What is Hemodialysis

Currently, more and more patients with kidney disease choose to take dialysis in the whole world, among which is hemodialysis. However, few patients know what hemodialysis is and how hemodialysis functions, even they have taken hemodialysis.

In clinic, hemodialysis means that some wastes in blood are moved out through semi-permeable membrane. It is one of the blood purification methods, which is safe, easy and used widely. Dialysis means that solute move from high concentrations to low ones through semi-permeable. Hemodialysis includes the movement of solute and water, that is, blood and dialysate exchange material in dialyzer (artificial kidney) with the help of semi-permeable membrane contact and concentration gradient. Then metabolic wastes and excessive electrolyte in blood move into dialysate and calcium and basic group in dialysate move into blood. If the mixture of albumin and urea are put into the dialyzer and soaked out of tube, urea in dialysis tube will move into water through artificial kidney pore.

Albumin molecule is larger, so it can’t get through the pore. The phenomenon that small molecules can get through semi-permeable membrane while large ones can’t is called dispersion. In clinic, the basic principle of hemodialysis is to purify the blood so that it can achieve the purpose of purification based on the phenomenon of dispersion.

The thickness of semi-permeable membrane in hemodialysis is 10~20 microns and the average size of membrane pore is 3nm. Therefore, small molecules with molecular weight of less than 15000 and part of medium molecules can get through the membrane, while large molecules of 35000 can’t. Protein, pyrogens, viruses, bacteria and blood cells can’t be disclosed. There is more water in urine, so if kidneys are replaced by artificial kidneys, quantities of water must be discharged from blood. Artificial can remove excessive water by osmotic pressure and ultrafiltration pressure. All of the hemodialysis have these functions mentioned above, which can regulate the quality and quantity of blood, approaching to physiological conditions.

Hope what mentioned above can help you know about hemodialysis. If you want to understand hemodialysis further, you can send email to renalhealth@hotmail.com.

10 Ways to Prevent Complications of Diabetes

How much do you know the complications of Diabetes? What kind of complications do you know? Actually, there are several complications of Diabetes, such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, foot ulcers and retinopathy. How to prevent complications of diabetes?

1. Monitor blood sugar. By monitoring blood sugar, you can know your blood level. Besides, it can remind you to have a better control of blood sugar. Only in this way can the best glucose be achieved (HbA1c≤6.5%), reducing and delaying the occurrence and development of Diabetes complications.

2. Monitor blood pressure. Most Diabetes patients are accompanied with high blood pressure. To some extents, blood pressure on vascular injury is more significant than that of blood sugar. It is important for Diabetes patients to control blood pressure which should be less than 130/80mmHg. Healthy habits are helpful in lowering blood pressure, such as balance diet and regular exercise. It is also important to reduce salt and to control alcohol consumption in order to reduce blood pressure.

3. Have eyes checked once a year. Patients should see eye doctors once a year. They can help you to find vision problems related with Diabetes, such as cataract and retinal complications. If you have poor control of blood sugar or there is high blood pressure, kidney disease or high level of cholesterol, you need to increase the frequency of eye examinations.

4. Take care of your feet. Diabetes can damage foot nerves to reduce reactions to pains, which means that there is damage or blister on foot and you are unaware of them. Diabetes causes arterial stenosis or occlusion. If foot tissues are damaged, they are difficult to heal.

5. See dentists twice a year. High blood sugar can weaken the defense capabilities of immune system. For Diabetes patients, the ability against bacteria and viruses reduces, so there are bacteria in oral cavity. Gum is a common site of infection. However, healthy teeth are important to human.

6. Take system check once a year. Besides regular visit and treatment adjustment, patients need to take system check once a year. You can tell doctors your Diabetes condition and he would consciously focus on various issues related to Diabetes, such as eye disease, kidney disease and heart disease. Therefore, you can have a precise understanding of your health.

7. Take Aspirin once a day. Because Aspirin can reduce the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke, most patients should take Aspirin once a day. General recommended dose is 75mg—100mg.

