Elderly Lives Matter®

The Term ‘Bedsores’ Is Misleading

On Behalf of | Aug 2, 2020 | Bedsores, Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

People sometimes talk about the risk of bedsores in a nursing home. The kinds of skin wounds happen when someone does not move often enough. Since the elderly may not be able to move on their own, it is up to the nursing home’s staff to help them shift positions often enough that bedsores do not occur.

However, the term that we use to refer to these injuries may actually be a bit misleading. It doesn’t really show how dangerous and painful they can be.

“They are not just little sores,” one doctor said in an interview with the New York Times. “If you’ve ever seen a very bad one, frankly, it would make you sick.” She went on to explain how a hole could cut right through a person’s reddened skin and reach all the way to the bone beneath.

Instead of calling them bedsores, medical professionals refer to them as pressure ulcers. That term does a bit more to really show how bad they can be and what causes them — too much pressure on a single area, resulting in a loss of blood flow. In some ways, the very tissue is dying while still connected to the patient.

So, don’t think of bedsores as small bruises or rashes. They go way beyond that. The pain they can create is tremendous and untreated bedsores can become infected. Sepsis could set in. People have passed away from complications that all began with a bedsore or a pressure ulcer. That’s how serious these can be.

Do you have a loved one who has suffered from pressure ulcers or related issues in a nursing home? If so, be sure you’re well aware of what legal options you have for redress. Sometimes the only way to stop something from happening again or to get a measure of justice for a loved one is to take legal action.

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