I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions) => Topic started by: Stoday on December 29, 2010, 02:18:55 PM
-
I have an A/V fistula; after a session I used to have plasters to protect the needle holes for a few hours. I started to get a bit of inflamation so instead of plasters I got pads and sticky tape to hold them (avoiding direct contact with the inflamed areas). Last Monday during dialysis my fistula area was itching. About a couple of hours after I got home I took the pads off becauyse my arm was itching so. I then saw that my arm was inflamed and covered in little blisters. Even under where the wings of the needles laid. Later, the blisters burst and discharged fluid over my arm. After a day the area got covered in scabs.
Arrived for dialysis tonight but the nurses wouldn't put me on. They telephoned my nephrologist and I'm to see him tomorrow morning to sort out what's to be done. I have a session booked for tomorrow afternoon.
Here's a picture of what my fistula looks like now. Has anyone seen this sort of thing before? Any suggestions?
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y175/Stoday/Scab29.jpg)
.
-
Yeah... about six months ago my unit got this cheap and nasty tape in and a LOT of us had allergic reactions to it and it was horrible. So they switched us to the much more expensive hypafix, until the boss relented and got rid of the cheap stuff and got back the original tape we had been using (micropore? something like that). See if they can get you a different kind of tape to use? It's not fun I understand!
-
Not yet sure if it's the tape.
My neph suspects the scrubber that they clean the area around your fistula before cannulating. I thought it was just a mix of alcohol and water, but I was wrong. It includes another organic chemical (I've forgotten its name). So this afternoon I was cleaned with saline only.
Anyway, thanks for your comment RichardMEL.
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloroxylenol
Chloroxylenol, could be nasty stuff for some, very common in antibacterial soap. You probably got sensitized to it some time back.
-
is that strep.... fleshing eating strep...... looks bad....
-
***
-
My center uses Chloraprep swabs to clean the site before needling and it made me itch and break out like crazy. After that, they used Betadine swabs. Now that I do home hemo, I use ExCept on sterile swabs. Good luck to you.
-
It's the ChloraPrep swab, which contains Chlorhexidine Gluconate and isopropyl alcohol. Seems to be affecting me much the same as Cloud393.
I'm now being swabbed down with saline, which I don't think is very satisfactory so I shall ask about Betadine/providine.
Thanks to all for your suggestions and experiences.
-
Stoday, I can't see how an alcohol swab could possibly adversely effect an old Rummy like yourself.
-
It's the ChloraPrep swab, which contains Chlorhexidine Gluconate and isopropyl alcohol. Seems to be affecting me much the same as Cloud393.
I'm now being swabbed down with saline, which I don't think is very satisfactory so I shall ask about Betadine/providine.
Thanks to all for your suggestions and experiences.
You should use what Cloud393 uses, that is ExSept-plus which is 0.114% sodium hypochlorite in saline. You can make your own ExSept in a pinch if you can't get some, it is just 1:50 dilution of 6% sodium hypochlorite (common bleach) with saline. The home made ExSept will not be as chemically stable so you shouldn't make too much of it at one time (250 ml should be fine for many weeks).
-
I would be concerned about using just saline also. How's the arm looking?
-
Looking better now although still inflamed.
When cannulating me the nurse has avoided the inflamed areas by sticking the arterial needle down near the anastomosis and the venal near the crook of my arm. "Don't bend your arm" she says!
-
When my unit started using Chlorhexidine, most of us had some form of sensitivity to it. For me, it was a burning itch, and redness. What was weird for me was that they were able to use it on my line when doing dressings, but when they started using it on my fistula, I just couldn't handle it.
They went back to using betadine swabs on me. It takes longer to dry, which is why they wanted to use the Chlorhexidine