Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Overview of Bedsores
The term bedsores refers to sores that develop in people confined to a bed. It’s not, however, the only circumstance in which bedsores can arise. While common in the elderly, bedsores can also be an issue for anyone whose paralysis or other disability may limit them to the use of a wheelchair.
Bedsores may be more accurately called pressure sores. Other verbiage used to describe them, according to HopkinsMedicine.org, are pressure injuries, pressure ulcers, and decubitus ulcers.
They are most often seen on bony protruding areas of the body like the skull, scapulae, elbows, hips, tailbone, and heels when a person remains in the same position for hours on end.
Symptoms of a Bedsore
As indicated by the Mayo Clinic, bodily warnings that a pressure ulcer might be starting to develop, and if heeded, can head off worsening of the condition. These symptoms include:
- A noticeable change in the way the skin of a given area looks compared to other large regions of skin. It may appear more red or more pale than the rest.
- A palpable change in the feeling of skin area in question. The patch may feel spongy or bumpy in relation to other large regions of skin.
- The patch of skin may feel warmer or cooler than other areas.
- The patch of skin may—upon visual inspection—look inflamed or swollen.
- The area may shed pus-like fluid.
Causes of a Bedsore
The primary cause of bedsores is too much pressure on certain areas for too long a time period. According to Medlineplus.com, this reduces the flow of nutrient-bearing and oxygenated blood to a region and allows the skin to start to break down.
While pressure ulcers can be caused by a failure of a caregiving adult or staff to help a wheelchair-bound or bedridden person to change position or move within their capacity, preexisting conditions can also contribute to their development.
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) and cardiovascular conditions which impair the overall circulatory system are health problems which can predispose a patient to bedsores. Diabetics are also affected as a byproduct of circulatory issues and neuropathy.
As indicated by a separate Mayo Clinic report, the high blood sugar of diabetes can damage nerves throughout the body, but the most common area is in the legs and feet. Pain and numbness are frequent results of diabetic neuropathy and numbness can lead a person to not realize an area needs to be moved. Acclimation to a threshold of constant pain can also do the same thing.
Treatment and Complications of Pressure Injuries
UPMC Health Beat says that caring for a bedsoredepends heavily upon the stage in which it is discovered. The most important factor to determine treatment protocol is whether there are signs of infection such as fever, a foul odor to the compromised tissue, redness and leakage. These symptoms spell the need for immediate medical intervention and a run of antibiotics.
In the absence of these issues, if a pressure sore is suspected of developing, a caregiver can carefully wash with mild soap and water and cover with a bandage and moisture-barrier lotion. To prevent exacerbating the situation, a caregiver must move the patient’s position every couple of hours.
An untreated bedsore can eventually affect muscles and tendons and even become life-threatening. They are a key indication of elder neglect in many nursing home facilities.
