Bed sores…worsen matters for the bedridden

September 28, 2008 | By gunjan In General Wellbeing, Skin-related problems, Women-Related Problems, children health, mens health |

Perhaps the greatest punishment for man would be to make him bed ridden. Dependency more than the sickness makes the patient mentally weak. This deteriorates his condition more than the illness itself. Imagine your plight if you would have to wait for someone’s help to change your position, getup, drink water and even using the bathroom. Many diseases today cause this kind of a dependency. What worsens the condition of these patients is that they are prone to a more brutal situation…they are susceptible to form bed sores! These are ugly looking sores which are infectious holes which run deep till the bones and other visceral organs surrounded by redness and soreness.

Why are bed sores formed?

Many people shift in their chair during meetings, fiddle with the radio when driving, turn a dozen times in their sleep. Every day, without thinking, they make hundreds of subtle postural adjustments that help stave off problems arising from inactivity. But for people immobilized by paralysis, injury or illness, those problems — including bedsores — are a constant threat.

Bedsores, more accurately called pressure sores or pressure ulcers, are areas of damaged skin and tissue that develop when sustained pressure — usually from a bed or wheelchair — cuts off circulation to vulnerable parts of your body, especially the skin on your buttocks, hips and heels. Without adequate blood flow, the affected tissue dies.

Although people living with paralysis are especially at risk, anyone who is bedridden, uses a wheelchair or is unable to change positions without help can develop bedsores. They’re especially common in areas that aren’t well padded with muscle or fat and that lie just over a bone, such as your spine, tailbone (coccyx), shoulder blades, hips, heels and elbows. Because your skin and the underlying tissues are trapped between bone and a surface such as a wheelchair or bed, blood flow is restricted. This deprives tissue of oxygen and other nutrients, and irreversible damage and tissue death can occur.

Other causes of pressure sores include:

§ Friction. Frequent shifts in position are the key to preventing pressure sores. Yet the friction that occurs when you simply turn from side to side can damage your skin, making it more susceptible to pressure sores.

§ Shear. This occurs when your skin moves in one direction, and the underlying bone moves in another. Sliding down in a bed or chair or raising the head of your bed more than 30 degrees is especially likely to cause shearing, which stretches and tears cell walls and tiny blood vessels. Especially affected are areas such as your tailbone where skin is already thin and fragile.

The patient may not even realize the development

Many a times the paralyzed patient has a poor nervous system and is unable to sense of discomfort or pain which signal the development of bed sores. This may make the identification of initial stages of the bed sore difficult. However if the care taker is aware enough the initial stages may be caught. For this purpose, the following stages in the development of bed sores are discussed:

§ Stage I. Initially, a pressure sore appears as a persistent area of red skin that may itch or hurt and feel warm and spongy or firm to the touch. Stage I wounds are superficial and go away shortly after the pressure is relieved.

§ Stage II. At this point, some skin loss has already occurred — either in the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, in the dermis, the skin’s deeper layer, or in both. The wound is now an open sore that looks like a blister or an abrasion, and the surrounding tissues may show red or purple discoloration. If treated promptly, stage II sores usually heal fairly quickly.

§ Stage III. By the time a pressure ulcer reaches this stage, the damage has extended to the tissue below the skin, creating a deep, crater-like wound.

§ Stage IV. In the most serious and advanced stage, a large-scale loss of skin occurs, along with damage to muscle, bone, and even supporting structures such as tendons and joints. Stage IV wounds are extremely difficult to heal and can lead to lethal infections.

Treatment for bed sores:

Specific treatment of a bed sore is determined by your physician and based on the severity of the condition. Treatment may be more difficult once the skin is broken, and may include the following: