Bedsores Health Article

Definition

Bedsores are also called decubitus ulcers, pressure ulcers, or pressure sores. These tender or inflamed patches develop when skin covering a weight-bearing part of the body is squeezed between bone and another body part, or a bed, chair, splint, or other hard object.

Description

Each year, about one million people in the United States develop bedsores ranging from mild inflammation to deep wounds that involve muscle and bone. This often painful condition usually starts with shiny red skin that quickly blisters and deteriorates into open sores that can harbor life-threatening infection.

Bedsores are not cancerous or contagious. They are most likely to occur in people who must use wheelchairs or who are confined to bed. In 1992, the federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research reported that bedsores afflict:

• 10% of hospital patients
• 25% of nursing home residents
• 60% of quadriplegics

The Agency also noted that 65% of elderly people hospitalized with broken hips develop bedsores and that doctors fees for treatment of bedsores amounted to $2,900 per person.

Bedsores are most apt to develop on the:

• ankles
• back of the head
• heels
• hips
• knees
• lower back
• shoulder blades
• spine

People over the age of 60 are more likely than younger people to develop bedsores. Risk is also increased by:

• atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries)
• diabetes or other conditions that make skin more susceptible to infection
• diminished sensation or lack of feeling
• heart problems
• incontinence (inability to control bladder or bowel movements)
• malnutrition
• obesity
• paralysis or immobility
• poor circulation
• prolonged bed rest, especially in unsanitary conditions or with wet or wrinkled sheets
• spinal cord injury

Causes and symptoms

Bedsores most often develop when constant pressure pinches tiny blood vessels that deliver oxygen and nutrients to the skin. When skin is deprived of oxygen and nutrients for as little as an hour, areas of tissue can die and bedsores can form.

Slight rubbing or friction against the skin can cause minor pressure ulcers. They can also develop when a patient stretches or bends blood vessels by slipping into a different position in a bed or chair.

Urine, feces, or other moisture increases the risk of skin infection, and people who are unable to move or recognize internal cues to shift position have a greater than average risk of developing bedsores.

Other risk factors include:

• malnutrition
• anemia (lack of red blood cells)
• diuse atrophy (muscle loss or weakness from lack of use)
• infection