12 replies to this topic

[gsp23]

Ok, I have the beginnings of my first pressure sore on my ischials, actually just the left side. Luckily I was searching my body for woodticks and found it relatively early on. It doesnt look that bad yet, but in rehab or the hospital nobody ever went over with me what if anything I need to do. So, sorry for the dumb question but what should I actually be doing to keep pressure off that spot and to help it to heal? Should I be using something on the area such as creams etc or just leave it alone?

[bigwheelzrme]

What Ever You Do Stay All of It As Much As Possible until You Can Get Some Good Sound Medical Advice
I have p.m'd. a fellow board member Juanita who is a wound care nurse. So hopefully soon she will read my message and get back with you and let you know more what you should do to handle this in the best possible way.
I hope this helps in some way I figured it would be better than my advice. EXCEPT STAY OFF OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gsp23]

bigwheelzrme, on May 17 2007, 07:36 PM, said:

What Ever You Do Stay All of It As Much As Possible until You Can Get Some Good Sound Medical Advice
I have p.m'd. a fellow board member Juanita who is a wound care nurse. So hopefully soon she will read my message and get back with you and let you know more what you should do to handle this in the best possible way.
I hope this helps in some way I figured it would be better than my advice. EXCEPT STAY OFF OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the info, I will take that as step one. I work full time so I am not sure how to stay off of it for 8hrs a day or so while working, maybe try and prop a pillow up under me somehow so that side stays off the chair? I dont want to give myself a sore on the otherside either so not sure if this is what I should do or something else.

[Love life to its fullest]

gsp23, on May 18 2007, 11:40 AM, said:

bigwheelzrme, on May 17 2007, 07:36 PM, said:

What Ever You Do Stay All of It As Much As Possible until You Can Get Some Good Sound Medical Advice
I have p.m'd. a fellow board member Juanita who is a wound care nurse. So hopefully soon she will read my message and get back with you and let you know more what you should do to handle this in the best possible way.
I hope this helps in some way I figured it would be better than my advice. EXCEPT STAY OFF OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the info, I will take that as step one. I work full time so I am not sure how to stay off of it for 8hrs a day or so while working, maybe try and prop a pillow up under me somehow so that side stays off the chair? I dont want to give myself a sore on the otherside either so not sure if this is what I should do or something else.

Stay off it as much as possible, if you have to be on it ensure there is adequate padding, SEE YOUR DOCTOR!!! Pressure care for the other side so as to avoid getting one there too is padding and regular turning a minimum or every 1 1/2 to 2hrs so that you are never on the one spot to long, also as less friction as possible is advisable. Most importantly as I am a nurse I urge you to seek medical advice, as we cant see it we cannot offer the correct advice for what dressings etc if any are required acurately. Hope this helps you some and wish you the best.

[gsp23]

Love life to its fullest, on May 17 2007, 10:31 PM, said:

Stay off it as much as possible, if you have to be on it ensure there is adequate padding, SEE YOUR DOCTOR!!! Pressure care for the other side so as to avoid getting one there too is padding and regular turning a minimum or every 1 1/2 to 2hrs so that you are never on the one spot to long, also as less friction as possible is advisable. Most importantly as I am a nurse I urge you to seek medical advice, as we cant see it we cannot offer the correct advice for what dressings etc if any are required acurately. Hope this helps you some and wish you the best.

Thanks for the info. I am without a vehicle till monday so I will take the advice and stay off it as much as possible, set a reminder on my computer to reposition myself every hour and grab my memory foam pillow to sit on while I am seated at my desk. I will try to lay down this weekend as much as I can and play it by ear on Monday if it is looking bad or worse. Hopefully I can keep off it enough that it starts getting better by Monday, if not then I will make an appointment with my doc to see if any additional care is needed. I appreciate your input on this.

[Love life to its fullest]

gsp23, on May 18 2007, 02:16 PM, said:

Love life to its fullest, on May 17 2007, 10:31 PM, said:

Stay off it as much as possible, if you have to be on it ensure there is adequate padding, SEE YOUR DOCTOR!!! Pressure care for the other side so as to avoid getting one there too is padding and regular turning a minimum or every 1 1/2 to 2hrs so that you are never on the one spot to long, also as less friction as possible is advisable. Most importantly as I am a nurse I urge you to seek medical advice, as we cant see it we cannot offer the correct advice for what dressings etc if any are required acurately. Hope this helps you some and wish you the best.

