All dialysis clinics should have guidelines on swimming for people on Peritoneal dialysis. Always check with your clinic’s PD nurse prior to swimming.
If your PD catheter’s exit site has not healed or is infected, avoid swimming until it has healed.
Avoid bacterial contamination by not swimming in water that could contain bacteria such as public pools, lakes, ponds, and rivers. Swimming in your own chlorinated pool or ocean may be OK – ask your PD nurse about this and how to clean your exit site immediately after the swim.
Avoid taking baths or soaking in a hot tub, unless you have a pre-sternal PD catheter and the water line is far below the exit site, so the dressing remains dry.
Again, check with your PD nurse who may also recommend performing exit-site care immediately after swimming.