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The Mattress: Defense Against
Pressure Sores
During sleep, people twist and turn
often. So the pressure points -- where the skin presses against the mattress -- are
constantly changing.
Not so with a paralyzed person like
Jeff. Once he is lowered into bed
by his ceiling-mounted electric hoist, he can’t turn on his own. So
the skin that meets the mattress could remain compressed all night
long. Sustained pressure on the skin causes the interior blood vessels
to collapse, cutting off blood flow, and eventually killing skin tissue.
The result is a pressure sore, or
“bed sore,” which can be more ugly than its name implies, and can
even lead to fatal complications.
One of the most important decisions
the family had to make was
choosing a pressure-relieving mattress for Jeff to use at home. We consulted the best source of information: the internet, including
manufacturer sites, on-line shopping sites, disabled
persons’ discussion groups, etc.
Internet research was so effective
that Jeff ended up with a mattress which even the manufacturer’s sales
staff didn’t mention when they made their “recommendations” for the right
mattress for Jeff. They had forgotten that they even made the model
that we asked them about, and ultimately selected, based on our internet
research.
We chose a “rotational low-air-loss”
mattress: The Invacare microAIR Turn-Q Plus. It’s
composed of five long air tubes running lengthwise down the bed. The tubes are
made of a porous fabric that allows escaping air to “breathe” against Jeff’s
body through the night, helping to control excess heat and moisture. An air
pump inflates or deflates the tubes according to settings which can be easily
adjusted. We dial in the settings Jeff likes, and the tubes on the left and
right sides alternately inflate and deflate, causing Jeff to rotate gradually
from side to side. In this way, the pressure on Jeff’s skin is relieved, the
whisper of a “breeze” safeguards the skin from excess moisture and heat; and
the fluid in Jeff’s lungs is kept mobile and easier to suction out.
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