Pressure Sore Prevention: Skin Care

Skin care is an essential part of pressure sores prevention. It often involves reducing swelling by cooling the skin surface; Reducing the pressure on the skin; Or improving the skin’s moisture content and elasticity through hydration (drinking more water) and moisturising/ applying barrier creams.

Today, we discuss your best skin care options in the prevention and treatment of Pressure Sores.

Pressure Sore Prevention – 5 Important Tips: Video

Pressure sores are damaged areas of skin and/or tissue under the skin. The area affected may show some skin reddening/ bruising, with accompanying pain/ itch or numbness. The healing time depends on many factors, including the severity of the wound(s). And the areas most at risk of getting pressure sores depend on your positioning – whether you are lying down or sitting.

They have a tendency to affect people with health conditions that make it challenging to move. Pressure ulcers are most common over bony body parts, where your body rests against a chair or bed for prolonged periods. Infection can spread from a pressure ulcer right into underlying joints as well as bones.

The very first step to skin care in pressure sores prevention is regularly inspecting your skin for any signs of bruising. Also, topical preparations such as creams and barrier lotions can help prevent or quicken the recovery process – for stages 1 or 2 pressure ulcers – and protect against more tissue damages.

Here are more…

1. Pressure Sores Prevention Skin Care: Cleanse

People often ask the question, “How do I cleanse to protect my skin from pressure ulcers?” And the answer is simple, really. Gently, regularly.

Skin cleansing helps exfoliate your skin, clear your pores, and remove dead skin cells. Revealing the fresh, new, healthy skin underneath.

There are different ways to cleanse your skin. You could wash in a bath/ shower, or cleanse with a wet cloth/ towel, or you could use body wipes. You may choose one or alternate. It’s totally your choice.

When washing in a bath/ shower, you’ll need a soft loofah, sponge or cloth. A good moisturising soap, such as the Dove liquid or bar soaps, will help remove sweat and grime whilst moisturising your skin. As you will find in the next tip, skin moisturising is a key element of skin care to prevent pressure sores. You want to use a good moisturising cream every day.

Also, remember to clean and dry the areas under your breasts, groin areas and other folds such as the armpits, inner arms (opposite your elbows) and back of your knees.

Popular advice is not to take a bath or shower every day. That may be true, depending on how active you are. However, you do want to cleanse daily with a wet cloth/ body wipes to remove excess oils and sweat.

2. Pressure Sore Prevention Skin Care: Moisturise

Next, it is essential to moisturise your skin regularly. Use a good water-based moisturiser daily. Apply liberally and massage in until it’s fully absorbed.

Don’t neglect your skin, regardless of any symptoms you may be experiencing. Remember that healthy skin is vital to a healthy body.

3. Pressure Sore Prevention Skin Care: Cool

Applying ice compresses, washing the affected area with really cool water and avoiding over-exposure to heat will slow down the rate at which the ulcers/ sores form. That will also prevent them from spreading or worsening.

Also, try avoiding hot tubs and hot showers.

Remember never to place ice directly on your skin – always wrap it in a piece of cloth/ towel first. And only place on the skin for no more than 20 minutes every 2-3 hours.

Skin Care Tips to Prevent Pressure Sores: Video

4. Pressure Sore Prevention Skin Care: Keep Skin Dry

It’s crucial to keep your skin well-moisturised but dry. Excessive sweat, urine and faecal incontinence are major factors in skin breakdown leading to pressures sores. So it’s important to be extra mindful in preventing prolonged contact with any of these.

If you experience urine or faecal incontinence, you want to apply a good barrier cream in your bottom areas to protect against wetness.

Another prevention tip is to use incontinence pads that fit perfectly, are very absorbent, and keep the moisture locked in. These ensure no leaks and that the urine stays inside the pad/ diaper, keeping your skin nice and dry – despite the incontinence.

With faecal incontinence, the best way to care for your skin in that area is to use a barrier cream such as Sorbaderm Protective Spray, Cavilon No Sting Barrier Film, etc. And to change/ clean up as soon as possible to prevent prolonged contact leading to pressure sores.

5. Pressure Sore Prevention Skin Care: Proper Nutrition

Proper nutrition is essential to maintaining good health, strengthening the immune system, and making one less susceptible to pressure ulcers and infections. Vitamins and minerals play an important role in healthy living.

A good way to start preventing pressure sores with proper nutrition is to eat a healthy diet consisting of lots of fruits and vegetables. These types of foods are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants keeps the body free of free radicals that can cause diseases.

Many other foods and drinks are essential for preventing pressure sores. These include a protein-rich diet, seafood, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, and whole-grain bread and cereals.

It’s also important to eat foods that are high in probiotics. Probiotics are good bacteria that help the body absorb the nutrients it needs.

Drinking plenty of water is also essential, and if you want to get rid of pressure sores, then drink plenty of water, juices and other fluids, at least 6-8 tall glasses per day. Your sparkling water, fruit juice, teas, coffee, milk, coconut water, fruit-infused and other hydrating drinks count towards your 6-8 glasses.

6. Pressure Sore Prevention Skin Care: Repositioning Aids

Safe, regular repositioning using moving and handling aids – such as slide sheets or mechanical lifts – will help you move in and out of bed without tearing/ shearing your skin, if you have very limited mobility.

Repositioning to Prevent Skin Pressure Sores: Video

However, if you find moving painful, your healthcare team may suggest moving much less frequently. In that case, pressure relief/ air mattresses for high-risk people are best. Those types of mattresses help ensure that there is no build-up of pressure because you’re unable to move.

You might also be prescribed some pain relief pills first before moving, to make positioning more pain-free.

7. Pressure Sore Prevention Skin Care: Padding and Cushions

Pressure pads for bed sores and pressure cushions for pressure sores help protect and prevent pressure sores from forming in the first instance.

There are lots of padding/ cushioning options available to relieve pressure in your wheelchair, bed or chair. They are manufactured in various materials such as memory foam, polymer fluids, gel, polyurethane foam, air, water, or a combination of these.

The gel pads/ cushions are great for that cooling effect we mentioned earlier. Pressure cushions with gel packs help control your body temperature, providing a soft, cooling and comforting layer of protection.

Remember, it depends upon how much at-risk of pressure sores you are; Your body part at risk – hips/ buttocks, heel, elbow…, And where you’ll be using it – indoors or out. There are slimmer/ discrete options for outings, and you may prefer the bulkier pads/cushions for at-home use.

Determine your risk level with your healthcare professional, and together choose your best option.

No matter what option you select, it is always important to ensure that the cushion you choose is designed for your body’s specific needs.

Conclusion

Dealing with pressure sores is never easy. However, it can be prevented or managed. And you can find relief by following our 7  helpful tips.

So, here we have it! Which of these pressure sore preventing skin care routines are you already practising? And which are you working on next? Share your stories with us by leaving a comment below – you never know who you could encourage by sharing your story… 😊