Thanks for the info. I am without a vehicle till monday so I will take the advice and stay off it as much as possible, set a reminder on my computer to reposition myself every hour and grab my memory foam pillow to sit on while I am seated at my desk. I will try to lay down this weekend as much as I can and play it by ear on Monday if it is looking bad or worse. Hopefully I can keep off it enough that it starts getting better by Monday, if not then I will make an appointment with my doc to see if any additional care is needed. I appreciate your input on this.

Your welcome, pressure sores can turn nasty very easily if not taken care of, I am glad to hear you will visit the docs. Grab yourself some good dvd's and have a weekend relaxing

[Andrew Meddings]

WHAT TYPE OF CUSHION ARE YOU USING. I HAD A JAY 2 INITIALLY WHICH CAUSED MAJOR PROBLEMS. I HAD A MANAGEMENT JOB WHICH INVOLVED LOTS OF STATIONARY TIME & FORGETTING TO LIFT. VISITING A SEATING CLINIC IS THE BEST THING I DID. THEY HAVE A COMPUTOR MAPPING DEVICE WHICH SHOWS A IMAGE OF YOUR ARSE & PRESSURE AT EACH POINT & HOW MOVING SLIGHTLY CHANGES PRESSURE POINTS.
I THEN HAD FOAM CUSHIONS MADE FOR MY CHAIR , CAR, BIKE & TRUCK, WITH CUTOUT UNDER MAIN PRESURE POINTS.
I SPENT 4 MONTHS IN HOSPITAL & WASNT HEALING THAT WELL SO I WENT HOME WITH MY NEW CUSHIONS . I STARTED DRIVING MY TRUCK LONG DISTANCES & FOUND IT WAS HEALING VERY QUICKLY. WITHIN 4 WEEKS IT WAS FULLY HEALED. THE ONLY THING I COULD PUT IT DOWN TO WAS BECAUSE OF THE MOVEMENT THERE IS BETTER CIRCULATION . IT STANDS TO REASON BLOOD CIRCULATION IS WHAT HEALS WOUNDS . SO MY THEORY IS 1ST PUT NO PRESSURE ON WOUND 2ND SHAKE THEM LEGS & MONITER THE PROGRESS. REGULAR PHOTO'S & MEASUREMENTSFOR REFERENCE POINT IS A GOOD IDEA
GOOD LUCK

[axl from down under]

Hi there

The best advice is three words

STAY OFF IT!!!

It may be inconvenient to stay off it because of work and personal activities, but remember short term inconvenience will help you avoid long term trauma.

"Weigh it up"
a week in bed at home or up to 6mths in a hospital bed
.....it really is your choice at this crucial point.....

In 21 years I have never had a pressure area and I put this down to when I notice the slightest pink mark- scratch or scrape- I take time off work, set the DVD player up and eat packed lunches/dinners if no-one is able to help me during the day.

A good fact sheet about skin care etc is at:
http://www.paraquad....89101289043.pdf

Please listen to all of the advice about staying off it - Someone previously mentioned taking photos- this is an excellent way of being able to monitor changes in size, colour etc

GOOD LUCK

Cheers

Tanya



Hi there

The best advice is three words

STAY OFF IT!!!

It may be inconvenient to stay off it because of work and personal activities, but remember short term inconvenience will help you avoid long term trauma.

"Weigh it up"
a week in bed at home or up to 6mths in a hospital bed
.....it really is your choice at this crucial point.....

In 21 years I have never had a pressure area and I put this down to when I notice the slightest pink mark- scratch or scrape- I take time off work, set the DVD player up and eat packed lunches/dinners if no-one is able to help me during the day.

A good fact sheet about skin care etc is at:
http://www.paraquad....89101289043.pdf

Please listen to all of the advice about staying off it - Someone previously mentioned taking photos- this is an excellent way of being able to monitor changes in size, colour etc

GOOD LUCK

Cheers

Tanya

[gsp23]

Andrew Meddings, on May 18 2007, 02:15 AM, said:

WHAT TYPE OF CUSHION ARE YOU USING. I HAD A JAY 2 INITIALLY WHICH CAUSED MAJOR PROBLEMS. I HAD A MANAGEMENT JOB WHICH INVOLVED LOTS OF STATIONARY TIME & FORGETTING TO LIFT. VISITING A SEATING CLINIC IS THE BEST THING I DID. THEY HAVE A COMPUTOR MAPPING DEVICE WHICH SHOWS A IMAGE OF YOUR ARSE & PRESSURE AT EACH POINT & HOW MOVING SLIGHTLY CHANGES PRESSURE POINTS.

