Before seeking an answer to this question, it is necessary to mention the conditions under which the need for an air mattress occurs.
People who need air beds experience restricted mobility. It is often not possible for nursing patients and/or inpatients to do research and try air beds.
The choice of air mattress varies according to the case. The selection and decision-making process is usually the responsibility of the patient's relatives when purchasing an air mattress.
The patient's relatives try to manage the purchasing process with their knowledge, experience, research, opportunities and environmental recommendations.
If the patient's relatives are informed by the health personnel in a timely manner, they reach the awareness that they should start using an air mattress before bed sores occur.
The guidance of people who have previously experienced bedsores in the family and the environment is also an effective title in the use of air mattresses.
Despite similar guidance, the need for an air mattress in our country is generally felt after the onset of pressure sores in patients.
However, it is stated in the literature that prevention of bedsores should come before the fight against bedsores.
In any case, the problematic process waiting for the relatives of the patients who learnt that the use of air mattresses is essential starts here.
This experience, in which purchasing power is also effective in the process, is a period in which the patient's relatives have difficulty as well as the patient.
What should I pay attention to when buying an air mattress?
Which air mattress should I choose?
Which air mattress is suitable for my patient?
Which air mattress provides the best protection?
What do I do if the air mattress is not suitable for my patient?
Patients' relatives who are looking for answers to these and dozens of similar questions remain undecided. The time they lose can cause a troublesome period for the patient, especially if bedsores have started.
The most important rule when buying an air mattress is to choose an air mattress suitable for the patient's height and weight.
Whatever the features that healthy individuals look for in normal beds, similar qualities should be considered in the selection of air mattresses.
Air mattresses that are not compatible with height and weight should not be preferred.
The harmony here is not the carrying capacity of the bed. The harmony here is the preparation of the air mattress with the most suitable material for the patient's weight and height without sacrificing comfort. This means that only custom-made air mattresses should be preferred.
All air mattress models sold as standard are similar to the inflatable sea beds that healthy people use while swimming.
It should not be ignored that patients will lie on these air mattresses, which even healthy people will never think of lying on, for months and maybe years.
Generally, buying a simple and cheap air mattress is the first choice. This unconscious approach leads to the formation of wounds in the patient. It should not be forgotten that this preference will cause a much more burdensome and expensive experience after the wound occurs.
In such a process, the list of medical supplies required for the treatment of bedsores goes on and on. Along with the pain and suffering of the patient, difficult and costly situations can be encountered for the patient's relatives.
There is no difference in comfort between expensive models of standard air mattresses and cheap models. These models also do not offer comfort to the patient, but cannot eliminate the explosion problem and do not allow long-term use.
From this point of view, choosing an air mattress that does not explode is necessary for an effective perspective.
If it is claimed that an air mattress model has a vibration feature, it should be requested to show the location of the vibration motors.
If it is explained that the air mattress is massaged with the vibration feature, how many vibration motors are available should be asked and learnt.
If ventilation feature is stated in the air bed, the location and features of the ventilation motor should be learnt. The size and location of the ventilation ducts of this ventilation motor should be learnt.
It should be shown that the ventilation claimed to be provided in the air bed is switched off by means of the control. Functions such as increasing and decreasing the intensity of vibration, switching off the vibration in the desired areas, etc. should be asked in detail.
As can be understood from all this information, choosing an air mattress is a difficult process. This process is complicated by the lack of information of the patient and the patient's relatives, as well as the claims of air mattress brands.
Massage cannot be done without vibration motors. The air that is necessarily released during the descent of simple PVC material cannot be presented as ventilation. All these claims should be meticulously examined and air mattress purchase should be decided.