8. Do not smoke. Studies have shown that smoking patients with Diabetes can easily die of kidney disease, stroke and other diseases. Smoking can cause narrowing of arteries, increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, which makes it more difficult to heal wounds. Smoking can increase risk of nerve injury and kidney diseases. Besides, it can further weaken immune system, which makes it easier for you to have cold and lung infection.

9. Inject vaccine regularly. Influenza may result in serious complications of diabetes, such as ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar coma. Most doctors suggest Diabetes patients inject lung vaccine once. If you have complications related with Diabetes or you are 65 years old, you should inject vaccine every five years. Besides, patients can inject other vaccines. If you haven’t injected hepatitis B vaccine, you should ask doctors to see whether you can take injections.

10. Regulate stress. Stress can increase the production of insulin-antagonistic hormones, causing high blood sugar. Long-term stress also can cause depression. We should learn to release pressure, regulate mood and live every day happily.

Experts warn patients with Diabetes to pay attentions to complications caused by Diabetes. Otherwise, damages to kidneys will occur, especially Diabetic Nephropathy. If you want to know more about Diabetes and Diabetic Nephropathy, you can send emails to renalhealth@hotmail.com. We will do our best to help you.

How to Detect Kidney Cysts

Nowadays, Kidney Cyst becomes a serious disease, which can develop into Kidney Failure, threatening people’s life. Many patients with Kidney Cysts don’t know what examinations that they should take. In order to help people to understand Kidney Cysts further, we will talk about how to detect Kidney Cysts.

1. Laboratory tests
For healthy people, urinalysis mostly presents to be normal. Microscopic hematuria is rarely seen. Kidney function tests also are normal, except multiple or bilateral cysts which are rarely seen. If one side kidney is damaged widely, the total renal function is normal because of compensatory hypertrophy on other side kidneys.

2. X-ray examination
Renal tomography X-ray photography can increase the contrast ratio between renal parenchyma with blood vessel and cysts. Occasionally, renal parenchyma tumors have a relatively avascular, which is easy to confuse with cysts. In few cases, cyst walls also can have tumour. Therefore, patients need to take further examination.

3. CT scan
CT is the most accurate to identify kidney cysts and tumour. Density of cyst fluid is similar to water density, while density of tumour is similar to normal renal parenchyma. After intravenous injection of contrast agent, renal parenchyma becomes denser, but cysts aren’t affected. Renal parenchyma has an obvious boundary with cyst walls, while there is no boundary with tumour. In many ways, CT is better than puncture fluid to identify cysts and tumour.

4. Kidney ultrasound examination
Ultrasound examination accounts for a large proportion when identify kidney cysts and real mass with non-invasive diagnostic techniques. When ultrasound examination reveals cysts in line with the image, cysts can be punctured to extract cyst fluid under the surveillance of the ultrasound image.

5. Isotope scanning Line scan can show mass profile, but it is hard to differentiate cysts and tumour.
Hope what mentioned above is helpful. If you want to know more about the examination of kidney cysts or the treatment, you can email to renalhealth@hotmail.com. We will do our best to help you.

Symptoms of Diabetic Kidney Disease

Diabetes is a common endocrine disease, sounding like there is no significant relationship with kidneys. Actually, it is not. If diabetes is not controlled well, various complications will occur, among which diabetic kidney disease is a serious one. Diabetic kidney disease can cause kidney failure, threatening people’s life. Therefore, it is essential for diabetics to know about the symptoms of diabetic kidney disease so as to take early treatment.

1. Proteinuria (protein in urine)
In the early stage of diabetic kidney disease, there is no clinical proteinuria. Only with radioimmunoassay can micro albuminuria be detected. In clinic, the only manifestation of diabetic kidney disease in early stage is proteinuria, developing from intermittent proteinuria to continuous one.

