Pressure Ulcers:
--A Sore Subject No One Talks About
One in a series of articles designed to make the Pee Dee healthier
By: Sue Rudnicki, Program Director
Wound Healing Center at Marion Regional Healthcare System
Pressure ulcers, wounds that develop when there is prolonged pressure between the skin and bone, are no longer referred to as bedsores but the name change has done little to stop people’s reluctance to discuss the condition, even as rates of incidence increase and new treatments are developed.
“There is no major advertising campaign raising awareness or touting a new drug that makes pressure ulcers acceptable to talk about,” said Dr. Parakkat Krishnan, Medical Director of the Wound Healing Center at Marion Regional Healthcare System. “Unfortunately, due to our rapidly aging population and the increasing rates of diabetes, more and more people are suffering from pressure ulcers when there are steps they can take to prevent and treat them.”
In addition to a lack of mobility confining someone to a bed or wheelchair, other risk factors for pressure ulcers include age, poor nutrition, diabetes and other diseases that prevent blood flow and cause lack of sensation, and urinary or bowel incontinence.
Pressure ulcers occur when a person remains in one position for too long without shifting his or her weight, which decreases the blood supply to the area causing skin and tissue to break down. The first visible sign is a red area on the skin that doesn’t fade followed by the formation of blisters. If not properly treated, the blisters evolve into wounds with hard yellow or black areas.
“Most people have no idea how to prevent pressure ulcers,” said Dr. Krishnan. “For example, the first thing many people do after discovering they are going to be confined to a chair for a prolonged period of time is go out and buy a donut-type pillow which is absolutely wrong because it can harm tissue.”
To help reduce the risk of developing pressure ulcers, Dr. Krishnan suggests:
• Using commercially available pressure reducing cushions and mattresses.
• Changing positions every half hour when sitting and every two hours in bed.
• Using mild soaps and water when bathing and avoid excessive friction.
• Applying skin moisturizer to prevent dryness.
• Placing a pillow under your calves to prevent your heels from touching the bed and using pillows and foam wedges to keep ankles and knees apart.
• If confined to bed, do not raise the head of the bed more than 30 degrees and use an overhead trapeze to assist in movement.
• In treating incontinence, cleanse skin, use a topical moisture barrier and select absorbent briefs or under pads that provide quick drying surface to the skin.
People should seek medical treatment for non-healing pressure ulcers which show warning signs of infection that include increased pain at the wound site, redness or swelling spreading away from the wound, a foul wound odor, change in color or amount of drainage from the wound or if the person experiences fever, chills, nausea or vomiting.
There are numerous options for treating chronic pressure ulcers, most of which involve removing the non-living tissue from around the wound with surgical instruments or with newly developed dressings and chemicals.
For more information on pressure ulcers contact the Wound Healing Center at Marion Regional Healthcare System by calling (843) 431-CARE (2273).
The Wound Healing Center at Marion Regional Healthcare System is located on Highway 76 between Marion and Mullins. A National Healing Corporation Wound Center, it specializes in the treatment of chronic wounds and non-responsive conditions and offers hospital-based outpatient wound care and hyperbaric oxygen therapy as well as disease management and diabetes care. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has awarded National Healing Corporation Disease-Specific Care Certification for wound care.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (843) 431-CARE (2273) or visit them on the web at www.MarionCountyMedical.com
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