Bedsores: Symptoms, causes and management

When we do some work for a long time or for the first time there is pressure on the skin of the area used for work, that pressure causes injury to skin and nearby tissue causing ulcers called pressure ulcers. 

They are also known as Bedsores and decubitus ulcers. Bedsores always happen to the place where skin is over bone and the gap between them is very low. Such areas are like heels, hands and sometimes hips. 

Some people have medical conditions that do not allow the ulcers to heal fastly so they have to spend more time with it. Bedsores can be small or large , some heals but some goes with only through treatment. There are bedsores which can never be treated properly.

Symptoms:

There are some sign of bedsores or pressure ulcers, they are:

1. There are changes in the color of skin as well as the texture of skin.
2. There will be swelling in the skin making it look like boiling.
3. The swelling in the skin contains pus, which flows if the boil is burst.
4. The area of swelling in the skin feels warmer than the other area.
5. The swelling will be tenderlike jelly.

Bed screws have many categories. These categories depend on the characteristics of the bedsore like depth of it, large of it. During some bedsore development there many be damage in the muscle or bone

Sites of occur :

When some people uses more wheelchairs, there are bedsores in the following places:

• There will be bedsores in the Tailbone or buttocks skin area.
• There will be bedsores in the Shoulder blades and spine skin area.
• Arm and leg rest area on the chairs suffers bedsores.

Some people uses bed for long time, making themselves to suffer from bedsores:

• The bedsores will develop at the back or sides of the head skin area.
• The bedsores will develop in The shoulder blades skin area.
• The bedsores will develop in The hip, lower back or tailbone skin area.
• The bedsores will develop in the The heels, ankles and skin behind the knees skin area.

Causes:

Bedsores are developed when there is pressure from working or any external pressure against the skin causing it to cut off the blood. By this way the area is vulnerable to get damaged and move forward to develop a bedsore. 

There are some factors which are responsible for development of bedsores:

• Pressure: Pressure on the skin for a long time on any area of the body, it cuts off the blood flowing in that area. Blood flowing in that area delivers the necessary oxygen and nutrition needed for the cell to be alive. When there is pressure on for a long time oxygen levels and nutrition levels goes down, the cells in that area eventually die and there is a boil created. People have bedsores in the area where skin and bone gap is low. We can say that it is not well padded with muscles or fat for example-hand, foot spine etc. 
• Friction: when people work their hands and feet go in friction with other substances it damages the skin and makes the cells to die and boil. Damage occurs more if hands are moist. 
• Shear: when your skin goes in opposite and skin attached to bone stays there then there is shear at that place causing skin to get damaged .

Risk factors:

There is an increasing risk of having bedsores if you are not moving for a long time or not changing position. There are some factors responsible are:

• Immobility: poor health, spinal cord injury or any kind of injury  may increase the development of bedsores when skin is not moved for a long time.
• Incontinence: urine and stool exposure make skin vulnerable to development of bedsores.
• Lack of sensory perception:  when there are spinal cord injuries, neurological disorders, the skin area has lost the sensation and due to which they do not feel the sign to change their sitting or lying position. This can increase the amount of bedsore.
• Poor nutrition and hydration: causes the skin to deteriorate and have more bed sores. Protein and vitamins maintain healthy skin and do not allow the skin to get damaged.
• Medical conditions affecting blood flow: diabetes and vascular diseases affect the healing or recovering process in the body. Thus increasing the risk of skin damage and increasing the bedsores. 

Skin care:

Look  the following points for skin care:

• Keep skin clean and dry: wash the hands properly and pat it dry  to avoid any moisture which increases the tenderness of the skin.washing also avoids the exposure of urine and stool which increases the damage of the skin.
• Protect the skin:  use moisturizer creams to protect skin from stool and urine. If your skin is too sensitive, watch your button in the shirt which you wore. Do not use anything for a long time especially for the first time like working with spades.
• Inspect the skin daily: watch for any signs stated above for bed sores and keep skin healthy and clean.

Conclusion:

Bedsores are caused due to pressure on the skin while working or sitting. It can be treated but please refer to a doctor for more information.