2. Swelling
Swelling is rarely found in the early stage of diabetic kidney disease. For some patients, mild swelling appears before plasma protein lowers. If quantities of proteinuria appear, plasma proteins lowers and swelling becomes serious, diabetics kidney disease will develop into end stage.

3. High blood pressure
The morbidity of hypertension in patients with diabetes type 1, who have no kidney problem, isn’t higher than that of healthy people. However, the following condition is usually associated with hypertension: diabetes type 2, proteinuria, nephrotic syndrome. In addition, most cases of nephrotic syndrome is accompanied by modest hypertension and few of them even tend to severe hypertension.

4. Kidney failure
There is a big difference in the development of diabetic kidney disease. For some patients, mild proteinuria can persistent for many years, but their kidneys are in normal state. While for others, there is little urine protein and the disease can develop into nephrotic syndrome. Then kidney functions deteriorate gradually and kidney failure occur.

5. Anemia
Patients with significant azotemia may have mild anemia.

6. Complications in other organs
With the development of this disease, complications in other organs occur, such as cardiovascular disease, neuropathy and retinopathy.
Hope what mentioned above is helpful. If you notice any of these symptoms, please see doctors as early as possible and take timely treatment. If you want to know more about diabetic kidney disease, you can email to renalhealth@hotmail.com. We will do our best to help you.

Complications of Nephrotic Syndrome -- How Much Do You Know?

How much do you know about the complications of Nephrotic Syndrome? Nephrotic Syndrome is not an independent disease but a group of symptoms of glomerular disease. Its main symptoms are a large amount of proteinuria, high degree of edema, hyperlipidemia, hypoproteinemia, which is called “Three Highs and One Low”. Nephrotic Syndrome can be divided into Primary and Secondary based on the causes.

Patients with Nephrotic Syndrome are increasing year by year, but few people know about its complications, which is important to patients. We will introduce the complications in detail.

1. Coronary Heart Disease: Hyperlipidemia is one of the symptoms of Nephrotic Syndrome, so patients with Nephrotic Syndrome may get Coronary Heart Disease easily. The incidence of Myocardial Infarction in Nephrotic Syndrome patients is eight times higher than that in normal people. Coronary Heart Disease has become the third factor of Nephrotic Syndrome death.
2. Infection: A large amount of immunoglobulin loses in urine and plasma protein decreases, influencing the formation of antibody. The application of adrenocorticotropic hormone and cytotoxic drugs make systemic resistance of patients decrease, thus infections occur easily, such as skin infections, primary peritonitis, respiratory infections, urinary tract infections and even septicemia.
3. Formation of thrombus: Patients of Nephrotic Syndrome may have thrombus easily. Especially, the occurrence of membranous nephropathy can be 25% to 40%. Causes of thrombus are swelling, less activities, venous stasis and high cholesterol.
4. Acute Renal Failure: When patients vomit, have diarrhea and use antihypertensive drugs and diuretics, renal blood perfusion decreases suddenly and glomerular infiltration rate decreases, causing Acute Renal Failure.
5. Electrolyte and metabolic disorders: Repeatedly use of diuretics or unreasonable salt ban can make patients with Nephrotic Syndrome have secondary hyponatremia. If patients use adrenocorticotropic hormone and large quantities of diuretics, a large number of urination will occur. If patients do not take potassium timely, they may have the symptom of hypokalemia.
What mentioned above is about the complications of Nephrotic Syndrome. If you have any questions about Nephrotic Syndrome, please email to renalhealth@hotmail.com and we will do our best to help you. Wish you have a good day!

The Symptoms of Early Renal Failure

Renal Failure is in the middle or later period of renal fibrosis. In that period, the patient’s kidney has been severely impaired and if effective treatments are not taken, the disease will continue to deteriorate and eventually develop into Uremia. What are the symptoms of renal failure in the early period? Now, we will give you some introductions.

1. Feeling sleepy and weak is the most common symptom of early renal failure.
This is probably a manifestation existing for a long time, while being ignored very easily because there are so many causes which can result in fatigue. For many office workers, long-term and intense brainwork, disordered life route and excessive fatigue always lead to their renal failure.

