Healthsheet | Published February 16, 2009

Caring for Your Hemodialysis Access

A problem such as an infection may make the access unusable. If this happens, you’ll need a new access. To help your access last, you will need to follow certain guidelines.

Watching for Problems

Call your doctor or nurse right away if you:

Can’t feel your thrill.
Have pain or numbness in your hand or arm.
Have bleeding, redness, or warmth around your access.
Notice your access suddenly bulging out more than usual (a slight bulge is normal).
Have a fever over 101.0°F.

Follow These and Any Other Guidelines You’re Given

Don’t wear tight clothes or jewelry around your access.
Don’t let anyone take your blood pressure on or draw blood from the arm with the access. Also, don’t let anyone put IV lines into it.
Protect your access from being hit or cut.
Wash your hands often and keep the area around the access clean.
Do not carry anything heavy or do anything that would put pressure on the access.

Feeling for Your “Thrill”

Palm view of hand and forearm. Another hand is feeling forearm with fingers.

Important Numbers

Write the names and numbers of your healthcare providers below. That way you will know how to get in touch with them.

Doctor:

Name ___________________ Phone ___________________

Surgeon:

Name ___________________ Phone ___________________

Dialysis Center:

Name ___________________ Phone ___________________