How to deal with pressure sores?

It is really weird, but my daughter is bedridden and has been for 3 years. We were getting a prescription for her bed sores and tried some vaseline when we ran out. The sores are completely gone and I slather her butt with the vaseline every time I change her (4-5 times a day). I only use wipes to clean her and with using only the vaseline, she has a nice clean, pink babies butt. She also has an inflatable, rotating pressure mattress on her hospital bed that she rents to own. Make sure you get a good one. Trying to save money ends up in throwing the pad away due to tears. We had that happen the first time. My daughter is only 59, so that may be accountable for the ease of keeping sores at bay. God bless you and your amazing Mother.

My mom had issues but started with a fall on a trinket box. We still have issues. Wound Care has us use Aloe Vista. and it would be fine but my mom picks. Good luck.

First use zinc oxide very minimally. Less is more. Research has shown that it acts like an astringent. The dolphin mattress is the most recommended one to prevent ulcers. Not cheap though. Not to sound cold, but could probably resell it later since hospitals use them between patients. Minor frequent shifts with pillows from left, right, to center should likely be okay for her hip. Not on side.

What a blessing to have your mom still with you at 108....that's amazing!
My mom (90 yrs) is in the advance stages of Alzheimers and is confined to her bed. We have the prescribed alternating air pressure mattress, and all the cushions, creams, ointments to combat pressure sores along with a really wonderful 5 day live in caregiver who is really vigilant in doing everything in her power to prevent bed sores from developing on my mom. One suggestion my mom's visiting nurse did suggest is a product called JUVEN. Check with her doctor before giving it to her. It's a product made by the same company that makes Ensure and you can order it on Amazon. It's been a fantastic product for my mother...check out the reviews. I hope it helps your mom.

Dear Sister45,
Wow! It is amazing that your mom is up and walking at all. My mom is 91 and has been pretty much bed bound for at least 10 years. She goes in a wheelchair to church on Sunday & to the doctors. I asked one of her doctors how to prevent pressure sores & he checked with his colleagues at the Washington Hospital Center. They recommended an air loss mattress. These are very expensive ($4,000 and up), but I found an air loss mattress overlay which works beautifully. It has a pump and is a plastic mattress which goes on top of her regular mattress. It cost about $300 & I got it from one of the medical supply companies on-line. It is very easy and we have had it going for at least 5 years. It stays plugged in and does its job. It has been well worth it. We do have a Roho cushion for her chair, but she doesn't find it very comfortable.
Best of luck and prayers! You deserve a medal for helping her all this time.
Sincerely,
Old Maid

Try giving her Prostat x3 daily. She must be turned every two hours or less so that pressure ulcers do not develop/get worse. My mom developed 6 stage 4 pressure ulcers do to healthcare incompetence. I fought to bring her home with home care. I am on everyone's back to now get them healed up asap although my mom is immobile and underweight. It's a long story but the bottom line is that pressure ulcers are preventable, and if treated correctly can heal. Also you need an air mattress or water bed. Don't use a donut ring when she sits up. Have a competent wound doctor look at it and, depending on the stage, maybe you can have a wound nurse come and dress it. The Prostat should help with rapid healing. Protein is needed for chronic wound healing.

I have found that a sheepskin has made a vast difference to my mother's butt and lower spine. I have one on her bed and a smaller one for her wheelchair and sitting room chair.

The number one thing is to get the pressure off the pressure points! When DH stopped walking a year ago or so he developed pressure sores on his coccyx. Even though he was on hospice and had an alternating pressure mattress on his bed, he sat in his wheelchair most of the time. When we discovered the spot we immediately started turning him from side to side when he was in bed and got a coccyx "cutout" cushion for him to sit on. We kept the sore covered with some special stick-on bandages until it wasn't open anymore, with calmoseptine all around but not on the sore itself. Also open to the air as much as possible (when he was napping on his side). Messy and labor intensive--calmoseptine & 2-way incontinence and a very hairy fellow he is too (:)). Then when it occurred again, we got silvadene ointment to put directly on the sore and that worked too. Finally, he qualified for Medicare to pay for a "tilt-in-space" wheelchair based on the history of pressure sores. Currently has a roho cushion but I don't like the fact that it could leak. We are getting a Jay cushion which has several layers. The chair allows various angles so that the pressure points aren't always in the same place. But the main thing is to keep him OFF the sore at least until it heals.

