A bleeding fistula or graft can lose a dangerous volume of blood quickly. The response is direct pressure, immediately.
What to know
- Apply firm, direct pressure over the bleeding point with a clean gauze or cloth.
- Keep the arm elevated above heart level if you can do so while maintaining pressure.
- Do not release pressure to check every few seconds — hold continuously for at least ten minutes.
- If bleeding does not stop, call emergency services and keep pressure on until help arrives.
- Keep a bleeding kit — gauze, tape, gloves — within reach of the treatment chair at all times.
Talk to your care team
This topic is part of Vascular Access Care, one of ten modules in the Trivita Learning Hub. If anything here contradicts what your own nephrologist or dialysis nurse has told you, follow your care team — they know your prescription, your access and your history.
Trivita's dialysis nurses answer our care line 24 hours a day on 055 242 1070, including for people who are not yet our patients.
Education, not medical advice. This page explains home hemodialysis in general terms for patients and care partners in the UAE. It is reviewed by Trivita's Medical Director but cannot account for your individual circumstances. Never change a prescription, medication or technique based on this page alone.