Condensation on dialysate bages

[PaulBC]

File this one under very minor nuisances, but maybe someone here can explain it. My curiosity is piqued. I'm sure those of you doing PD are familiar with it, anyway.

Early in our training, the PD nurse explained to us to look for leaks in dialysate bags, but not to be concerned about condensation between the inner and outer bag. This turned out to be very good advice.

After doing PD for my daughter for several weeks, I am familiar with the condensation, but only now did I think to ask: Why the heck is there so much condensation between the dialysate bag and the outer bag anyway? It is really kind of a nuisance, because we set up the cycler on a TV stand that we bought for the purpose, and though it is not very valuable furniture (build-it-yourself particle board with veneer), it will probably be damaged if it is exposed to condensation on a daily basis. It's fine for now, but over the long term I will need to protect the surface (e.g. with plastic sheets).

The other thing is that one time I had a near panic when my wife asked me why the floor was wet in one place after I finished setup. It took me a little while to reconstruct how about a half ounce of condensation had probably dripped when I was pulling out the bags. I confirmed that it was just water, anyway, and not dialysate. In an environment where you want to be extra sure there are no leaks, it would be nice if things weren't covered in excess water.

All of this is tolerable assuming this condensation has to be introduced during the production process. But why is that? Do they pack these bags in a steam bath? I open a lot of plastic bags (e.g. breakfast cereal, electronic parts) and they are not usually filled with condensation. Why are the dialysis bags always wet?

[PaulBC]

I should probably do the research before starting a rant, but I found this:

A small quantity of condensation from the steam sterilization process can be trapped between the
pouch and the solution bag. Such droplets will disappear over the shelf life of the product.
The presence of small volumes of liquid in the over pouch has no adverse effect on the safety
or efficacy of the solution.

I'll avoid linking. The source is a PD manual at a Canadian site and it can be found using keywords.

So, I guess they are packed in a steamy environment after all. That makes sense. Just one of those things I wonder about.

[obsidianom]

File this one under very minor nuisances, but maybe someone here can explain it. My curiosity is piqued. I'm sure those of you doing PD are familiar with it, anyway.

Early in our training, the PD nurse explained to us to look for leaks in dialysate bags, but not to be concerned about condensation between the inner and outer bag. This turned out to be very good advice.

After doing PD for my daughter for several weeks, I am familiar with the condensation, but only now did I think to ask: Why the heck is there so much condensation between the dialysate bag and the outer bag anyway? It is really kind of a nuisance, because we set up the cycler on a TV stand that we bought for the purpose, and though it is not very valuable furniture (build-it-yourself particle board with veneer), it will probably be damaged if it is exposed to condensation on a daily basis. It's fine for now, but over the long term I will need to protect the surface (e.g. with plastic sheets).

The other thing is that one time I had a near panic when my wife asked me why the floor was wet in one place after I finished setup. It took me a little while to reconstruct how about a half ounce of condensation had probably dripped when I was pulling out the bags. I confirmed that it was just water, anyway, and not dialysate. In an environment where you want to be extra sure there are no leaks, it would be nice if things weren't covered in excess water.

All of this is tolerable assuming this condensation has to be introduced during the production process. But why is that? Do they pack these bags in a steam bath? I open a lot of plastic bags (e.g. breakfast cereal, electronic parts) and they are not usually filled with condensation. Why are the dialysis bags always wet?

I see the same thing on the Nxstage hemodialysis dialysate bags and the Fresenius saline bags. It is from the sterilization process. They are often quite wet and drip.

[Charlie B53]

I don't doubt that many of us that are on PD have also wondered about all the 'sweat' inside the bags, just haven''t asked the question here.

It is a surprise sometimes just how much can be in some bags, yet not so much in others.

I haven't yet 'tasted' either this 'sweat' nor the solution which I would expect to have a sweet taste.  Maybe on the bags with what I think is an excessive amount, I should.  And if sweet, toss it as I would then think the dialysate bag was indeed leaking and should not be used.

I have had a leaky bag, once so far.  It was obvious, there was more than a couple of cups of fluid in the protective bag.