Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) in San Diego
Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis is a home dialysis option done by hand during the day, without a machine, using scheduled exchanges that can be worked into daily life. For some patients, CAPD offers a way to keep treatment close to home while staying engaged with work, family, and familiar routines. Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego provides one-on-one education, practical training, and ongoing support so you can understand how CAPD works and decide whether it fits your health needs, schedule, and goals.
Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis is a home dialysis option done by hand during the day without a machine. CAPD can fit into daily life while keeping treatment close to home. We provide one-on-one education, practical training, and ongoing support so you can decide whether it fits your needs and schedule.
What Is Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis?
Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, or CAPD, is a form of peritoneal dialysis done by hand during the day without a machine. Each exchange involves draining used dialysate from your abdomen and filling with fresh solution using gravity. Many patients do about four exchanges a day, and each exchange usually takes around 30 to 40 minutes. Between exchanges, the solution stays in your abdomen and continues helping remove waste and extra fluid.
CAPD can fit well for patients who want a machine-free home dialysis routine built around the day. It may appeal to people who want more flexibility in when exchanges are done, prefer a hands-on treatment they can learn step by step, or want a schedule that can be worked around meals, errands, work, and travel. Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego helps patients understand how CAPD works in daily life so they can decide whether it fits their health needs, schedule, and goals.
Who May Be a Good Fit For CAPD?
- Patients who want daytime dialysis at home
- Patients who prefer treatment without a machine
- Patients comfortable learning manual daily exchanges
- Patients wanting treatment built around their day-to-day routines
What Schedule Can CAPD Follow?
- Exchanges are done while you are awake
- Many plans include four exchanges each day
- Each exchange often takes 30 to 40 minutes
- Many patients sleep with the dialysate solution in place
How Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis Works
Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, or CAPD, is done by hand during the day without a machine. Treatment happens through manual exchanges using gravity, your peritoneal dialysis catheter, fresh dialysis solution, and a drain bag. Each exchange follows the same basic cycle: fill, dwell, and drain.
Many patients do about four exchanges a day, with each exchange often taking around 30 to 40 minutes. Between exchanges, the solution stays in the abdomen for several hours while it continues helping remove waste and excess fluid. Most people sleep with solution in place at night, and the daily schedule is adjusted around the treatment plan your care team prescribes. At Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego, we train you in each of these steps to ensure that you and/or your caregiver feel confident handling CAPD exchanges.
Fill
Fresh dialysis solution flows from a hanging bag through your catheter and into your abdomen. Once the fill is complete, you disconnect the tubing and continue with your day.
Dwell
The solution stays in your abdomen for several hours and absorbs waste and extra fluid. During the dwell, many patients move through meals, errands, work, rest, and other daily routines.
Drain
Used solution drains by gravity into an empty bag before the next fill begins. After the drain is finished, you start the next exchange with a fresh bag of solution.
What Problems or Risks Should You Watch For With CAPD?
CAPD can work well at home, though it does require careful attention to cleanliness, catheter care, and how your body responds to each exchange. The two infection concerns patients are taught to watch for most closely are exit site infections and peritonitis. Home dialysis can also increase the risk of hernia in some patients because the dialysis solution places pressure inside the abdomen.
During your training at Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego, our patients learn how to keep the catheter area clean, how to recognize early warning signs, and when to call their care team. Fast communication is important if anything changes. Symptoms such as cloudy drained fluid, fever, abdominal pain, redness, swelling, tenderness, or pus around the catheter site should never be brushed aside.
Exit Site Infections
Watch for redness, tenderness, swelling, or pus around the catheter exit site. Early treatment can help stop a small infection from becoming a larger problem.
Peritonitis
Peritonitis can cause abdominal pain, fever, nausea, vomiting, or cloudy drained dialysate. This is a serious infection and should be reported to your care team right away.
When To Call Your Care Team
Call if you notice cloudy fluid, new pain, fever, swelling, redness, drainage, or any change that makes an exchange feel abnormal, unsafe, or harder to complete.
CAPD vs APD: What Is the Difference?
Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and automated peritoneal dialysis are both forms of peritoneal dialysis, though they fit into daily life in different ways. CAPD is done by hand during the day without a machine. APD uses a cycler to perform exchanges overnight while you sleep. The biggest difference is how the exchanges are scheduled and how much of the treatment process you manage manually.
Both options can be effective home dialysis treatments. The choice depends on your health needs, daily routine, comfort with treatment steps, and the schedule that feels most manageable over time. Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego helps patients understand those differences clearly so they can choose the option that best fits their life and care plan.
