Some Knowledge About Dialysis

Dialysis is the artificial process of eliminating waste (diffusion) and unwanted water (ultrafiltration) from the blood. Our kidneys do this naturally. Some people, however, may have failed or damaged kidneys which cannot carry out the function properly - they may need dialysis.

Dialysis may be used for patients who have become ill and have acute kidney failure (temporary loss of kidney function), or for fairly stable patients who have permanently lost kidney function(stage 5 chronic kidney disease).

In the early stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD), you do not need dialysis. The stages of chronic kidney disease can last for many years. But if your kidneys fail, you will need dialysis or a kidney transplant to keep you alive.


Healthy kidneys work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Dialysis replaces only a small amount of your kidney function. If you are not getting adequate dialysis, you will start to have symptoms of kidney failure, such as:

metallic taste in your mouth

fatigue

itching

loss of appetite