Bedsores, more formally known as pressure sores or pressure ulcers, aren't common since they only occur in situations where a person has to cope with short-term or long-term immobility. All the fidgeting fully mobile people do every day prevents them from dealing with the persistent, circulation-stopping pressure that causes bedsores. When bedsores do appear, they can cause a serious problem if they aren't treated immediately and effectively.
Time Frame
Bedsores are most treatable during their first stage before the skin has been broken. During this stage, bedsores can be treated and healed within 60 days, according to the "Journal of the American Medical Association." Once bedsores have progressed beyond the first stage, they're much harder to treat and present the risk of serious infection and tissue damage. By the time a bedsore reaches the fourth stage, surgery is usually needed to repair the damage.
Significance
Treatment for bedsores doesn't just relieve discomfort. In fact, bedsores often occur in places where there's been nerve damage or interfere with the transmission of nerve signals so that you may not feel any discomfort from them at all, says the University of Washington Medical Center. Untreated bedsores can cause serious damage to your skin, muscles, nerves, bones, tendons and tissue.
Prevention
The most effective treatment for bedsores is preventing them before they occur, since treating bedsores can be a complicated process, according to the "Journal of the American Medical Association." Preventing bedsores requires vigilantly checking the skin for reddish marks that don't change color for at least 30 minutes when you press your finger against them, says the University of Washington Medical Center. Pay special attention to places where the bones are close to the surface of the skin, such as your ankles, shoulder blades or spine. If you're in a wheelchair, the Mayo Clinic says your tailbone and buttocks, shoulder blades, spine and the places on your arms and legs that rub against the chair are at increased risk for bedsores. If you're bed-bound, high-risk areas include your hip bones, lower back, tailbone, shoulders, the rims of your ears and the backs and sides of your head.
Methods
Keeping pressure off the sore is essential for successfully treating bedsores. Once you've done that, clean the affected area gently with mild soap and water, and apply a protective transparent dressing -- the University of Washington Medical Center suggests Op-Site or Tegaderm -- to the skin. If the skin has broken, call your doctor, who will probably recommend cleaning the wound with saline solution and applying a dressing. In some cases, your doctor may prescribe topical or oral antibiotics or surgical intervention.
Considerations
Effective treatment will improve the appearance of bedsores. Look for signs of healing, like shrinking sore size, the appearance of new, pinkish tissue around the sore and bleeding in the area, which suggests increased blood flow to the damaged tissue. Check with a doctor if you do not notice any signs of healing after a week of treatment, or if you notice any trouble signs such as an increase in the size of the sore, increased redness or the development of black spots in the sore area, bad odor from the sore or its drainage, or an accompanying fever.
