Avoiding bedsores

I had really resisted getting a hospital bed for mom. She absolutely hated being in one in the nursing home.

She had a tendency to sleep on her side and toss and turn, and that is difficult to do so in a single size bed. Also, she had a foam pad on her bed, and I knew this would help to avoid bed sores. The idea of trying to turn her to avoid bed sores was more than I wanted to deal with, considering everything else I had gone through.

Finally, after 19 months of home care, she go no longer stand up.

We then put her under hospice care.

This is when the hospital bed arrived, and along with it a mattress pad which circulated air to prevent pressure sores.

Great! No chance of bed sores.

Wrong!

After the first sign of bed sores, I took some preventive measures, other than turning her.

This is what I have done to alleviate bed (or pressure) sores.

1) On top of the cirulating air mattress I have placed a cheap but thick queen size comforter, folded over. This gives enough cushion to alleviate most severe pressure points.

2) I check her bottom and back in the morning for red spots. If I find any, I apply a product with lanolin. The one I use is called Corona, which I buy at the animal feed store. I find it is less expensive and comes in larger quantities which I need.

Doing these things seems to do the trick.

I will be honest, I do not get up and turn her every 2 hours. I do turn her sideways in bed 2 or 3 times a day, and change her position when I change her diaper, but that's about it.

I just make sure her bottom is cleaned really good every time I change the diaper.

So far, it's working. It's been 2 months, and she did get 2 bedsores in the beginning, but those healed up with the Corona.

The feet are another issue, which I will blog about later.