12 replies to this topic

[The Black Vegetable]

hi, I was wondering if those that don't and have not suffered from pressure sores in the past could share their wisdom, if you could please tell me how long you stay in your chair,roughly how often you pressure relief and how you do so. I am aware that everyone is different and it depends on a lot of other factors like your cushion and your weight but I just wanted a general idea, any information is much appreciated

Thank you

[tfdowney]

until about 10 months ago i stayed in my chair 24/7. only got in bed for bp & shower. did this for about 10 years. plenty of pressure reliefs. every hour for about 3 minutes. not much sleep. i'll sleep when i die. well it caught up w/ me. had to have flap surgery last december. now i'm back to staying in the chair 24/7 about 3 days a week. so far so good. i definately wouldnt recommend this routine. not even sure why i do it. i just cant stand being in bed.

[NeilDeWheel]

No wisdom from me just down right stupidity and luck.

I stay in my chair about about 7 hours a day and I never do pressure relief. I know this is bad but I can never remember to. I am quite active though and I move around in my seat a lot; leaning forward, to the left or right to pick things up or reach stuff so this must help me. I've not had any problems with marks or sores in the 10 years since my accident but I suppose it'll catch up with me one day.

I am planning to find about FES to add some muscle to my butt and legs so I have more padding before the envitable happens.

Now I have talked about it I must stop to lift my boney ass off this seat.

NDW.

Edited by NeilDeWheel, 10 June 2012 - 02:42 PM.

[rollingtrouble]

I have been very fortunate. I only had one pressure sore in the beginning from my two month coma, it took forever to heal and it was horrible. I too am very active, I constantly move about in my seat and when in bed. I just got to where I do it without thinking now and its worked for the past nine years.

[SequinScandal]

No wisdom from me just down right stupidity and luck.

I stay in my chair about about 7 hours a day and I never do pressure relief. I know this is bad but I can never remember to. I am quite active though and I move around in my seat a lot; leaning forward, to the left or right to pick things up or reach stuff so this must help me. I've not had any problems with marks or sores in the 10 years since my accident but I suppose it'll catch up with me one day.

I am planning to find about FES to add some muscle to my butt and legs so I have more padding before the envitable happens.

Now I have talked about it I must stop to lift my boney ass off this seat.

NDW.

Same here I never do pressure reliefs when in the chair but am also constantly bending over to pick things up.

[rAdGie]

No wisdom from me just down right stupidity and luck.

I stay in my chair about about 7 hours a day and I never do pressure relief. I know this is bad but I can never remember to. I am quite active though and I move around in my seat a lot; leaning forward, to the left or right to pick things up or reach stuff so this must help me. I've not had any problems with marks or sores in the 10 years since my accident but I suppose it'll catch up with me one day.

I am planning to find about FES to add some muscle to my butt and legs so I have more padding before the envitable happens.

Now I have talked about it I must stop to lift my boney ass off this seat.

NDW.

Same here I never do pressure reliefs when in the chair but am also constantly bending over to pick things up.

drop alot of things do we?


ye i dont really do pressure relief as such im always picking the kids stuff up etc, if you sit on your cushion with the pressure map on you will see you almost disappear off the map if you lean forward to your knees, so that in its self is relieving pressure, as for bed i sleep from 11 till 8 on one side no problem but i do have a mattress topper

[Zack]

Never had a Butt pressure sore in my 30 years a C5. Learned early to use a mirror to see if there's any Redness, not listening to someone say "Oh it's nothing!" any Red or Pick spots that aren't gone by morning I'm staying in bed and off of. Also learned while in rehab how long sores that I had on my heels from spasms against the hospitals stiff starched sheets takes to heal up. I think that is the reason I've been so extra careful about the tiniest Red spot! Times have changed. I see the hospital using sheets so soft I want to steal a few!

[Wingswanted]

Hi There,

I wish I could say I had nothing to offer, but I’ve had a LOT of experience with pressure sores – from 2005 until this last year; only recently have I started sitting in my chair for 3 to for hours at a time.

For the first 10 years after my injury, I had no problem with skin integrity. I would even get down on the hardwood floors with no cushion under my butt and wrestle (play) with my kids. I used to transfer into the tub, sit right on the bottom, and shower or bath that way. My skin was never a problem.

However, in April of 2005 I took a spill out of my chair at work, landing hard on my butt. Both ischial bones were fractured, I had severe bruising which didn’t heal but led to tissue necrosis. From that time until last year I was completely bed ridden, had massive open wounds and numerous flap surgeries and skin grafts that were mighty difficult to endure.

