Is it Really Necessary to Add Heparin to PD bags?

[BattleScars]

When I first started PD I was trained to add Heparin to every bag. Not only is this time consuming but doesn't the risk of infection go up? I mean if you are not seeing any fibrin or only seeing it every now and then why take the chance of exposing yourself to infection 4 times a day? When I do see fibrin I will go ahead and add Heparin to my next bag but no way am I going to add it to every bag if there isn't a problem. It seems like overkill. My nurse at Davita discourages adding Heparin for this very reason. Am I the only one that doesn't hardly add it at all? 

[okarol]

Jenna started PD a week ago. No heparin has been added. The training nurse mentioned it's use only if it looks like Jenna has difficulty filling or draining.

[Deanne]

I just started a week ago, too. My nurse gave me a couple bottles of heparin and said I'd be told to use if if I started seeing fibrin in the drain bags, but it was something I'd call them about first.

[Weggy]

I've never had to use heparin. I don't have any in my house. I was told if I have lots of fibrin that I could call and ask for it. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I saw fibrin in my fluid.

[MaryD]

I've never used heparin in two years of CAPD.  Never seen much in the way of fibrin either.

[Joe]

I was trained to only use it when I saw fibrin in my drain bag. Haven't had to use any of it since I started CCPD.

[amanda100wilson]

Only ever used it if I saw fibrin

[Riki]

I only used it if there was fibrin too.  I only had to do it once every 6-8 months, and that was over almost 5 years.  I never used a whole bottle of heparin.  It would always expire before I needed to use it again.

[billybags]

I only use heprin in my husbands bags if there is a lot of fibrin, he is on the cycler so you can see it floating around in the large drain bags..The manual bags are more difficult to see fibrin I think. He can go for months with no fibrin, then all of a sudden we get a couple of weeks when it is there. I would use heprin for a couple of days, it would clear then it would sometimes come back. Apparrently it is not some thing to worry about, thats whar the nurse says. Using it every day, I would say it is over kill.

[adairpete]

When I first started pd it was recommended cuz I make a ton of fibrin. Even though I still see it regularly I only put it in once a day and alot of the time I'll just ignore it unless it gets worse. In my opinion if you don't see fibrin you don't heparin.