What You Need to Know About the Three Different Types of Dialysis
When you’ve been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), you and your health care provider will discuss treatment options to help manage your condition and prevent it from progressing to kidney failure. Treatment will depend on what stage of the disease and if there are any underlying causes, like diabetes or high blood pressure. In the earlier stages of CKD, treatment options may include a modified diet, antihypertensive medications, and vitamins and supplements. As the disease progresses to end-stage renal disease or end-stage renal failure, the kidneys are no longer functioning and will require a more extreme treatment protocol. End-stage renal disease requires either dialysis or a kidney transplant. What is Chronic Kidney Disease? Chronic kidney disease is a gradual loss of kidney function over time. The kidneys are an important organ in the body that is responsible for filtering waste and excess fluids from the blood, maintaining overall fluid balance, and regulating the amount of salt and minerals in the body. Waste, excess fluid, and minerals are excreted through the urine to prevent buildup. But when kidneys become damaged, they aren’t able to filter blood as well as they should. This means that excess fluid, waste, and minerals can’t be …
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