I thought I would never be the same again, and really; I’m not. Only in the last year have I been able to start sitting long enough to feel like I have a near normal life. I have had to change the way I do everything from the surfaces I sleep and sit on, to how I shower, transfer, drive and what I wear!

My skin is like tissue paper now, and the slightest abrasion threatens to become another sore, especially on areas that have already been compromised, and often this is what happens.

Be preventative, even if it doesn’t seem like you need to right now. As you age and the longer you live with SCI, the more vulnerable your skin will eventually become. Don’t think it won’t happen to you, because it might and it’s worth taking precautions rather than waiting until you get a breakdown to address your pressure relief routine.

Pressure mapping has been a Godsend to me, as is my roho cushion. Before the breakdown I could have sat on a piece of foam, but now I need to continually be conscious of how my skin is reacting, how long I’ve been sitting, and I do skin checks as least 3 times a day (always before I get up, when I go to bed, and a couple of times in between). Abrasive pants are out of the question, as is anything that might bunch up under me because extra fabric will cause my skin to rub off.

I also found that the covers that come with my roho (stretchy black zippered covers) are too rough on my bare skin and moving on it rubs my skin off. Satin pillowcases have been my savior – I use them instead of the regular cushion covers and I also put a satin pillowcase on my bed under me because it allows me to move without any shearing.

It’s also nice to have funky colored cushion covers, or to coordinate them with what I wear???? Now, isn’t that vain????

I get out of my chair and rest my butt every 3-4 hours, or when I do skin checks. Or, if a spot is red, I get off and deal with it early rather than ignoring it and being off my butt even longer when it develops into more than a red spot.

Good pressure relief, avoid any shearing, watch what you wear, staying well hydrated, a healthy diet and maintaining a good weight (neither too heavy nor too thin) are the main precautions I take to keep my skin healthy now.

I hope you never have to deal with skin breakdown, so take precautions now to avoid the malady. Once you have an area that’s broken down, even after it heals you continue to be vulnerable and life is never the same again.

Goodluck . . . here’s to healthy skin!!!!

[jessa]

I'm usually in my chair for about 9 hours a day and sadly five been fortunate enough to not have any pressure sores. I probably do a complete pressure relief twice the whole time I'm up which is pretty bad!! But sometimes throughout the day I am tilted back a little bit which probably takes some of the pressure off of my butt.. I have a good condition and I'm fairly small but I know I won't be this lucky forever. If I start to see any redness then I do extra pressure relifs until it goes away

[The Black Vegetable]

thank you for your comments, I have had a lot of problems with pressure sores on the surface of the skin that take about a week to heal, Caused by 4 1/2 hours in the chair with no pressure relief, but realise if they are to stop and I want to stay longer in the chair I must buy a new cushion and introduce a lot of pressure relief into my daily routine. I hate having to plan my day so that I am only up for 4 hours, it means you can't really do a lot, I'm hoping that an investment in a standing chair and new cushion and a lot of pressure relief maybe enough. Your comments have helped me get a feeling to the extent in which my routine must change and after reading I think I will take it slowly and cautiously.

[nomis]

I've never had a pressure sore in over 40 years in a chair and I put it down mostly to luck.

In the first instance I was lucky enough to have rehab staff who put the fear into me that I'd have to look after myself and lift my bum for 15 seconds ever 15 minutes. Well, I never did exactly that but it got me into the habit of bobbing up and down on a fairly regular basis.

I've taken lots of risks where things easily could have gone wrong. If you don't take risks you don't live. Yeah. But I don't take silly risks. I've always got to have a soft surface to sit on so that might mean dragging a cushion to strange places.

For years now, I've taken a break at lunchtime to lie on my side and give my butt a rest. It has the added value of breaking my day into two parts so I have plenty of energy to play into the night.

Just because I've been lucky doesn't mean my luck isn't going to run out to night. It's still a constant threat and sometimes I push my luck when stuck in front of my computer not aware of the time passing.

[Stand]

I've been lucky and in almost three years I've never had any pressure sores of any kind. I really don't do much in the ways of pressure relief. I am able to lie or set up in bed for hours at a time with no issues. Mostly playing on the computer or watching TV at night. When I am in my chair I rarely do much except tilt back every once in awhile. Like I said, I've been very lucky.

Edited by Stand, 11 June 2012 - 09:41 PM.

[McTavish]

I too have been very lucky but I also do a lot of moving around, in and out of car, onto stand-up frame and motomed and lifting butt every time I think of it. Long may it last.