How Common Is Itching In Dialysis Patients?
Why It Happens
This is not completely understood.
Here are a few possibilities that we know of:
Symptoms
Well, you itch.
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But here are a few specific points:
Does It Affect Every Dialysis Patient?
However, there are patients in whom certain risk factors have been identified.
One of the ways of increasing the dose of dialysis is to increase the duration of the treatment.
This, however, may or may not be an acceptable option to a patient.
Is the parathyroid hormone (PTH) or yourphosphorushigh?
If these or other risk factors are easily identifiable, steps can be taken to fix that.
For instance, vitamin D analogs can help bring down that PTH level.
High phosphorus levels could be brought down by a low phosphorus diet or by putting patients on phosphorus binders.
Finally, if all this fails, we often have to turn to medications.
These could include anantihistaminelike Benadryl or diphenhydramine, or another medication which is similar called hydroxyzine.
These medications will tend to be sedating and may not work in all cases.
Loratadine is a non-sedating alternative.
Other medications that have been tried include gabapentin, pregabalin, and antidepressants including sertraline.
For patients who get no relief even with these drugs, phototherapy with ultraviolet B light might help.
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2021;13(8):e17559.
