People most at risk of bedsores are those with a medical condition that limits their ability to change positions or those who spend most of their time in a bed or chair.
Bedsores can develop quickly. Most sores heal with treatment, but some never heal completely. You can take steps to help prevent bedsores and aid healing.
Clinicians may have difficulty in determining if a wound is truly a pressure ulcer. It is essential to not only assess the wound, but also perform a complete skin assessment and obtain a history.
To be determined a pressure ulcer, the wound needs to meet the criteria by the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, which is “a localized injury to the skin and/or underlying tissue usually over a bony prominence, as result of pressure, or pressure in combination with shear.” Friction is no longer included in the definition of pressure ulcer.
