Hemodialysis is a treatment used when your kidneys fail and can no longer clean your blood and remove extra fluid from your body. A hemodialysis access or vascular access is a way to reach your blood for hemodialysis. You have two kinds of blood vessels in your body: arteries and veins. Arteries are large, strong…
Most people are aware that dialysis is a lifesaving treatment for people with kidney failure. But the evolution of dialysis has not kept pace with the changing lifestyles of those who depend on this treatment. For many years, the administration of dialysis therapy was somewhat of a guessing game. With the advent of the ability…
What over the counter medications should I be careful about with my kidney disease? All over-the-counter medications have the potential to be harmful and so they should only be taken according to the labels and if you have any questions you should call you doctor. However, there are a few over-the-counters that are particularly problematic…
Hypertension is commonly referred to as the silent killer. However, high cholesterol (total serum cholesterol >200) is a very important risk factor for atherosclerotic heart disease. In the 1950’s, high cholesterol was not even recognized as a cause of strokes and heart attacks. Now, we know that almost one million people a year die from…
This is a very good question and one that many patients ask. The best, although indirect, measure of kidney function is indeed the creatinine, not the BUN. Blood, urea, nitrogen is used by nephrologists often to determine whether or not the patient is dehydrated. Generally speaking, the relationship between your creatinine and BUN is 1:10…