Holy Family Hospital

Hello everyone!

My name is Dr. Gaurav Sahai. Today I am standing in the dialysis unit of the hospital and I'll tell you something in brief about the dialysis procedure. The dialysis procedure is one of the treatments available for patients of chronic kidney diseases and it is a reasonably painless procedure. As you can see, right now I am standing next to a dialysis machine and we have a patient who is undergoing dialysis. The dialysis machine clears the blood of the toxins that are normally generated in the body in our daily activities. The process itself last for about 4 hours and the patient on an average has to undergo two to three sessions of hemodialysis in a week, that is around 12 sessions of hemodialysis in a month.

The process is such that the blood comes out from the patient's body and goes into the machine and the machine detoxifies the blood and hundred percent of the blood is returned to the patient body without any blood loss. Usually, during dialysis session, no blood transfusion is required and it is a fairly painless procedure. As you can see most of the patients are usually sleeping at the time of dialysis. There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about dialysis in the general public that it is a very painful procedure and that the patient has to undergo a lot of discomfort during it and the facts are quite against it.

I take this opportunity to increase awareness in the public about the dialysis and other treatment available for patients of kidney diseases. I can also say that patients who undergo regular dialysis and regular treatment can lead fairly healthy and productive life even if they suffer from chronic kidney disease and kidney failure.

Thank you!

Hi,

I am Dr. Gaurav Sahai, Nephrologist. Kidneys are 2 beans shaped organs which are located either side of the spine. They are roughly the size of the fist. In spite of the small organ in the body, these are the most important organs. The main function of the kidney is the purification of the blood and detoxifying body from toxins waste. The purification of blood leads to the form of urine which is secreted from the body. There is a lot of myth about the kidney in the general public. This decreases the awareness of the diseases. We often read about the heart, lungs, brain but we get very little information about the kidney. So, I can say that this is the least concerned organ of the body as per media. So, I take this opportunity to increase awareness in the general public about the kidney. There are a lot of diseases which can affect kidneys. And kidney can also get affected by the disease which is there in the body but not directly linked to the kidneys. Diabetes and hypertension can lead to kidney diseases. As you all know that diabetes is the capital of India which means the burden of kidney diseases are much higher as compared to other countries.

In my practice, I have seen a lot of patients who are suffering from diabetes. Patients come to me with the advanced cases of kidney diseases because they ignore the early signs of kidney diseases. So, what are the early signs of kidney disease? Unfortunately, these signs are very unspecific and often ignored by the patient. It could be fatigue, disturbed sleep, increased frequency of urination, swelling in the morning around the eyes. Many times, patients ignore these symptoms because of over-exertion or stress at work. And they live with these symptoms without consulting a Dr. If early detection can be done, it can be treated. In advanced stages of kidney disease, the symptoms are much more fluoride and easily identified such as decreased appetite, swelling of the body, low hemoglobin, vomiting. So, what can be done to detect symptoms at an early stage to prevent further progression?

It is not possible to screen the entire country so, we have to identify the people who are at the risk. These are the people who are more than 40 years of age, obese, people, who are suffering from diabetes, hypertension, family history of kidney disease and kidney stones history. These people should go for screening at least once a year. Screening of urination once every 6 months. 2 basic investigations are an ultrasound of the kidney and urine examination. And the best day to get these tests done on your birthday. If the tests are done as I mentioned, it can help in the prevention of kidney diseases and always remember that early diagnosis is always better and prevention is better than cure.

Thank You.