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5 Innovative Tips For Preventing Bed Sores In Nursing Home Residents

5 Innovative Tips For Preventing Bed Sores In Nursing Home Residents

<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Pressure ulcers&comma; also known as bedsores&comma; are among the most common health problems in nursing homes and hospitals nationwide&period; A pressure ulcer is a skin injury caused by prolonged pressure on the area that comes in contact with a bed or a wheelchair&period; Hospitalized patients and nursing home residents with limited mobility are more likely to develop bedsores&period; More often than not&comma; pressure ulcers can result in life-threatening bone and tissue infections&period; In the United States&comma; pressure ulcers are responsible for nearly 60&comma;000 deaths annually&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Relatives and family members of nursing home residents and hospitalized patients often hire nursing home bedsores lawyers to recover compensation for their loved one&&num;8217&semi;s pain and suffering&period; More than 17&comma;000 lawsuits related to bedsores are filed each year for reimbursement&period; Pressure ulcers cost around &dollar;9&period;1-&dollar;11&period;6 billion per year in the US&period; Due to patient morbidity&comma; treatment cost&comma; and legal issues&comma; bedsores have become a national concern&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Fortunately&comma; pressure ulcers are preventable&period; In fact&comma; it is easier to prevent pressure ulcers than treat them&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Here are five quick tips for preventing bedsores in nursing home residents&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<ol style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&NewLine;<li><strong>Regular Inspection and Risk Assessment<&sol;strong><br &sol;>&NewLine;One of the key practices of preventing bedsores is to inspect all nursing home residents regularly&period; Regular inspection and risk assessment can help identify ulcers and implement preventive measures at an earlier stage&period;The treatment of stage I and stage II ulcers is easier compared to Stage III and IV bedsores&period; So&comma; make sure to check every resident for the early signs of pressure ulcers&period; Non-blanching erythema &lpar;tissue redness that does not turn white by a light finger pressure&rpar; is usually the first sign of a pressure sore&period; The Braden Scale is the most commonly used tool for predicting the development of decubitus ulcers&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Frequent Repositioning<&sol;strong><br &sol;>&NewLine;Humans have a tendency to shift their positions even when sleeping&period; Sometimes&comma; however&comma; a medical condition may prevent a senior citizen or a hospitalized patient from moving in his&sol;her bed&period; Limited mobility often leads to bedsores in the pressure areas of the skin&period; These areas may include the tailbone &lpar;coccyx&rpar;&comma; shoulder blades&comma; hips&comma; heels&comma; and elbows&period;All residents should be encouraged to reposition themselves as frequently as possible&period; If they can&&num;8217&semi;t do so on their own&comma; the nursing home caregivers or nurses should help them change positions&period; Just make sure to consider the resident&&num;8217&semi;s comfort when changing his&sol;her position&period; It is essential to reposition a bedridden patient every couple of hours&comma; and every half an hour for a resident in a wheelchair&period; It is&comma; however&comma; a challenging task to reposition all residents every couple of hours&comma; especially for a busy hospital&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Use Pressure Redistribution Devices<&sol;strong><br &sol;>&NewLine;Another great way to prevent bedsores or decubitus ulcers is to use pressure redistribution devices&period; These devices may include pressure redistribution mattresses and cushions&comma; heel troughs&comma; splints&comma; and pillows&comma; among others&period; Using such equipment not only reduces the chances of developing bedsores&comma; but also makes it easier to treat them if they arise&period; Air fluidized mattresses can be used to make the bed softer than the usual mattress&period; You can turn the air on and off periodically to relieve the pressure&period;Apart from using pressure redistribution devices&comma; healthcare centers and nursing homes have started using different breakthrough technologies to prevent bedsores&period; For example&comma; the Veterans Administration Boise Medical Center recently started using the Leaf Patient Monitoring System to reduce the risk of decubitus ulcers&period; The technology offers a new line of defense against one of the most threatening hospital-acquired infections&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Provide Proper Nutrition to Increase Skin Tolerance<&sol;strong><br &sol;>&NewLine;Good nutrition can not only heal pressure ulcers&comma; but also prevent them&period; Healthy food can maintain a good-looking and well-hydrated skin with reduced risk of bedsores&period; Nursing home staff and hospital nurses need to make sure that their patients get the recommended diet&comma; which is rich in protein&comma; fiber&comma; vitamins&comma; and liquids&period; Proteins can keep a patient&&num;8217&semi;s skin tissue from breaking down&period; Zinc and Vitamin C can help heal the wounds&period; Proper nutrition can also increase skin tolerance&period;Consult with doctors and nutritionists in your team to create a diet plan for the patients under your care&period; Remember&comma; every patient may have unique dietary needs&period; So&comma; you may have to create a customized plan for every resident or patient&period; Most patients with limited mobility may also need assistance when eating to get proper nutrition&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li><strong>Provide Proper Skin Care<&sol;strong><br &sol;>&NewLine;Proper skin care can reduce the risk of decubitus ulcers significantly&period; Caregivers and nurses have the responsibility to check the patient&&num;8217&semi;s skin at least twice a day&comma; especially the ones with extremely limited or zero mobility&period; Be sure to keep the skin dry and well-hydrated&period; Use mild soap for bathing&comma; and dry the skin gently to remove moisture&comma; which often increases the risk of the development of pressure ulcers&period; If necessary&comma; you can apply lotions or creams to keep the skin clean and dry&period; Bedsore-prone areas such as armpits and groin may need to be washed and dried more than twice a day&period;Urinary or bowel incontinence is a common problem among nursing home residents or elderly patients&period; Urine and stool contain harmful bacteria and irritants&comma; which may increase the risk of developing pressure ulcers&period; It is&comma; therefore&comma; necessary to clean them up immediately to prevent the breakdown of skin and bone tissue&period; Soak the patient&&num;8217&semi;s feet and hands in warm water and scrub them gently to prevent the formation of callus&period; You can also use moisturizing creams to soften dead skin&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ol>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Prolonged pressure on the skin can cause skin and bone tissue damage known as bedsores or pressure ulcers&period; Malnutrition and limited or zero mobility are the two biggest contributing factors to this health problem&period; Pressure ulcers can be life-threatening among nursing home residents and elderly patients&period; Unfortunately&comma; they are difficult to treat&period; It is&comma; however&comma; possible to prevent them with proper skin care and nutrition&period; The above five tips will help you reduce the risk of developing pressure ulcers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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