Patients

Problems of Kidney Patients

Physical Suffering

Kidney Failure leads to extremely uncomfortable health situation. Patients develop a variety of symptoms due to increase in creatinine and blood urea. Most patients have to undergo dialysis two or three times every week to support their lives. The patients suffer from high blood pressure and without dialysis they face difficulty in getting breath. The whole body become swollen due to accummulated fluids.

Hefty Medical Expenses

• Kidney dialysis is very costly. In most private hospitals dialysis alone costs above Rs.1000 per session.
• Patients have to take erithropoetin injection with every dialysis which costs minimum Rs.600 per injection.
• The patients have to take many medicines which cost additionally
• Patient has to be brought to hospitals with dialysis facilities. Patients hailing from remote rural areas have to spend a huge sum of money on transportation alone. The health of the patient quite often does not permit travel by public transport and therefore taxi has to be hired.
• Patients may face many physical discomforts during dialysis and may need admission in Intensive Care Unit which adds to hospital expenses.
• Many extra expenses are involved in food and accommodation of patient and relatives while in hospital.

Loss of Family Income

• Most patients cannot go for work which means total loss of income and dependency on some relative.
• Relatives who bring the patient loses job or have to take leave which means loss of further family income.

Indirect Sufferings

Well being of Children lost

The process of dialysis takes 4 hours in the dialysis room but the whole day is lost in travel and waiting. The children of dialysis patient suffer because they have to be left alone at home or placed with someone else. Their studies suffer due to lack of attention. Psychological problems may occur due to lack of parental care.

Mental Agony of the Patient

The patients suffer enormous mental agony. Most patients deeply panic about family resources being drained out to keep them alive. There are cases when many mothers and fathers afflicted with kidney failure refusing to take medication and die a horrible agonising death thinking that the family resources for bringing up their kids being lost. Many families with a dear one suffering kidney failure have spent everything they have on treatment and become bankrupt.Individuals and families have been committing suicide out of this trauma.

Suffering of the Relatives

The family life becomes completely disrupted due to medical treatment of the patient. The close relatives who take care of the patient suffer enormously running helter skelter to bring aid to the patient. They have to run for money, often selling assets to meet the medical expenses. The mental agony of the parents disturb the children very much. Children often cannot even go to school because there would be no one at home to prepare them food and uniform or to teach them at home or send them to school.The entire family of the patient gets deeply disturbed and suffer like hell.