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An important aspect of care for most people at risk for pressure ulcers and those with bedsores is the redistribution of pressure so that no pressure is applied to the pressure ulcer. [51] In the 1940s Ludwig Guttmann introduced a program of turning paraplegics every two hours thus allowing bedsores to heal.
The Braden Scale for Predicting Pressure Ulcer Risk, is a tool that was developed in 1987 by Barbara Braden and Nancy Bergstrom. [1] The purpose of the scale is to help health professionals, especially nurses, assess a patient's risk of developing a pressure ulcer .
Potential scores range from 1 to 64. [1] A total Waterlow score ≥10 indicates risk for pressure ulcer. A high risk score is ≥15. A very high risk exists at scores ≥20. The reverse side of the Waterlow card lists examples of preventive aids and interventions. [2]
Diabetic foot ulcer is a breakdown of the skin and sometimes deeper tissues of the foot that leads to sore formation. It is thought to occur due to abnormal pressure or mechanical stress chronically applied to the foot, usually with concomitant predisposing conditions such as peripheral sensory neuropathy, peripheral motor neuropathy, autonomic neuropathy or peripheral arterial disease. [1]
Corns from an acute injury, such as from a thorn in the sole of the foot, may form due to the weight of the body, when the process that creates the usually evenly developing plantar callus is concentrated at the point of the healing injury, as an internal callus may be triggered by pressure on the transitional scar tissue. Once formed, the corn ...
Patients may feel pain on the skin around the ulcer, and fluid may ooze from the ulcer. In some cases, ulcers can bleed and, rarely, patients experience fever. Ulcers sometimes seem not to heal; healing, if it does occur, tends to be slow. Ulcers that heal within 12 weeks are usually classified as acute, and longer-lasting ones as chronic. [2]
Emotional stress can also negatively affect the healing of a wound, possibly by raising blood pressure and levels of cortisol, which lowers immunity. [ 7 ] What appears to be a chronic wound may also be a malignancy ; for example, cancerous tissue can grow until blood cannot reach the cells and the tissue becomes an ulcer. [ 13 ]
Pressure ulcer [22] – Also known as decubitus ulcers or bedsores, this type of wound is a result of chronic pressure to the skin over a prolonged period. While most individuals have intact sensation and motor function which allow for frequent positional change to prevent the formation of such ulcers, older individuals are particularly ...