I have an appointment with my physiatrist and will talk to him abuot cushions and see if the one I am using is good or if I should do something like this as well. My appointment with him is in just under two weeks so I will do what everyone else recommends until that point.

axl from down under, on May 18 2007, 02:29 AM, said:

A good fact sheet about skin care etc is at:
http://www.paraquad....89101289043.pdf

Thanks for that linke, unfortunatly the URL is bad. Hopefully its just a matter of the site being down temporarily so I will try again later to download it.

[JBrightRNWCC]

gsp23, on May 17 2007, 03:58 PM, said:

Ok, I have the beginnings of my first pressure sore on my ischials, actually just the left side. Luckily I was searching my body for woodticks and found it relatively early on. It doesnt look that bad yet, but in rehab or the hospital nobody ever went over with me what if anything I need to do. So, sorry for the dumb question but what should I actually be doing to keep pressure off that spot and to help it to heal? Should I be using something on the area such as creams etc or just leave it alone?

Hiya!
First don't panick!!!!! Just get smart..... Pressure relief has to be your highest priority.
Tell me about your equipment, bed, chair and anything you are using for pressure relief.
If you don't have excellent pressure support, GET OFF OF IT.
Do you have access to wound care?? Describe the areas to me.

Juanita

[gsp23]

JBrightRNWCC, on May 18 2007, 06:18 PM, said:

Hiya!
First don't panick!!!!! Just get smart..... Pressure relief has to be your highest priority.
Tell me about your equipment, bed, chair and anything you are using for pressure relief.
If you don't have excellent pressure support, GET OFF OF IT.
Do you have access to wound care?? Describe the areas to me.

Juanita

The only thing I use for pressure relief is my cushion on my chair. I have been using my folding chair quite a lot lately which may be the problem as I have just a single density foam cushion on that chair as I normally dont use it much. I have an Invacare Lo Countour FloGel cushion on my rigid chair that I have since switched over to my folding since I found the pressure sore. I have been using my rigid chair for normal daily functions still outside the house but have been using my folding chair in the house, and I work remotely out of my home so I sit on that folding chair now for 8 hrs a day. Guess I should have thought ahead on that but I am able to do my own pressure relief, I apparently just forget to do it. I dont really have anything special for wound care around the house other than neosporin but I can get whatever is needed.

I just have the sore now on my left ischial. It is an open wound but I dont really see any excessive swelling other than irritation and redness around the area. I have checked it first thing in the morning and it looks like it is starting to scab over in the mornings but then my next check (at night when I shower) I see it is open again and irritated looking. So I think I caught it early on but am concerned that it might get worse or that I might overcompensate somewhere else and give myself a different pressure sore in a different area. I know from feedback so far that the key is to stay off it and actually remember to do pressure relief but I just dont want aggrevate other areas (such as my right ischial by over compensating when I need to sit) or let anything go and get an infection in the area or something. If there is anything I should be doing aside from what I mentioned or any type of wound care then please let me know.

[RacingAxe]

Hey gsp23,

If you can lay on your stomach rather than on your back that will help. If you can take breaks during the day and lay on your stomach for say 10 minutes that will help to. As others have said, you need to keep the blood circulation going in the tissues in that area. I had pressure sores on both ischial and they took considerable time to heal. They never did become open so I was pretty lucky. One of my problems at the time was it hurt to lay down. My back and shoulders would get really sore. It felt so much better to sit up I sat too much and slowed the healing. I did tons of pressure relief though, probably every five minues. Do you have a standing frame or leg braces? Those would be another way to take the pressure off if you do. Take care of yourself, I'm sure six months in a bed would not suit someone like you!

[Somebody]

If the wound is open, I suggest taking off work and getting 24 x 7 full pressure relief.

I had 2 sores and stayed off most the time,
but the time off wasn't enough to offset the damage while I was on it.

It's like 16 hrs off & 8 hrs on = no improvement.
It takes total relief.
The tissue around the opening becomes nerotic and gets where nothing will heall it.
Gets bigger & bigger.
I spent 5 yrs in bed only occassionaly getting up,
but it would not heal.
Finally flap surgery & ischels shaved.

I've had 5 great yrs with a reclining chair,
but I have a problem again.
Read my new post.

I'll pray for you.
Mesalt was the best treatment for me (while in bed).