CAPD
- Done by hand during the day
- Uses no cycler or overnight machine
- Usually follows three to five daily exchanges
- Can fit patients wanting a machine-free routine
APD
- Uses a cycler machine while you sleep
- Usually performs exchanges overnight
- Can leave more daytime hours open for work, family, or other routines
- Can sometimes include a daytime dwell or exchange
How Does CAPD Compare With Hemodialysis Options?
CAPD and hemodialysis both remove waste and extra fluid, though they do it in different ways. CAPD uses the lining of your abdomen and dialysis solution that is exchanged through a soft catheter. Hemodialysis uses a machine and a filter called a dialyzer to clean your blood through a vascular access. CAPD is usually done by hand during the day, while hemodialysis may be done in a center on a set schedule or at home with training and equipment.
For some patients, CAPD fits well because it keeps treatment at home, avoids needles in the routine itself, and follows exchanges built into the day. Hemodialysis options can appeal to patients who prefer a machine-based treatment, want the structure of a center, or are interested in home hemodialysis schedules that happen during the day or overnight. The right fit depends on your health needs, your routine, your comfort with the treatment steps, and the kind of support you have at home.
In-Center Hemodialysis
In-center hemodialysis is done at a clinic on a fixed weekly schedule. Staff perform the treatment, and many patients value the routine and direct in-person oversight.
Nocturnal Hemodialysis
Nocturnal hemodialysis is done while you sleep and uses a hemodialysis machine with blood access. Treatments are longer, and some patients like having dialysis happen overnight.
Home Hemodialysis
Home hemodialysis uses a machine to clean your blood at home after training with your care team. Schedules vary, and a care partner is often involved in treatment support.
What Training and Care Partner Support Are Involved With CAPD?
CAPD is learned step by step with your dialysis team. Because exchanges are done by hand during the day, training at clinics like Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego focuses on preparing a clean treatment space, washing hands carefully, connecting and disconnecting tubing safely, caring for the catheter, and recognizing signs of infection or cloudy drained fluid. CAPD is usually done 3 to 5 times a day, and each exchange often takes about 30 to 40 minutes, so the goal of training is to help you perform that routine safely and confidently at home.
Some patients handle CAPD on their own, while others want a family member or trusted support person involved in learning, setup, supplies, and day-to-day planning. A care partner may help keep the treatment area organized, support infection-prevention habits, watch for changes at the catheter site, and help you stay on track if questions come up during the day. Roles vary from person to person, and your care team can help you decide how much support fits your situation.
- One-on-one CAPD training with your PD nurse
- Hands-on practice with manual daytime exchanges
- Guidance on clean setup and hand hygiene
- Help with catheter care and infection prevention
- Support organizing supplies and daily routines
- Ongoing guidance on changes and when to call
What Equipment and Home Setup Are Needed For CAPD?
CAPD uses manual exchanges during the day, so the home setup is simpler than machine-based dialysis but still needs to be organized and kept clean. You will need your peritoneal dialysis catheter, dialysis solution bags, tubing and transfer set, a drain bag, and the supplies used to keep the catheter exit site clean. Exchanges are done in a clean, well-lit place where you can follow the same steps carefully each time.
Many patients also need a consistent space to store delivered boxes of solution and other supplies between shipments. Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego helps patients plan the practical side of CAPD before treatment starts, including where exchanges can be done, how supplies can be stored, and how to keep the routine manageable in daily life.
- A clean, well-lit place for each exchange
- Space for solution bags and delivered supplies
- Your catheter, tubing, and transfer set
- A fresh solution bag and drain bag
- Supplies for exit site care and hygiene
- Guidance on storage, setup, and disposal of supplies
What Can Life on CAPD Look Like?
CAPD can become part of the day in a steady, repeatable way because the exchanges are done by hand while you are awake. Many patients build them into meals, work breaks, time at home, or other daily routines. Each exchange takes about 30 to 40 minutes, and most people do 3 to 5 exchanges each day, with dialysis solution staying in the abdomen between exchanges and overnight.
Life on CAPD still takes planning. You need a clean place for exchanges, enough supplies on hand, and a routine you can manage consistently. CAPD can also offer flexibility for patients who want home treatment without a machine, and it can be done at home, at work, at school, or while traveling when a clean, private space is available. The pages below cover common parts of daily life that patients often want to think through before starting treatment.
Why Do Patients Choose Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego for CAPD?