2. Swelling is the most visual symptom.
This is an obvious symptom. The kidney is unable to eliminate the excessive moisture in the body making the fluid stranded in the tissue space. At the beginning, the swelling only occurs at ankle and eyelid and fades away after rests. But if the swelling is continuous and arising at the whole body, it proves the patient is in very serious situation.

3. Functional disorder of digestive tract and poor appetite caused by increased serum creatinine and the accumulation of toxin in the body.
It is caused by the poor digestive function affected by the retention of urotoxin. Most people take it for granted and let it develop without control. Later, these symptoms such as abdominal swelling and discomfort, nausea and vomit will arise and then result in increased defecation or mashy excrement. At that time, the disease becomes severe and that’s why the patient has to go to hospital for treatment.

4. Hypertension will appear in the early stage of renal failure.
The kidney has the function of expelling sodium and moisture. If the kidney’s function is impaired, sodium and moisture will be stored up in the body and the kidney will secrete some substances driving the blood pressure up. As a result, in the early stage of renal failure, patients will suffer from hypertension of different degrees. And if there is hypertension together with different blood clotting mechanisms, it may lead to nose or gum bleeding, which should arouse the patients’ attention.

5. Sallow complexion caused by renal anemia.
It is caused by anemia and because the attack and expansion of this manifestation are very slow, it won’t have obvious contrast in a short time just like that you can hardly see any significant difference of one’s complexion in a day.

6. Urine output changes caused by the degeneration of renal function.
With the degeneration of kidney’s filtration function, some patients’ urine output will gradually become less as the disease develops. Even if the urine output keeps normal, since the toxin in urine becomes less and excessive waste can not get out of the body, as a result, the urine output can not reflect the real situation of renal function.
A good understanding of the early symptoms of renal failure can help you with the treatment. If you have the above symptoms, please turn to doctors for help as soon as possible in order to avoid deterioration of the disease and the occurrence of Uremia. You also can email to renalhealth@hotmail.com, maybe we can help you.

What Kinds of Fruits and Vegetables Are Good for Patients with Diabetic Nephropathy

It is not enough for patients with Diabetic Nephropathy to take only medical treatment for their recovery. Diet conditioning is indispensable. Patients should eat high-protein foods, such as fish, egg and meat. Fruits and vegetables are suitable for patients. What kinds of fruits and vegetables are the best choices?

1. Cucumber
Cucumber is rich in vitamins and minerals with medical value. Fresh cucumber inhibits carbohydrate translating into fat, so cucumber can help lose weight. Cucumber has hypoglycemic effect. Diabetics can eat cucumber for it can’t increase blood sugar. Besides, cucumber can help to reduce swelling.

2. Wolfberry
Wolfberry has the effect of antihypertensive, lowering cholesterol and blood sugar. Wolfberry can treat impotence, seminal emission, liver and kidney deficiency, dizziness, head faint, blurred vision. It is edible and can be medicine.

3. Squash
Squash has the function of relieving restlessness and thirst, diuretic, lung coughs and reducing swelling. It can be used for adjuvant treatment of diabetic edema and abdominal distension. Besides squash has the function of moist skin and eliminating the mutation of carcinogens.

4. Mushroom
Mushroom, containing more dietary fiber, can treat Diabetes. Mushroom is one of the choices for patients with Diabetes and liver disease. Mushroom can decompose protein and digest fat, so when diabetics are indigestive, they can eat mushroom. More importantly, if you can not distinguish whether the mushroom is wild mushroom, you mustn’t eat because of toxins.

In addition, patients also can eat fruits which are helpful for patients of Diabetic Nephropathy, such as apples, strawberry and tomatoes. But they shouldn’t eat bananas, red dates and watermelon because of the sugar content in them.

Hope what mentioned above is helpful to you. If you want to know more about daily diet or other things about Diabetic Nephropathy.