I think life should be as simple and as pleasant as possible for all of us. So in the spirit of this , I thought if I shared my favourite handy dialysis related hint, others might do likewise. Here’s hoping anyway. 
The dialysate solution (we call it Part A) that is leftover after treatment makes fantastic weed killer. Kills 'em dead in no time!
I am told by reliable sources who use it regularly for this, that leftover bicarb is great to fix the PH in your swimming pool too.
Well! - I guess it’s only common sense - acid for weeds, bicarb for pools. But great tip,’ beachy’, I may well use the bicarb in the pool. I wish I’d read this a day or two ago, as I failed to get on for my Sunday evening sesh & wasted a whole 950 bibag!! :shock:
Also, I haven’t emptied the 10liters of ‘A412’ that I use on nocturnal (I thought I might try & go on later, but gave up), so I shall look around for weeds!
The bicarb is an excellent cleaning product I was told. There is a patient who emptys all the leftovers and drys it all out, and uses it to clean. Havent tried it yet but I think it would be great for the stainless steel sink.
I have another tip that my other half showed me. It was something so obvious, but I still didnt think of it. On our program we pour 2 5Lt bottles of dialysate into a jerry can for each treatment. At first I was having a bit of difficultly as it took so long to pour one bottle out, and because it was heavy made it a bit of a struggle.
If you put the bottle on its side, and then pour, it comes out in one flow, instead of glugging out and spilling everywhere and taking a long time to empty.
THAT bi-carb is good for fire ants too… just surround themand saturate through…
The dialysate is great for beef jerky…hehe 
I hope your joking gus!! lol
The perfect brine…very salty. 
P.S. Warning Don’t try this, it may not work for you… I tried it but I don’t confide in it…I’d rather us salty soy sauce or other sauces.
Vinegar and salt will kill weeds. That too is the reason that only certain plants will survive living close to the roads in areas where they sand and salt in the Winter months. Don’t ever use the bicarb in your pool or spa because it would be very difficult to titre the amount needed to change the ph. It’s only needed to correct ph and does nothing more! It’s only need if testing reagent or test strips test show that it needs adjusting down, and at no other time. Bicarb is very similar to baking soda but at different strengths. I make a paste of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to clean the kitchen floor grout lol Lin. (pool owner over twenty years, spa owner 4 yrs., husband who is state cert. water operator looking over my shoulder!)
I know this is the HD section…but the drain bags from PD are good for the grass. Dont do it too often though. I killed plants because I was putting it on them every day lol
Its also good for the feet. just like Epsom salt…hehe, :oops:
hello everyone, i’m new to this site, my hubby has just started dialysis, and we are in training for home dialysis. we have just passed our second week, and i have only just pulled one of the needles out, i still cant put one in,it scare’s the crap out of me. as to the tips, i have been told by our nurse that yes you can use the part A of the solution as a weed killer. i have yet to try this, but i would love to learn if in fact it does work. looking foward to seeing what other tips people come up with.
Hi Helen, and welcome to Home Dialysis Central. It’s always scary to get started with home treatment, but your husband is lucky to have you to help, and you’ll find that it gets much easier in time. I know folks here have lots of good tips to share with you, too!
My Goodness, Look out Dori, it’s an Aussie takeover!
Hi Helen, welcome and Congrats on starting with the needles. You’ll be right as rain, Mate!
Yep, Part A is wonderful weed killer. Up here the weeds grow if you blink and the Part A works a treat.
Cheers 8)
Overcoming fear of the needles, is possibly, one of the biggest chalenges of haemodialysis.
Remember, no one, neither you nor your hubby, should expect to get needles in or out, perfectly.
Practice, faith, & willpower is the answer.
If a young teen (as I was when I first did needling) can do it, so can you.
Don’t give in, let your hubby guide you, consider, even if he’s of sound mind, he may one day do his own needles, then he will have full control.
Communicate with the nurses, they’re there to help you.
Good luck, my thoughts are with you both.
J
I strongly reccommend doing your own needles (meaning you as in the patient, not wife or husband :D), as you can feel what your doing, if you hit the wrong spot, if it hurts etc.
hello, dori thanx for your reply, it’s good to get all these tips and to hear all the different stories. beachy, hopefully i’ll get to use the stuff when i get over the needling part and when we get home. jw77, sorry, he wont be doing his own needling, he has shake’s which make it hard for hime to do things like that, he cant even draw up his heparin dose, yes, he has tried. so the nurse’s are hoping i can do all the needling.amba_79, like i said to jw77 he wont be doing his own needling, it would be nice if he could. his fistula is not a straight one either, it zigzags all the way up his arm, even the nurse’s have commented on this, it’s not a normal one. but thank you for your response’s.
Are you doing buttonholes? They are so much easier and after a few weeks you use dull needles which might help you with your fear.
I would say focus on what you are doing, ie where to stick, angles, etc. rather than “what” you are doing, ie sticking a needle in.
Don’t know if you have kids, but it is like when they are injured, you don’t focus on the injury, you focus on what you have to do, stop bleeding, clean up, call doctor, rush to hospital (hopefully not), then you panic later.
Look at it more like sewing or cooking or whatever, just steps you take, don’t focus on it being a needle.
Don’t know if this helps, but it did help me when I learned to cannulate my father when I was 18.
Cathy
home hemo 9/04
and a heck of a long way from 18
hi cathy, no, we dont use the “buttomhole” technique, we have never been told about this and we certainly have’nt been shown how to do it, i would of thought that if you do that then you run the risk of doing some harm to the vein, am i wrong? believe me if it were an easier way to needle him i would love to know about it and know how to do it. next week{our third week} i will concentrate on taking the needle’s out again, hopefully that will lead to me being able to put them in.
Helen, the buttonhole technique is very far less harmful to the fistula then using the ladder method with sharps. With buttonholes, you use the same spot each time, with blunt needles. There is far less trauma to the fistula, and your not putting holes and scars all over the place. Find out if they can offer it there, all they need is blunt needles. Once you start using blunts, alot of that fear goes away, as you arent piercing the skin. The blunt just slides into the tunnel that you initially create with sharps. I strongly reccommend this technique, I have been using it ever since I started hemo.