I am on daily nocturnal. This morning when I woke up, I noticed that the bucket that I place below my dialyser had a lot of blood in it. Blood was slowly dripping out of the dialyser into the bucket. My weight calculation showed I had lost about 200 ml of blood.
I have used the Dri-sleeper long back near my arm but my arm stopped oozing blood and I have not used this device since then. I have heard people using it below the dialyser. Where is it placed? Is it taped to the bottom of the dialyser or is it placed on the floor right below it?
200 ml of blood loss - do you think I need to check my Hgb or anything else?
Whoa, scary stuff! I’m glad it was only 200 mL, although obviously it would be best if that hadn’t happened at all. The only serious bleeding I’ve ever heard of with NHHD in Australia was a dialyzer-tubing leak–not an access leak.
A blood leak at the dialyzer won’t trigger a pressure alarm, as you’ve seen. That’s why we do recommend a bedwetting alarm under the dialyzer for folks who dialyze at night. What’s the purpose of the bucket, exactly? Could you put the sensor in the bucket or does anything else (??) leak into it?
The bucket is basically used at the beginning of a treatment while priming as a drain for the priming saline. I just keep it below the dialyser so that if there is any dripping, I can (hopefully) wake up by hearing the dripping. Obviously that does not work. So, I am planning to put the Dri-sleeper (bed wetting device) inside the bucket after emptying it after the priming.
Kamal,
I use a bed wetting mat provided by my corp. that looks like a thin, hard plastic cutting board type sheet with silver sensor stripes. It is placed under the machine/dialyzer and is super sensitive to fluid. The second a drop of fluid lands on it, a loud alarm goes off. I find this to be a very good solution to a possible blood leak as well as dialysate or saline leaks. One or more mats could be placed under water lines if that is a concern. Costs about $165 and can be found in bed wetting catalogs. The alarm goes off faster then the machine alarm for dialysate leaks.
Dori,
Doesn’t Australia use sensor mats? When was the incident your referred to and how did it happen?
I like the mat we have as it is as wide and long as the machine, so it covers the entire area where leaks could occur. Some patients here use Watch Dog type alarms which are very small in size. They buy several and place them in strategic spots where a leak might occur. But they have wires hanging out and can easily lose their positioning. I am much more comfortable with the mat I have as I know it covers the entire area. You said something about yours fitting in a bucket. That would work for the dialyzer, but what about dialystate or saline leaks?
Also, I read a post where a caregiver said that one time the dialyzer started spraying blood due to a loose cap. In a case like that which sounds like quite a mess, I am wondering how one could in some way cover the dialyzer so blood woudn’t get on everything. For one thing, it’s a good idea to always check the cap before starting tx. And of course it would be a rare happening. But I’d like to know I was prepared if something like that ever occured.
[QUOTE=Jane;18707]Dori,
Doesn’t Australia use sensor mats? When was the incident your referred to and how did it happen?[/QUOTE]
Wow, I wish I could remember. It was probably at least 3 years ago, and might have even been reported here in the message boards.
Although you dont not want to loose any bood, I would think that 200ml may affect your hmg a little but nothing to serious if it was on the higher side to begin with. I have lost this amount before and was ok as far as my hmg level. Just not something you want to happen on a continuous basis. If you knew your hmg level was on the lower side, you may want to get it checked, but unless it was super low, they probably wouldnt do anything except maybe raise the dose of epo/aranesp for a while.
Although you dont not want to loose any bood, I would think that 200ml may affect your hmg a little but nothing to serious if it was on the higher side to begin with. I have lost this amount before and was ok as far as my hmg level. Just not something you want to happen on a continuous basis. If you knew your hmg level was on the lower side, you may want to get it checked, but unless it was super low, they probably wouldnt do anything except maybe raise the dose of epo/aranesp for a while.
//MM[/QUOTE]
My Hemoglobin was around 12 last. So, I think I don’t need to worry too much Miracle Man. Thanks!