Side Effects of Hemodialysis and How to Prevent them

Hemodialysis is a lifesaving substitutive therapy for patients with end stage renal failure (ESRF). However, the patients often have to encounter various side effects of hemodialysis. Most of these side effects can be managed if the patients can follow the recommendations of their doctors and keep a strict dietary habit.

1. Hypotension

Hypotension is a common side effect of hemodialysis. It is occurs when too much fluid is removed out of body during dialysis. When the patients experience hypotension, they usually have nausea, dizziness and so on. The patients should let their doctors know this issue and ask them to program the dialysis machine so as to guarantee proper amount of fluid to be removed out of body.

Another reason for hypotension is medicines for hypertension. The patients should decline or do not take that medicines after asking for their doctors' advices, unless their doctors prescribe the medicines. In addition, limiting fluid intake also can prevent low pressure during dialysis.

2. Muscle cramps

Many patients may have muscle cramps during hemodialysis. The muscle cramps can cause discomfort and pain in the legs. There are various causes of muscle cramps. Sometimes when fluid is removed too fast or too much fluid is taken out of body, the patients will have muscle cramps. The patients should let their doctors know this problem at once and ask some remedies.

3. Infection

In hemodialysis,the fistula or graft access is very likely to be infected or inflamed. Pressure caused by clothing and sleeping on the side of where the access is located and some bacteria invasion often can cause infection and inflammation on access. The patients should monitor the access daily to ensure it works well.

4. Itching

Many patients on hemodialysis often have skin itching. It is commonly caused by the high phosphorous level in body. As hemodialysis can not remove phosphorous effectively, it will accumulate in body thus causing itching. Therefore, the patients should keep a low phosphorus diet or take a phosphorus blinder with their doctors' guidance.


Patients on hemodialysis should communicate with their doctors closely during their hemodialysis period and let them know about the abnormal reactions caused by dialysis so as to adjust their dialysis in the first time.