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Bed Sores (Pressure Sores, Decubitus Ulcers or Pressure Ulcers) Part 1

By HERWriter
 
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Each year, about one million people in the United States develop bed sores at a treatment cost of $1 billion. The sores are most often found in elderly patients. Approximately two-thirds of all bed sores occur in people over age 70. People living with paralysis are especially at risk, as is anyone who is bedridden, uses a wheelchair or is unable to change positions without help. Bed sores afflict 10 percent of all hospital patients, 25 percent of nursing home residents and 60 percent of quadriplegics. The sores are a direct cause of death in about eight percent of paraplegics.

Bed sores can be life-threatening to elderly and disabled patients. Unfortunately, people who have been successfully treated for bed sores have a 90 percent chance of developing them again. While the pressure sores themselves can usually be cured, about 60,000 deaths per year are attributed to complications caused by bed sores.

Bed sores range from mild inflammation to ulceration (breakdown of tissue) and deep wounds that involve muscle and bone. This painful condition usually starts with shiny red skin that quickly blisters and deteriorates into open sores. These sores become a target for bacterial contamination and will often harbor life-threatening infection. Bed sores are not contagious or cancerous, although the most serious complication of chronic bed sores is the development of malignant degeneration, which is a type of cancer.

Bed sores are areas of damaged skin and tissue that develop when sustained pressure cuts off circulation to parts of your body. Some of the most vulnerable areas are the skin on your buttocks, hips and heels. Without adequate blood flow, the affected tissue dies.

The sores begin as tender, inflamed patches that develop when a person's weight rests against a hard surface, exerting pressure on the skin and soft tissue over bony parts of the body. For example, skin covering a weight-bearing part of the body, such as a knee or hip, is pressed between a bone and a bed, chair, another body part, splint, or other hard object.

This is most likely to happen when the person is confined to a bed or wheelchair for long periods of time and is relatively immobile. Usually, mobile individuals, when either conscious or unconscious, will receive nerve signals from the compressed part of the body and will automatically move to relieve the pressure. Pressure sores do not usually develop in people with normal mobility and mental alertness. However, people compromised through acute illness, heavy sedation, unconsciousness, or diminished mental functioning, may not receive signals to move, and as a result of the constant pressure, tissue damage may progress to bed sores in these individuals.

Bed sores can develop quickly, progress rapidly and are often difficult to heal. Yet health experts say many of these wounds don't have to occur. Key preventive measures can maintain the skin's integrity and encourage healing of bed sores.

The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel classifies of bed sores in four stages of ulceration based primarily on the depth of a sore at the time of examination.

Stage I: intact skin with redness (erythema) and sometimes with warmth.
Stage II: partial-thickness loss of skin, an abrasion, swelling, and possible blistering or peeling of skin.
Stage III: full-thickness loss of skin, open wound (crater), and possible exposed under layer.
Stage IV: full-thickness loss of skin and underlying tissue, extends into muscle, bone, tendon, or joint. Possible bone destruction, dislocations, or pathologic fractures (not caused by injury).

Contact your doctor right away if you notice any broken skin or open sores. Get immediate medical care if you have signs of infection such as fever, drainage from the sore, a foul odor, or increased heat and redness in the surrounding skin.

Sources:
www.surgeryencyclopedia.com
www.bedsores.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedsore

MC Ortega is the former publicist for the late Walter Payton and Coca-Cola. Ortega is a senior communications and messaging executive specializing in media relations, social media, program development and crisis communications. Also, Ortega is an avid traveler and international shopper. Ortega resides with her partner, Craig, dog, Fionne and extensive shoe collection. Ortega also enjoys jewelry design/production and flamenco dancing

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Rosa Cabrera RN
Empowered

Thanks for the article. Not many people realize how terrible bed sores can be-- especially for an elderly person. It is important, for a person being cared for at home, to be rotated very frequently. Taught sheets with no wrinkles can help stop decubitus from forming and constant great care for our loved ones. Although they vary in degree, pressure ulcers can and should be avoided completely.

Thanks again!

February 9, 2010 - 9:44am

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MC Kelby
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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.