By Teresa Carr
Adams County Senior Council
Adaministrative Assistant
Seniors 60+, mark your calendar for March 21 beginning at 11:30 a.m. for our Free Lunch & Game Day. Sponsored by Queen City Hospice, there will be a light lunch, fun Bingo games and card playing later. We are grateful to Teresa Henson from Queen City Hospice for being this month’s sponsor.
Information from the National Institute of Health-National Library of Medicine –
Regularly changing a person’s lying or sitting position is the best way to prevent pressure ulcers. Special mattresses and other aids can help to relieve pressure on at-risk areas of skin.
Most pressure ulcers (bedsores) arise from sitting or lying in the same position for a long time without moving. Most people keep changing their position when they sit for a long time or are asleep, consciously or subconsciously. But people who are very weak, ill, paralyzed or unconscious move much less or not at all. This means that the parts of their body that they are sitting or lying on are constantly under more pressure. How long it takes for pressure ulcers to develop can vary greatly from person to person.
Pressure ulcers usually heal very slowly, and may come back. That’s why it’s so important to make sure they don’t develop in the first place. People who are confined to a wheelchair or have to stay in bed for a long time often say that they can feel parts of their body becoming sore. It’s important to pay attention to what they say, to quickly reduce pressure on their skin, and regularly change the position they sit or lie in.
It’s also important to try to move if possible – even if you have to lie in bed or sit in a wheelchair. If you are able to sit up, leave the bed, or even walk a few steps with a bit of help, it’s a good idea to do that as often as possible.
Can pressure-relieving mattresses prevent pressure ulcers?
Pressure-relieving mattresses and support surfaces can lower the risk of pressure ulcers. There are now many different products that can be used in hospitals, nursing homes or at home. Most of them offer especially soft surfaces or alternating pressure.
Special mattresses known as alternating pressure mattresses are also commonly used and can help to prevent pressure ulcers. These mattresses have several chambers that are automatically filled with different amounts of air. The air pressure usually changes several times an hour to relieve pressure on different parts of the body. Alternating pressure mattresses are most often used for patients who have an especially high risk of developing pressure ulcers – such as patients in intensive care who are on a ventilator and can’t move on their own.
If you are caring for a family member at home or go to visit them in the hospital or at a nursing home, you can help them move short distances, for instance when taking a few steps to the table to sit down and eat.
You should tell the nurses or doctors immediately about any red or sore areas of skin. They can then take a closer look at the affected area. It is always important to take pressure off that part of your body.
To read the entire article, please go to – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK326430/
Just A Thought: “Staying positive doesn’t mean you have to be happy all the time. It means that even on the hard days you know better ones are coming.” ~Unknown
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