinic schedule,
requiring them to manage their treatments around the
clinic’s availability.
For some, home
hemodialysis (HHD) may be a better alternative. With HHD,
patients and care partners perform dialysis at home after
successfully completing HHD training with a nurse.
Although home hemodialysis
is not a new treatment option, many patients and physicians
are unaware of its benefits.
“Improvements in
technology have allowed more patients to bring dialysis
treatment home, which means more flexibility to maintain
their normal routines,” says Mark Costanzo, President of the
Renal Therapies Group at Fresenius Medical Care, a
manufacturer of renal care products.
To learn more about one of
the fastest growing treatment options for kidney failure in
the U.S., visit www.fmcna.com.
This National Kidney
Month, learn the facts about your kidney health and
available treatment options.
Courtesy StatePoint |
