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Making the dialysis decision: What you need to know
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Hundreds of thousands of Americans with kidney failure undergo dialysis treatments to keep them alive. Find out who needs the treatment, how it works and what happens to your body when you make the dialysis decision. - photo by Suzanne Carlile
Hundreds of thousands of Americans with kidney failure undergo dialysis treatments to keep them alive. While their reasons for needing the treatment can vary widely, many patients with kidney failure ultimately face the same dialysis decision.

Here's what you need to know:

What is dialysis?

When your kidneys fail, your body cannot filter toxins, regulate body fluids, or sustain electrolyte balance vital to survival. Dialysis takes the place of kidney function by cleaning a person's blood.

The first successful dialysis machine, or artificial kidney, was invented in 1945 by Willem Johan Kolff, then a doctoral student at the University of Groningen in Holland. Today, about 450,000 Americans are on dialysis, according to the National Kidney Foundation.

Dialysis is used as a bridge to kidney transplant, in recovery from acute kidney failure, or for an end-of-life, life-sustaining purpose. In general, life expectancy after starting dialysis is five years.

Who gets dialysis treatment?

The No. 1 reason a person needs dialysis treatment is kidney failure due to diabetes. The disease is responsible for 44 percent of all dialysis patients kidney failure, according to the U.S. Renal Data System's 2013 Annual Data Report.

The report names the second-largest group of dialysis patients, at 28 percent, as people with kidney failure due to high blood pressure. Other conditions often leading to dialysis treatment are glomerulonephritis, polycystic disease, kidney inflammation, genetics, auto-immune disease, drug use, etc.

Signs and symptoms of kidney failure are often hard to pinpoint because they mimic multiple other medical conditions. For early detection, lab testing should be part of your yearly physical. By analyzing a person's blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels, a doctor will be able to determine the level of kidney function.

Patients who have lost more than 75 percent of their kidney function are often referred for dialysis treatment. The worse your kidney function is, the more complications you will have.

The decision to undergo dialysis treatments is the first and most important discussion you will have to make with your health care provider, and you should understand doing so will complicate any other medical problems you have.

Realities of dialysis treatment

Its important to note dialysis is not a cure for kidney failure. Dialysis is a life-support treatment without functioning kidneys you cannot live.

Once the decision is made to move forward with dialysis, there are two types of treatments you can use: hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

Hemodialysis is when an external machine attaches directly to your body through the blood stream. This is done at least three times a week at a dialysis facility, with the treatments usually lasting three to five hours, a WebMD article comparing the two types of dialysis explains.

Peritoneal dialysis is done at home but is more labor intensive. This type of dialysis "uses the lining of your belly, which is called the peritoneal membrane, to filter your blood," the WebMD article explains. A catheter is surgically implanted in your stomach, which becomes the access point for your daily "exchanges." These exchanges are done four to six times a day.

Dialysis treatments are very hard on the body and its organs. Complications from dialysis vary and are different for every patient.

Some complications include:

  • Chronic anemia
  • Life-threatening electrolyte imbalance
  • Uremic syndrome (causing nausea, vomiting and frequent sleep disturbances)
  • Heart disease
  • Bone disease
  • Fluid regulation problems
  • Need for a multiple-medication regime
The younger you are when you undergo dialysis, the better your options and results are. No one over the age of 65 years old is eligible for transplant, and any dialysis patient over the age of 70 has a higher risk of death because of the treatments and frequent complications.

My mother died from kidney failure at the age of 70. She was on home dialysis prior to her death, and watching her go through her illness and multiple dialysis treatments each day was horrendous. It is something I would not wish on anyone.

When considering dialysis, please realize you are making a lifelong choice that will impact many people and change your level of independence.

Jordan Ormond contributed to this story.
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.