How to Ease the After Effects of Dialysis - Perpetual Help Medical Center

How can you ease the after effects of dialysis? Fatigue Nausea Low Blood Pressure Dry or Itchy Skin Muscle Cramping Sepsis Access Site Complications Integrative Medicine Dialysis is a treatment given to patients who have advanced kidney failure. Las Pinas medical centers house hemodialysis machines that act as artificial kidneys. The machine filters waste from the patient’s bloodstream. These sessions take a lot out of a person’s body as treatment lasts for three to five hours a week. Here is a list of advice to ease the after affects you may experience after a dialysis session. Fatigue If you notice that you are constantly feeling exhausted, then this may be a symptom of fatigue. This is a common long-term effect for dialysis patients. It can be due to the treatment itself, the diet the doctor puts you on, or just an effect of kidney failure. Talk to your dietitian or your doctor on how you can adjust your diet to add the kinds of food that could boost your energy. They may also suggest that you do some light exercise to improve the overall circulation of blood in your body. Set some limits with your doctor on what kind of physical activity you can and cannot partake in. Nausea Nausea is a symptom of kidney failure, and it can be heightened once you start your dialysis treatment. If you constantly feel like vomiting while you have your treatment, have the nurses prepare bins for you to use. If the symptoms get too much to handle, talk to your doctor about prescribing anti-nausea medicine. Vomiting and nausea could also be symptoms of low blood pressure. Take note of changes in your body such as shortness of breath or dizziness. Low Blood Pressure Another common after effect of hemodialysis is low blood pressure. It is important to take note of any signs of nausea or dizziness because it could mean that the machine is extracting blood too quickly so that your body cannot cope with it. Talk to your nurses to see how you can adjust your dialysis machine to help ease the symptoms. Another reason for low blood pressure is excess fluid weight gain. The machine used for dialysis is adjusted according to a person’s weight. Any sudden changes may change the effectiveness of the machine. Try to limit the amount of liquids you consume on a daily basis to prevent any bloating. Dry or Itchy Skin Dialysis can extract the most, but not all kinds of waste in your bloodstream. One such kind of waste is phosphorus. Phosphorus is found in most of the food that you consume, namely processed food. While natural kidneys have the ability to remove this waste from your bloodstream, dialysis machines cannot. High levels of phosphorus can cause dry and itchy skin in patients. It can also suck out calcium from your bones, which leaves them weak and brittle. Your doctor and dietitian may put you on a low-phosphorus diet. Follow this diet well to prevent the drying of your skin. You may also be prescribed a phosphorus binder that can help relieve the symptoms. For an added layer of protection, use plain moisturizing lotions and do not use any kind of soap that can dry your skin out. Muscle Cramping The relationship between muscle cramping and hemodialysis treatments is unknown. Some speculate that the muscles may cramp when too much fluid is removed too quickly. Talk to your nurse about adjusting the time of your dialysis machine. If that does not work, try doing some light stretches before treatment. Ask your nurses to prepare a hot compress in case your muscles start to cramp during treatment. Medicines to help soothe this symptom should be discussed with your doctor first. Sepsis One of the more extreme after-effects of dialysis is sepsis or blood poisoning. Sepsis happens when a patient contracts a kind of bacteria that spreads through the bloodstream. Since the patient’s kidney is compromised, the bacteria’s effects can lead to multiple organ failure. If you are experiencing an extremely high fever paired with dizziness, contact your doctor right away. You will need to be admitted to the hospital and given antibiotics to alleviate this sickness. Access Site Complications The access site for your dialysis treatment may vary. Before your treatment begins, your doctor will need to create vascular access to your bloodstream. This allows for blood to be safely removed and returned to your body. The constant use of this site needs to be monitored to prevent any infection or any sort of blockage from forming. Take note of your doctor’s instructions on spotting compromised access. If you are experiencing pain, redness, swelling, or warmth around the site, then it could be symptoms of an infection. Report this new development to your doctor right away. Take note of how to check your vascular access for any signs of clotting or blockage. Integrative Medicine Integrative Medicine in Manila is a proactive approach to preventing diseases by working on improving a person’s overall physical, mental, and social being. For dialysis patients, striving to live a better and more controlled lifestyle is ideal to decrease the after-effects of the treatment. This means continuously going to treatments, getting checkups, religiously following your set diet, and maintaining an active lifestyle. Integrative Medicine in Manila means setting goals with your doctor to get better together. Key Takeaway Hemodialysis can help you return to an active lifestyle. It is crucial for you to take note of any changes you may feel while undergoing treatment. Las Pinas medical centers have doctors and trusted nurses that can recommend more ways to ease the after effects of dialysis. Feel free to report any unusual reactions you may have to the treatment.