Bed sores;

It is a problem frequently encountered by individuals who have to lie down for a long time for various reasons, who have limited mobility for a certain period of time or who are disabled.

It may occur as a result of friction that may occur during patient transfers, as a result of not paying attention to urine / faeces cleaning, or as a result of one or more of the reasons such as continuous sweating, slowing blood flow rate and muscle loss.

The most important cause of bedsores is of course constant and recurring pressure.

The most commonly used word in the world to describe these wounds is decubit ulcer. Decubit means lying on the ground in Latin. Since bedsores are also caused by sitting, it is also common to call them pressure sore, i.e. pressure ulcer.

In Turkey, bed sores and pressure sores are used together for these wounds and refer to the same ulcers.

Although risk groups have been determined with various scales in scientific studies, bedsores, which can occur for different reasons for each patient or disabled individual, are evaluated in four stages.

Since the subject of our article is the measures to be taken against bedsores, you can examine the stages of bedsore and pressure sore scales from this link.

All scientific studies agree that the most effective way to combat bedsores is to prevent bedsores before they occur.

In order for this general and justified assessment to be realised, patients and their relatives should be informed about bedsores.

In Turkey, a large part of the society is not informed about bedsores. Moreover, during patient visits, the expression used for patients who have been exposed to bedsores is ‘rotten from lying down’.

Awareness is the most important condition for combating this type of wound, which is not even known and mentioned despite the fact that many people are exposed and witnessed.

Of course, we are not talking about raising awareness of the whole society about bedsores.

However, we emphasise that it is necessary to at least inform and warn patients or their relatives who are included in the pressure sore risk group.

Although great efforts are made to prevent these wounds in hospitals in Turkey, especially in intensive care units, and special units are established for the healing of wounds, unfortunately, patients or their relatives cannot reach sufficient information.

The vast majority of people who suffer from bedsores in hospital or at home are struggling with more important and fatal situations at the time, so bedsores can become a secondary priority. While this may seem justifiable, what is often overlooked is that bedsores are also a cause of death.

Although deaths due to bedsores are reported every year in developed countries, unfortunately bedsores are not considered as a cause of death in Turkey.

Reports from countries such as the UK and the USA show that an average of 5,000 people die each year due to bedsores.

Another important point is that bedsores also stand out as a triggering factor for other disorders of patients. Bedsores that can recur repeatedly are wounds that need to be evaluated due to the fact that they cause various infections.

Conclusion;

It should be known that bedsores are a fatal complication if no precautions are taken.

Bedsores can be prevented by taking various precautions.

Click the link for the selection of a suitable mattress, which is among the measures to be taken .