Starting CAPD means learning a new routine with a team that teaches you the steps clearly, helps you troubleshoot problems, and stays involved after treatment begins at home. At Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego, CAPD care is built around one-on-one education, close follow-up, and support that helps patients feel informed, prepared, and cared for throughout the transition to home dialysis.
For more than two decades, Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego has helped patients learn home dialysis in a clear and manageable way. With dedicated nursing support, integrated visits with the full care team, and ongoing access to guidance between appointments, our focus is helping patients feel more confident at home and better supported throughout their CAPD care.
- Founded in 2004 as San Diego’s first home-only dialysis program
- Dedicated nursing support for more personalized care
- One-on-one CAPD and other dialysis options education
- No wait for PD starts
- Integrated visits with your nurse, doctor, dietitian, and social worker
- 24/7 on-call emergency clinical support available
How is CAPD Paid For?
Questions about coverage can shape a dialysis decision long before treatment starts. CAPD is commonly covered through Medicare and many commercial insurance plans, though what you pay can still vary based on deductibles, coinsurance, secondary coverage, and the details of your policy. Before home dialysis begins, Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego helps patients sort through those coverage questions so they have a clearer picture of what their plan may include and what costs may still apply.
Licensed social workers at Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego help patients review insurance details, prepare financial questions, and explore support programs that may be available in their situation. The goal is to make the financial side of starting CAPD easier to understand, from home dialysis benefits and supply coverage to the out-of-pocket expenses that can come with a particular plan.
- Medicare may cover home dialysis training starting the month home dialysis begins
- CAPD supplies are often covered under home dialysis benefits
- Commercial plans vary, so deductibles and coinsurance still matter
- Secondary insurance may reduce out-of-pocket costs
- HDT helps you review coverage before treatment starts
- Social work support can help identify other financial resources
How Can I Tell If CAPD Is The Right Dialysis Option For Me?
CAPD can be a strong fit for patients who want home dialysis during the day and prefer a routine that does not depend on a machine overnight. Many people are drawn to CAPD because it uses manual exchanges, can be built into the flow of the day, and allows them to keep treatment close to home. The best fit still depends on your health needs, your comfort with learning the exchange steps, your catheter care routine, and whether you can keep a clean place for treatment and stay consistent with the schedule.
Talking it through one-on-one can make that decision much clearer. At Home Dialysis Therapies of San Diego, options education helps patients compare CAPD with APD, home hemodialysis, nocturnal hemodialysis, and in-center treatment in a way that connects the medical differences to daily life. You can ask questions, think through the tradeoffs, and decide with a clearer picture of what each option asks of you at home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sometimes, yes. CAPD and APD use the same basic peritoneal dialysis access and the same general treatment principle, so some patients can move from one method to the other if their medical needs, daily routine, or treatment goals change. The decision depends on your prescription, your catheter function, and whether the other schedule is appropriate for you
CAPD stands for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. It is a form of peritoneal dialysis done by hand during the day without a machine. “Continuous” refers to the fact that dialysis solution stays in the abdomen between exchanges and keeps working for several hours, while “ambulatory” means you can move around and go about daily activities during the dwell time.
CAPD and APD are both types of peritoneal dialysis, though they fit into daily life differently. CAPD is done by hand during the day, usually with several exchanges while you are awake. APD, also called CCPD, uses a cycler machine to perform exchanges overnight while you sleep. Some patients prefer the daytime, machine-free rhythm of CAPD, while others prefer APD because more of the treatment happens at night.
CAPD uses a soft catheter placed in the abdomen before treatment starts. The catheter is the access point used to fill and drain dialysis solution during each exchange. Good catheter care includes keeping the exit site clean and dry, washing your hands before handling the catheter, following the cleaning steps your care team teaches you, and watching for redness, swelling, tenderness, pus, or drainage around the site.
Diet and fluid needs on CAPD are individualized, though many patients still need guidance on sodium, phosphorus, protein, fluid intake, and calories. Because peritoneal dialysis works in a more continuous way, some people may have more flexibility than they would with hemodialysis, but the plan still depends on your lab results, residual kidney function, overall health, and how well the treatment is controlling fluid and waste removal.
The most essential part of CAPD is preventing infection, especially peritonitis. Your nurse will teach you how to keep your connection area clean, recognize early warning signs such as cloudy drain fluid or abdominal pain, and know when to call the care team. With proper technique, most patients perform CAPD safely and confidently.
Medically reviewed by Andrew King, M.D. | Last updated April 2026