Hemodialysis vs. Peritoneal

Kidney failure affects hundreds of thousands in the United States alone. The failure of the kidneys can be contributed to a variety of factors. Some of these include uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes, glomerulonephritus (an inflammation of the kidney's filters.), systemic lupus, polycystic kidney disease, and drugs.

Dialysis is a scary scenario any way you look at, but people with kidney failure have no other options to undertake in order to live, save for the miracle of receiving a transplant. As scary as dialysis may seem, it is a miracle of science in it's own right, as it allows us to live on.

Okay, you've received the bad news, you will soon need to start dialysis, question is, which type are you going to choose? Depending on your physical condition, you may or may not be given a choice. If you have the option of choosing, weigh the pros and cons of each, and decide for yourself, which modality is best.

Hemodialysis uses a machine and an artificial kidney/ filter to remove the toxins and excess fluids. Peritoneal uses the peritoneum (an area behind your abdomen), which has a natural filter, a semi-permeable membrane to remove the toxins and excess fluids. Both treatments require your blood to be filtered and excess fluid to be removed. In order for this to be achieved, you need to have an access made to enable the process. With hemodialysis you can have a fistula/graft which is under the skin, although under the skin, it is a noticeable appearance. With peritoneal, a catheter in your belly is used, with about 5 inches of the catheter being outside of your body.

Hemodialysis requires you to stick to a schedule and go to a facility to have your treatment, whereas peritoneal can be done at home or elsewhere, at the time that's best for you.
Peritoneal dialysis gives you the freedom of travel with no pre-arranging of treatments in a facility where you are vacationing.

Hemodialysis requires you to be stuck with 2 needles at each treatment.
Peritoneal dialysis puts you at a higher risk for infection.

Hemodialysis is done by the staff with little help from you. (you can be involved if you choose to).
Peritoneal is done by yourself requiring the changing of dialysate bags 4 times per day (can be tiring for some). You will first need to be trained for a couple of weeks to learn how to do your peritoneal dialysis properly. A longer overnight method is also an option, using a small machine.

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