My dialysis patients
By: Ibtesam Akhtar Ansari
As a dialysis technician, I have seen that initially kidney patients are very nervous both mentally and physically. They are afraid to undergo dialysis. They feel that they will lose a large amount of blood during dialysis. They feel that they may die because of this. While this does not happen, chances of death are also very low. During dialysis, blood is drawn into the artificial kidney.
A catheter is used for this, which is put in the throat or in the foot. Blood is collected in a dialysis machine through a vein that connects to the heart. An artificial kidney filters blood and removes urine.
Meanwhile, the filtered blood is returned to the patient’s body through the catheter. This process is done for at least four hours. A patient has to undergo dialysis two to three times a week to lead a healthy life. If this is not done, the patient’s chances of high blood pressure increase.
One of the reasons for low blood pressure readings is that their blood is not clear and urination is also reduced and if the patient does not undergo dialysis treatment, the chances of urinary obstruction increase in a few days. Therefore, it is necessary to undergo dialysis two to three times in a week. By which the physical balance of the patient is maintained.
Each patient has a unique history of kidney failure. Sometimes sudden vomiting and diarrhoea, high fever, excessive bleeding in an accident also causes organ failure. Few people believe that like cancer, kidney failure is also a hereditary disease.
High blood pressure and diabetes also increase the chances of kidney failure. The first condition to keep the kidneys safe is to never take medicine on an empty stomach. Repeated use of pain medication also has a profound effect on the kidneys. Some people are born with only one kidney and don’t even know it. Such a patient has an increased risk of kidney failure in the future. Whereas in a human being having two kidneys, both kidneys share the work. Kidney is a very important functional unit of the body. Kidneys maintain optimal body function.
For example, the kidneys control blood pressure. Purifies the blood, removes toxins from the body and maintains the acid-base system in the body. They also control diabetes, makes urine and returns important nutrients to the body. The kidneys release a hormone called erythropoietin which helps in blood formation. The kidney releases a hormone called renin that maintains the body’s blood pressure. Thus, the kidney has many important functions.
As a dialysis technician it is very important to gain the trust of the patient and his family. The patient should feel that they will be healthy and lead a healthy life after their treatment.
How to live a healthy life as a Dialysis Technician, we need to weigh in on this relationship with the patient. The diet plan has to be explained to him and followed. So, if the patient follows the diet plan and takes some early morning walks, he can live like a normal person.
There are chances of kidney failure at any age. From two months old baby to elderly person we do dialysis. I have recently done dialysis on a ten year old child. This child undergoes dialysis three times a week. I have to treat this child very kindly so that the child can get his dialysis done well without panicking.
For this, I have to treat him as his friend during dialysis so that the child can get along well with me. This child was very scared at first. Now he is not afraid to see me. He starts smiling at me as he comes to the hospital.
His family members are also confident. He has to visit the hospital two to three times a week. Now he is starting to feel like he is not going to a hospital for treatment but he is going on an excursion. He speaks very little. He calls me Didi. There is a strange magic in his voice that inspires me a lot. Connecting with him heartily and talking to him, he doesn’t notice when I take his vein.
(The author is a Dialysis Technician at IKDRC, Ahmedabad
KV News
