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Peritoneal Dialysis Training

For peritoneal dialysis (PD), you’ll need a week or two of training. Learning what to do is not as hard as you may think. You’ll practice while your home-training nurse watches to be sure you’re doing all of the steps correctly. Know that your Fresenius Kidney Care team will work with you until you feel confident. You will learn how to:
  1. Location icon
    Set up a place to do an exchange.
  2. Pencil icon
    Keep good treatment records.
  3. Hand washing icon
    Put on a mask and wash your hands thoroughly to remove bacteria and help prevent infection.
  4. Checklist icon
    Order enough supplies to last you a month.
  5. Wiping icon
    Care for your catheter and clean and dry your exit site.
  6. Nuclear icon
    Safely dispose of bags and other medical waste materials.
  7. Opposite arrows icon
    Connect and disconnect your catheter to a PD bag in a sterile way to prevent infection.
  8. Heartbeat icon
    Take daily vital signs and weigh yourself.
  9. Medicine icon
    Add medicine to your PD bag if you need to.
  10. List icon
    Troubleshoot issues involving your treatment.
  11. Transfer arrow icon
    Drain out used dialysate and put in fresh dialysate. This is known as an exchange.
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Home dialysis can mean fewer food restrictions, less medication, and more flexibility with treatment schedules.
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You’ll also have information to take home and review. Remember, you can always call an at-home nurse if you have any questions, 24 hours a day—every day.
 
During your home PD training, you will learn more about different health issues to watch out for. Your home PD team will tell you when and why it is important to call your nephrologist or your at-home nurse.