What's best for a bedridden patient with bedsores?!
Question:
What's best for a bedridden patient with bedsores?
my brother has ectopic thyroid growth (cancer) all over his body. he had been bedridden for months now. we have had him on RAI once and he became better for a year but then it took him again, now he's bedridden. our family can't afford another RAI.
Answers:
Prevention
Health care experts believe that at least 50% of bedsores can be prevented by using simple measures to relieve pressure and decrease the skin's vulnerability to injury. To help prevent bedsores in a person who is confined to a bed or chair, a health care professional should create a plan of care. The plan may include these strategies:
Relieve pressure on vulnerable areas — Change the person's position every two hours when in bed and every hour when sitting in a chair. Use pillows to raise the person's arms, legs, buttocks and hips. Relieve pressure on the back with an egg-crate foam mattress, a water mattress or a sheepskin. Two types of beds — air-fluidized beds and low-air-loss beds — have been shown to reduce pressure ulcers by up to two thirds.
Reduce shear and friction — Avoid dragging the person across the bed sheets. Either lift the person or have the person use an overhead trapeze to briefly raise his or her body. Keep the bed free from crumbs and other particles that can rub and irritate the skin. Do not raise the head of the bed more than 30 degrees, unless your doctor tells you otherwise. Use sheepskin boots and elbow pads to reduce friction on heels and elbows. Wash the person gently. Avoid rubbing or scrubbing the skin.
Inspect the person's skin at least once each day — Early detection can prevent stage I redness from becoming worse.
Minimize irritation from chemicals — Avoid irritating antiseptics, hydrogen peroxide, povidone iodine solution or other harsh chemicals to clean or disinfect the skin.
Encourage the person to eat well — The diet should include enough calories, protein, calcium, and zinc and vitamins C and E. If the person cannot eat enough food, ask your doctor about nutritional supplements.
Encourage daily exercise — Exercise increases blood flow and speeds healing. In many cases, even bedridden people can do stretches and simple exercises.
Keep the skin clean and dry — Clean the skin with saline (a non-irritating salt solution) rather than harsh soaps. Use absorbent pads to draw moisture away from vulnerable areas. If the person is incontinent, ask your doctor about ways to control or limit the leakage of urine or feces.
Treatment
If you care for someone with bedsores, your doctor or home care nurse may ask you to help with the treatment by following preventive steps that should stop further damage to vulnerable skin and increase the chances of healing.
Additional treatments, usually done by health care professionals, depend on the stage of the bedsore. First, areas of unbroken skin near the bedsore are covered with a protective film or a lubricant to protect them from injury. Next, special dressings are applied to the injured area to promote healing or to help remove small areas of dead tissue. If necessary, larger areas of dead tissue may be trimmed away surgically or dissolved with a special medication. Deep craters may need skin grafting and other forms of reconstructive surgery.
If the person's skin does not begin to heal within a few days after treatment starts, the doctor may prescribe antibiotics, which may be applied as an ointment, taken as a pill or given intravenously (into a vein). Antibiotics also are used to treat bedsores that show obvious signs of infection.
When To Call A Professional
If you find a suspicious area of redness or blistering on a person you are caring for, call a doctor promptly or discuss the problem with your home care nurse.
Prognosis
In many cases, the outlook for bedsores is good. Simple bedside treatments can heal most stage II bedsores within a few weeks. If conservative methods fail to heal a stage III or stage IV bedsore, reconstructive surgery often can repair the damaged area.
Additional Info
http://www.intelihealth.com/ih/ihtih/wsi...