Free guide · Scarlet Beast En español →
Peritoneal dialysis: how it works, by hand or by machine, the catheter, infection, and living with it
For anyone starting or already on peritoneal dialysis, anyone told they will need dialysis and thinking about doing it at home, and the family and friends who train beside them. It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says: how it works, the two types (by hand during the day, or a machine at night), the catheter and the training, how an exchange is done, how to keep infection out, the signs of infection and peritonitis, hernia and weight gain, the changes to what you eat and drink, and how to know it is working. It builds the questions to ask and prints a wallet card. Nothing is saved.
Right now
- Cloudy or oddly colored used solution, belly pain, fever, nausea or vomiting, or redness or pain around the catheter? NIDDK says these can be signs of peritonitis, an infection, and to seek immediate care. Call your dialysis team at once; if no one answers, go to an emergency room (ours).
- Severe trouble breathing, chest pain, or fainting? Call 911 (ours).
- Thoughts of suicide, or all too much? Call or text 988, any hour, free (ours).
More help
- On this site: Kidney failure: choosing a treatment · Hemodialysis · Kidney disease · Anemia in kidney disease · Kidney disease and your bones · Kidneys, bladder and urine: find the right page.
- Alongside it: How your kidneys work · Inguinal hernia · Caring for someone · Depression · My medicines.
- When it is hard to pay: When you need a doctor and can’t pay · Medical bills · Disability benefits. Getting ready: Get ready for your appointment.
- In an emergency: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Kidneys, bladder or urine, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for bladder infections, kidney stones, blood in the urine, bladder pain, bladder leaks, the prostate, kidney disease and bedwetting, on one list.
Other guides on this site that go with this page
Free to read. We chose these ourselves; no professional did. Each guide was written with AI and has not been reviewed by a professional. They are general information, not advice.
- Kidney transplant: the tests, the waiting list, the surgery, rejection, and living with a new kidney: kidney transplant: where a kidney comes from, the tests and the waiting list, a living donor, the surgery and your team, the first days, rejection and when to call the transplant center, the side effects of anti-rejection medicines, food, and paying.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 20, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Peritoneal Dialysis (last reviewed January 2018: an older page, so ask your team what is true for you today). The numbers (four to six exchanges every day; about 30 to 40 minutes an exchange by hand, with 4 to 6 hours or more of dwell time; a cycler three to five times a night; the catheter at least 3 weeks ahead, with 10 to 20 days to heal; 1 to 2 weeks of training; supplies usually once a month; bags of 1.5 to 3 liters; a blood test once a month) are NIDDK’s, and we add none. Ours: the 911 line; calling your dialysis team at once and going to an emergency room if no one answers; the line about a stuck hernia; 988; the questions to ask; the card; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: NIDDK’s pictures and its outside links; we name no medicines, no brands, no foods and no amounts of liquid (your dietitian sets them). Nothing you tick or type here is saved or sent.