NKF Young Person’s Group Zone:
CAPD Almost Anywhere

Essential tips for CAPD patients

How to dialyse almost anywhere on CAPD

Here are a few tips for those CAPD patients who are a little bit wary of dialysing anywhere but their own homes. All you need is to acquire these essential items then you should be able to dialyse anywhere that has somewhere to hang your bag!

1.  A baby changing bag with changing mat - these are quite expensive but keep everything you need to do an exchange in a compact space. The changing mat gives you a sterile area to connect up to your dialysis bag.
2.  An S shaped metal hook, normally used for hanging kitchen utensils - this provides you with something to hang your fill bag on (an easy alternative is a wardrobe/clothes hanger). It can be hooked onto wardrobe doors, trees in car parks, picture hooks, nails and hand holds inside a car.
3.  A plastic L hook (these are used to hang clothes on the back of doors) - these will fit onto most door frames when no other hook is available and mean you can dialyse anywhere there is a door. Now the only problem you have is how to warm your dialysis bags when you don’t have access to a power point. If you only have to do one exchange, then a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel will keep your bag warm for a couple of hours. Please note do not place the bag directly onto the hot water bottle as this could heat it too much. Alternatively if you need to do more than one exchange, have to dialyse as soon as you arrive somewhere or during the car journey then a travel warmer is recommended. These are ingenious devices that plug into the cigarette lighter of a car and will warm up as you drive. Ask your renal unit if they have one you can borrow, as they are very expensive to buy.
4.  To keep things clean, try to close all windows and doors and keep away from air con vents to ensure there in minimal dust in the room (if so, wait a while after shutting doors etc and look in a dark part of the room where you’ll see dust clearer). If in doubt, don’t do the exchange - it’s safer not to do it that get peritonitis!

If you have any tips you think may be useful to other patients on this or any other issue then please contact us.

Compiled by Sara Tyler

The National Kidney Federation cannot accept responsibility for information provided. The above is for guidance only. Patients are advised to seek further information from their own doctor.

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Page created: 22 January 2005

Last updated: 2 May 2008

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