My dad uses a Roho cushion. It was paid through Hospice, which I assumed was covered by Medicare. Orally, one of the best healing solutions is to increase the protein in the diet.

My mother, who just passed at 93, had an air pressure mattress that kept movement on her bottom. She could not sleep on her side any longer. I would call in wound specialist and you will get the best advice from them. They have dealt with everything and were a great help to us. I am sure you want to keep her as comfortable as possible. God bless both of you! 108 is an amazing number of birthdays! I hope to be as fortunate! Good she has you!

Is it possible to get her a used roho pillow? I'm sure there are many about. Perhaps it can be cleaned, or a sheet or something could be put over it. Does it have to be new?
In the nursing home they turn residents every 2 hrs and use several pillows to keep them there and comfortable.
I'd get a wound ream on it so it doesn't get worse. They have to be watched like a hawk so it doesn't worsen. Good luck.

You are taking such good care of your mom. I think what you are doing is wonderful!
OK. The answers here have been great. I just want to add a couple of things I didn't see in the previous answers. FRESH AIR: The healing power of air is often overlooked in wound care. First, the wound needs to be clean and as dry as possible. Then, just let air do its healing work. It can be inside her bedroom. Maybe this can be your mom's time to talk about whatever she wants. The longer the air has a chance to work the better. MATTRESS: Hospital beds, even with special pads, are unbelievably uncomfortable. I recommend buying her a Tempurpedic mattress, one of the simple ones (without a pillow top). This mattress will help her sleep more easily on her side as the memory foam mattress will help cradle her hip. I know these are expensive. Maybe the manufacturer will give you a deal if you explain why it's needed. CALMOSEPTINE: You said you were already using this. It's the wonder ointment! But, sometimes, it's hard to remove it completely. I use (and check with her wound care specialists on this) baby oil to take it off easily. Then, after the "airing out" period, I really lather the Calmo on.

Medicare paid for our mother's Alternating Pressure Pump and Pad on the hospital bed we had for her at home. We also bought wedge pillows (normally used for GERD). This really helped us keep her on her side. A small pillow under her knees helped too.

My mom has a cushion with 'fingers' of air filled pockets that helps her a lot - I feel it is much better than a regular cushion

For wounds in diaper area I would use what I did for my kids - a Rx hemorrhoid cream [ I use proctosedyl ] with a silicone barrier cream on top which prevents the urine from bothering the skin - I have witnessed it clear mild diaper rash in just 1 diaper change - our family had been using this for nearly 40 years & we swear by it

Have you asked her primary care physician?
Air mattress was recommended to my client.

Hi all. My mom has had numerous pressure ulcers in the last two years, some considered Stage 4 (meaning they are down to, or near, the bone). She goes to the Wound Care Clinic at our local hospital once a month. The Wound Clinic had told us to get a ROHO Cushion and the air mattress as mentioned above. Both have helped tremendously. What I think has helped the most, however, is the very high protein drink the AL attendants give her six times a day. It is called Liquacel. She is only required to drink one ounce each time, and it comes in flavors (her favorite is peach-mango). It is costly (approximately $30 a bottle of 30 oz.), but it is well worth it. It does not have to be taken six times a day; you can start out at two and see how it goes. It has 16g of protein per ounce. Along with the Wound Clinic and the Wound Vac, this stuff has been a Godsend. You can purchase it from Amazon or at your local Target. Just a little FYI. Have a great day all, and God bless.

I use a coccyx cushion fir the wheelchair and position my mom in the bed and tuck a pillow behind her back to keep her slightly on her side. Organic tea tree oil works wonders for sores. All it takes is a little to be applied twice a day.

Does you mom have Medicare or other insurance. Call Them for a Nurse Visit and then Insist on having a Wound Care Provider Visit the home for an assessment. My mom had similar issues with bedsores and I have someone out 2 to 3 times a week (my mom has medicare) They also bring all the supplies and order any prescriptions needed

If you are in the States, your Mom's Medicare benefits allow for a home care nurse to come and assess/monitor the "wounds". Her doctor would have to order a home health agency.

