When should dialysis be started?

• When everyday life is made difficult by symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, headaches due to high blood pressure, ankle oedema and breathlessness due to water and salt overload, and anaemia.
• Dialysis may be necessary when the glomerular filtration rate is less than 15 ml/min/1.73 m2, i.e. when urea and creatinine levels are too high.

What is dialysis used for?

Dialysis is a replacement treatment that only partially replaces kidney function. It rids the blood of waste products and water (or toxins) that have accumulated in excess in the body.

It makes it possible to :

• Purify the blood of waste products not eliminated by the diseased kidneys (urea, creatinine....),
• Rebalance the distribution of water and other substances dissolved in the body.
• Restore appetite and physical fitness, to improve quality of life and social and professional reintegration.

It is associated with major constraints, in particular the need to undergo dialysis sessions and a diet that is limited in terms of water, salt, potassium and phosphorus.
There are two dialysis techniques:

• haemodialysis: blood is filtered through an artificial membrane. This technique requires easy access to the blood, known as a vascular approach. It is carried out at home or in a dialysis facility. Management may be public, private or voluntary.
• peritoneal dialysis is generally carried out at home.

Under certain conditions, it is possible to switch from one technique to the other.