Creative Bag Warming

By Jose Joven

One problem when you’re on CAPD is how to warm the dialysate bags when traveling. There are commercially available “bag warmers,” but they are expensive—around $200.00 or more. I found the alternative below to work just as well.

A small book bag or backpack can hold a bag or two in the main compartment, and the small pockets are handy for your caps and clamps. A regular heating pad provides the warmth, like the kind you use for a sore back. You can purchase a DC/AC converter at the auto parts store for around $50.00. Then you can plug the set into the cigarette lighter of your car. The heating pad will also work in any regular electrical outlet.

Cost for the system? Bookbag, $5.00 (on sale); converter, $50.00; heating pad, free from my clinic.

Now I can travel without worrying about warming my solution!

Permission received to post the following information:

Name: Jose Joven
Cause of renal failure: Nephritis
Time on dialysis: 2 years
Treatments used: CAPD
Date: June 1999