You do not indicate if  mom is incontintent. If so, you need to cover the area with zinc cream. Any wetness will break down the skin. Also, getting up is difficult, have you considered a u-get-up lift to help her stand for awhile and relieve the pressure. Also, gel bed mattress and chair pads might help. Sometimes, it's trial and error to find what really works for each person.

Medicare paid for my husband’s Roho cushion.

Alternating pressure air bed, and two hourly checks and repositioning. I just can't imagine what else would be effective enough to protect this wonderful lady's fragile skin. I hope you'll be able to make her more comfortable.

Thank you on behalf of humanity on this earth that you are taking care of your beloved mother. Ok. Get a Roho mattress and seat cushion. If you have a primary care physician he/she can justify both. Before or after, I suggest you take mother to a Wound Care Specialist, usually they are staff in Wound Care Clinics that are adjunct to Hospitals around where you reside.
Hope it works, God Bless!!

Ebay has used Roho Cushions for a fraction of the new price. Perhaps try there.

Talk to your doctor. Tell him you need a hospital bed and inflatable mattress inflatable mattress and Home Health and Hospice. The alternating inflating mattress can be gotten thru your doctor prescribing it and Home Health And Hospice should be called to come help you with your mom a couple times a week. They can give you pointers on how to take care of the sores. Petroleum jelly washes off too easily. Diaper cream is best because it is hard to come off. I suggest Boudreaux Butt Cream or just zinc oxide which will help with healing. Good diet, pillows alternating under her helps as others have said.

All the advice here is good. I recommend the Roho cushion and the use of colloidal silver and creams. My Mom had a stage IV sore by her tailbone she got in a 5 star Medicare rated nursing home by her tailbone when she was in for rehab. It never fully healed but I got it to improve by 50% by the use of all of these things and protein in the diet. Peanut butter on toast in the morning helped with protein intake.

What helped my DH is Colloidal Silver Gel and I purchased Silver Miracles and it proved to be a blessing.
$14.99 for a 4 oz jar. A little goes a long way. I always followed this with a barrier cream and the one my DH seemed to prefer was Selan Silver, both available at Amazon.

I tried everything with DH's first pressure sore and the Colloidal Silver Gel was the first and only thing to actually start it healing. I don't know how to explain the need for the Barrier Cream but I used it faithfully and he never got another pressure sore. As soon as DH would say his bum was burning, this is what I did, starting with using diaper wipes to make sure there was no 'incontinence' caused by expelling gas.

This past year, when I had to clean him, I used the Selan Silver faithfully, following every single cleaning.

I also purchased the Beautyrest 3" Convoluted Foam Topper for the couch and his lift-chair.  He said it made him a lot more comfortable.  I later transferred it to his Hospital Bed when he was put on Hospice. I bought mine at Walmart, around $30 and easy to cut to size.

Bless you - 108? I only wish my DH had lasted that long - he passed 2 weeks ago, 4 months shy of 97.

My dad's Roho cushion almost immediately cleared up the pressure sore he had developed soon after coming home from spinal cord injury rehab. His OT person suggested it after looking at a photo of the sore, observing my dad in his chair, and ascertaining what else we were doing (besides his alternating air pressure mattress we were turning him every 2 hours at night, bolstering him like crazy, doing regular weight shifts in his chair during the day, eating lots of protein, etc...). I think his insurance mostly covered it but if it hadn't Dad would have just paid and it would have been totally worth it. He hasn't had any iffy areas on his backside since that time (approximately late 2016).

I hope you can find a solution for your mom.

Wound care nurses recieve special training so should know all the latest tricks.
When she is out of bed does she sit in a wheelchair? A recliner if she would accept it is a better choice with her legs up. Do you have a hospital bed? She does nt have to lie completely on her side just enough to take the pressure off and plenty of pillows for support like FF said.
At 108 she is on her final journey however long that takes so there is no recovery. Of course a high protein diet is a good idea but anything will help that she likes and can swallow. She has earned the right to do as she pleases and there is no changing her now. Just do all you can to relieve the pain. Now I have to look up Roho cushions as i haven't met that one

My father had a pressure sore on his bottom. He went to the Wound Center and ended up with a Roho cushion and a prescription alternating air pressure mattress on his hospital bed. Even with all that he ended up with a wound vac and it took four months to heal. The Roho cushion was great but than he is wheelchair bound and only able to stand for transfers. Wound care center was great and best way to go if possible.