Pressure ulcers can be dangerous for the same reason emotional pressure can be dangerous. When you’re under a lot of stress and pressure, you don’t always notice it at first. Stress works slowly, eating away at you, and it’s often hard to notice until the damage is done. You’re probably aware of how psychological pressure worsens your mental state, but physical pressure can have the same effect on your skin. The damage starts small and often goes unnoticed until a dangerous, painful pressure ulcer has developed.
Patients who spend a lot of time sitting or lying down are at risk for pressure ulcers, also known as bedsores. The pressure and friction that comes with lying down for extended periods of time can cause damage to tissues. That damage is difficult to heal and can have other dangerous health effects.
It is especially important for patients who are bedbound, either because of chronic illness or a recent surgical procedure, be aware of the dangers of bedsores, how to avoid them, and how to treat them.
What Is a Pressure Ulcer?
Pressure ulcers are injuries to the skin caused by prolonged pressure on a particular area of the body. They typically develop in places where a bone is close to the skin, places like the heels, hips, shoulder blades, and tailbones. People who use a wheelchair or are bedbound due to coma, paralysis, or injury are most at risk for developing pressure ulcers.
Why are Pressure Ulcers Dangerous?
A pressure ulcer can sneak up on you. A bruise that seems benign or manageable at first can develop into a painful ulcer. Pressure ulcers begin as a red or pink area on the skin that might feel itchy, tender, warm, or cool. If left untreated, it can penetrate through your skin and leave muscle, tendon, and bone exposed. When a pressure ulcer reaches this stage, treatment becomes difficult. A lack of blood flow causes tissue death, and the patient is at risk of infection and even amputation.
How to Prevent Pressure Ulcers
Prolonged periods sitting or lying down puts pressure on the skin as it is pressed between the bone and a surface such as a seat or bed. This pressure cuts off blood flow to the area.
As people age, their skin becomes thinner and more susceptible to wounding and tearing. People with thinner skin are more susceptible to developing pressure ulcers.
Pressure as well as pushing, pulling, and friction on the skin can cause wounds that may develop into pressure ulcers. This kind of friction occurs when a bedbound patient slides up and down in bed. Get help when readjusting yourself. Your doctor can show your caregivers the right way to reposition a patient in bed.
There are a number of ways patients can avoid pressure ulcers. Here are some things you can do at home:
- Do your best to maintain a healthy weight, as more weight puts more pressure on the skin.
- Wear soft, comfortable clothes that aren’t too tight. Avoid wearing fabrics that can irritate the skin.
- Keep your body free of moisture as much as possible by gently wiping away sweat and drying thoroughly after bathing.
- If you use a wheelchair, shift your weight from side to side as well as back and forth every fifteen minutes.
- Sit or lie down on a soft surface, such as a foam mattress cover or a gel seat cushion for your wheelchair.
How We Treat Pressure Ulcers
There are both surgical and nonsurgical treatments for pressure ulcers. To minimize pain, doctors will recommend either over-the-counter or prescription pain relief as appropriate. If your pressure ulcer is infected or at risk for infection, we will prescribe antibiotics.
To help you heal, we will irrigate the wound. That is, we will clean it with soap and water or saline solution. Then we bandage the wound in a way that promotes healing.
More advanced pressure ulcers may require debridement. This is a process in which we remove dead tissue from around the wound so that new, healthy tissue can grow in its place.
The most advanced pressure ulcers may require skin graft surgery. A skin graft involves taking healthy skin from one part of the body and attach it to the area of the pressure ulcer so that the healthy skin can grow over the wound.
Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late
As soon as you notice changes to your skin in areas most likely to be affected by pressure ulcers, give us a call. We will assess and monitor the affected area, talk to you about your lifestyle and goals, and provide you the evidence-based methods for preventing pressure ulcers so they don’t become a problem.
