Meaning and Definition of Bedsore

Definition of bedsore

Bedsores, better known as decubitus ulcers, are lesions that appear in areas of the skin that are continually subject to pressure.
These types of injuries occur frequently in people who have neurological diseases that affect both the sensitivity and the ability to move, as in the case of:
-Stroke with sequelae such as paralysis.
-Paraplegia (people in wheelchairs).
-Multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
-Diseases of the spine that lead to the limitation for the mobilization.
-Restrain for inbed patients.
-Patients with cognitive dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

You recognize bedsores

When a certain part of the body is continually subjected to pressure by lack of movement, the skin at that level begins to Redden is, something characteristic is that already not it turns white when pressed as normally with healthy skin.
Few days after the red area becomes a blister that breaks into an ulcer, these lesions are usually not painful, their tendency is to increase its size becoming deepening destroying the muscles up to expose the bones.
Bedsores are most frequently in areas of bony prominences as in the back of the head, back, elbows, hips, at the level of the sacrum and heels.
The tissue located at the bottom of the eschar is woven dead, so it has a white-yellowish or even greenish coloration and a bad smell. This tissue is able to provide conditions for the growth of bacteria that does more than make things worse and jeopardize life since these bulbs are starting points for loa germs reach other tissues or even the blood causing a condition known as sepsis or septicaemia.

What to do to prevent the onset of bedsores?

The key to avoiding to appear an eschar is measures that decrease the continuous pressure on an area of the skin, being the best it mobilize the patient every two or three hours, even overnight.
Other helpful measures include the use of antidecubitus mattress, as well as the placement of pads under the shoulders, elbows, buttocks, ankles. It is also important to maintain good hygiene and apply moisturizing and nourishing skin creams, especially containing vitamins E and A as well as aloe vera.
Some factors as diabetes and venous insufficiency contributes to that there is an increased risk of bedsores, are developed for this reason is necessary to have a good control of metabolic diseases in people at risk of developing this type of injury.
Another important aspect is to prevent malnutrition, which is relatively frequent in these patients because many times motor conditions make it difficult to chew and swallow food, which can lead to the need to place devices such as probes and gastrostomos that force to maintain a liquid diet, if not well designed by a specialist in nutrition, can rapidly lead to to develop malnutrition which favours the emergence and growth of bedsores.

Bedsores are treated

Most importantly once they appear is to make a correct cleaning of the same and avoid that you have woven dead, if this appears necessary stir so that the sore can close, in addition to cleaning it is necessary to apply healing or even antibiotics products if they are infected.
Sometimes it is necessary to carry out a surgical cleaning, it's a procedure that withdraws all skin and dead tissue that may appear granulation connective tissue thus closing the eschar.
Although an eschar is closed should have the general care as the constant change of position to avoid to open again.