Pressure Sores – The Hidden Risks & Warning Signs

By Jamie Shapiro | November 13, 2015 | Comments Off on Pressure Sores – The Hidden Risks & Warning Signs

Senior Care in Northbrook IL

Pressure sores are slow healing wounds can occur in home-care patients, young and old. It’s important to understand the risk factors, the warning signs, and the prevention methods to ensure your loved one is safe.

What is a Pressure Sore?

A pressure sore develops when constant pressure damages flesh. The resulting injury develops quickly and can create hard to heal abscesses. They are a significant infection risk. Bedridden patients are especially prone, which is why they are also called bedsores, but wheelchair users and anyone with lessened sensation in their extremities, lowered mobility, and thin skin can be prone. Most patients who require in-home care are at some risk of pressure ulcers.

Signs of Developing Sores

It’s important to do regular visual checks on prone areas of skin to catch pressure sores before they become open wounds. Spotting a site developing into a pressure sore means that your in-home care provider can focus on shifting your loved one away from that area until its had a chance to recover. There are four stages – the developing stage (I), the breaking stage (II), the wound stage (III), and deep wound (IV). There is also ‘unstageable’, which means that the pressure ulcer has so much dead or damaged tissue covering it that it becomes impossible to determine the depth of the wound.

It’s important to catch a pressure sore at the developing stage. Once the skin breaks, it can be a challenge to heal.  As the wound develops, the skin will begin to die off. The ulcer can extend beneath healthy layers of skin and become quite extensive if left untreated, and the wound will eventually deepen into muscle tissue down to the bone.

Level I Warning Signs:

  • Paler skin shows reddish; darker skin shows discoloration.
  • Skin doesn’t lighten when touched.
  • Skin will feel spongy or firm, tender or painful, and either warmer or cooler than neighboring flesh.

 

Common Sites
Perform regular checks on bony areas of the body where pressure might develop.

Wheelchair Users:

  • The buttocks and tailbone.
  • The spine and shoulder blades.
  • The arms and legs where they press against the chair.
  • The heels and back of the feet.
  • The back and sides of the head.

 

Bed Confined Patients:

  • The head, both back and sides.
  • The edges of the ears.
  • The shoulders and shoulder blades.
  • The lower back, tailbone, and hips.
  • The heels, behind the knees, and the ankles.

 

Spotting these sores before they break is vital for the health of your loved one. It can sometimes be a challenge to recognize the symptoms early on. In-home elder care benefits greatly from the assistance of trained professionals who have training in recognizing these signs and can take steps to help prevent them before they worsen. Senior care or home care at any age works best when it’s focused on prevention – knowledgeable in-home assistance vetted through an agency helps a family manage that in the most affordable way.

If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care services in Northbrook, IL, contact the caring staff at Companion Services of America today at (847) 943-3786. Our home care service area includes Northbrook, Highland Park, Deerfield, Glenview, Buffalo Grove, Evanston, Des Plaines, Skokie, Lake Forest, Wilmette and the surrounding areas.

Source
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bedsores/basics/symptoms/con-20030848

Jamie Shapiro
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