Welcome to the PD Forum of Home Dialysis Central! This forum is for patients to share your thoughts, concerns, and/or suggestions about peritoneal dialysis.
I would like to find out if a patient on CAPD can have regular baths? if so, does it mean that you will have to purchase special covers for the exit tube?kc@marc.com.my
Most doctors and nurses recommend that PD patients not take tub baths because of the increased risk of infection from sitting in dirty water. I’d suggest that you talk with your home training nurse about what kind of barrier bandage could be used to cover the catheter and exit site well enough and whether you should use an antibiotic ointment to help prevent germs from entering your peritoneal cavity.
The peritoneal cavity has all the things that germs like to grow – there’s an opening from the skin into a dark, warm cavity that’s full of sugar solution that germs that get in can thrive on. Patients that have had it have told me that peritonitis is painful. Although antibiotics can treat most cases of peritonitis very successfully, peritonitis can be deadly. I’d strongly suggest that you take showers instead of baths.
Hi i am trying to to decide what type of dialysis pd or hemo. i ned to know what the criria i need to met for it. and is it ture they do hme inspections?
my nurse and doctor also said no baths, i can shower but they do recommend taking the shower head down monthly and soaking it is bleach to kill germs. I had peritonitis a few weeks ago…it was very painful and scary, i had to switch from ccpd to capd for 10 days of antibiotic treatment and the scary part is i don’t even know why or how it happened
You can take shallow baths when on PD just as long as the exit site does not get submerged. You cannot swim in any fresh water, but chlorinated pools and saltwater is acceptable.
What I like about doing PD is my freedom.
Differences in PD vs HEMO:
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Once on a cycler, all dialysis is done during sleep vs setting in a chair for three days a week
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The difference in diets PD is more forgiving in this area speak with your Dietitian on this subject
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PD does not have the roller coaster ride of fluctuations in toxin levels and weight gain associated with HEMO.
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Your life expectancy is longer if you do PD and save HEMO for later
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Your more in control of your dry weight doing PD vs HEMO
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PD requires storage space at your home vs HEMO does not
Just a few things off the top of my head for you to consider.
Hope this Helps,
I’d suggest not taking a tub bath with a PD catheter unless your catheter is a presternal PD catheter, which exits from the chest area. You can read about that type of catheter here. https://homedialysis.org/life-at-home/articles/the-bathtub-presternal-pd-catheter
The differences in PD vs. hemo that Scheffers listed appear to be for HD when done in-center.
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Patients doing HD at home don’t have to do it sitting in a chair 3 days a week. Some patient do it in their bed overnight while they sleep.
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Some do 2-3 hours 4-6 days/week and some do it every other day. Doing HD or PD at home gives you more flexibility than doing HD in-center where you have to do treatments the same days and times every week.
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When HD is done more often and especially when it’s done overnight, there is almost no recovery time (roller coaster fluctuations in how you feel).
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Life expectancy is somewhat better for the first few years with PD, but if natural kidney function declines too much, people can change to HD and changing to home HD may improve longevity and quality of life.
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With HD you can keep on top of your dry weight by looking at your BP and checking for swelling, notifying your home training nurse or nephrologist if you’ve had vomiting or diarrhea or if you’ve eaten more than usual that could change your dry weight. Be careful about gaining too much fluid weight between dialysis treatments as taking off too much fluid at one session can stun the heart and other organs. Here’s an ultrafiltration rate (UFR) calculator that can help keep fluid removal in the safe range. https://homedialysis.org/home-dialysis-basics/ufr-calculator.
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Doing HD in-center requires no storage of supplies at home whereas both PD and home HD do.
There are patients who choose in-center HD because they want to forget they’re on dialysis between treatments. However, no matter where you do dialysis, to stay healthy and live a long time, you have to follow your dialysis prescription, eat healthy, take meds as prescribed, stay active and engaged, ask questions, and be an active participant in your care.
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