A serious and preventable condition that can lead to pain, infection, and even life-threatening complications.
Individuals with limited mobility develop bedsores on the heels, hips, and tailbone due to prolonged pressure reducing blood flow.
Bedsores are far too common in nursing home residents because in almost every instance, bedsores are preventable and treatable.
Pressure injuries and bedsores are different terms to describe the same problem – the formation of a wound as a result of a particular part of the body being put under prolonged pressure. Bedsores can develop while the resident is lying in bed, sitting in a wheelchair or being otherwise immobile. Bedsores can worsen from friction or excess moisture on the skin.
Once formed, bedsores are very painful, can take months to heal (if they heal at all) and can complicate existing health problems. It is not unusual for nursing home residents to die as a result of infections that develop from bedsores.
