Question about pressure sore

[kim1313]

Hello there! FIRST, let me say that I know nothing about ALS...however, I have a daughter who has battled brain cancer for 6 years now, so I am aware of how challenging illnesses can be. I truly hope that all that are here are doing well.

I have neglected my own body for some time now and although I am fully mobile, I have still managed to acquire a pressure sore. I work for hours sitting in one position, I have 'fragile skin and sharp bone structure.

The area is on the inside buttocks cheek...ugh. I felt discomfort for a few days and finally grabbed a mirror and took a look yesterday morning. It is rather small, about the size of 2 quarters. Last night it just looked like blisters. Today there is a VERY small 'slit.'

My plan is to use a saline solution to clean, a moisture barrier ointment and gauze and tape to protect it.

If there is no impovement by Monday, I will see my doc. My main question is...should I walk around or stay in bed and relieve the pressure? I am fully capable of walking around.

Everything I have read over the internet REALLY scared me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

warmest regards,
kimmie

 

[laurel]

Hi Kim,
I'm a retired RN so I have some experience with pressure sores. I wouldn't put moisture barrier ointment on it or bandage it. If it is inflamed you could daub on a little antibiotic ointment. It is best left to the air and some time on your tummy with it airing without any clothes on it would be good--several times a day would be best. If you use standard bandage and gauze, you may rip the skin. There are special dressings meant for pressure sores to help them heal which are totally different than your standard bandage. It would be a good idea to have your doctor look on it and see if the tissue needs to be debrided to heal. Sitting on a donut cushion with the sore not receiving any pressure will help too. And keep walking, don't stay in bed--good circulation is part of winning the battle. Good luck.
Laurel

 

[kim1313]

Hi Laurel...the info you provided is a huge help. Thank you so very much, I really appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Take care and thanks again!
Kim

 

[joelc]

sugar treats bedsores better than any antibiodic.
I did some surfing, and here's what I found.

Time Magazine/CNN

Decubitus ulcers, or bedsores, have for centuries plagued patients and stubbornly resisted the efforts of doctors to cure them. But it appears that the sores, which result from the continuous pressure of the body against the bed, are succumbing to new versions of an almost forgotten medical approach:

sweetness. Dr. James Barnes Jr., of the Glenn Dale Hospital in Glenn Dale, Md., reports in the A.M.A. Journal that a high concentration of common granulated sugar, applied daily to bedsores under a special airtight bandage, clears them up. Dr. Robert Blomfield of Chelsea, England, reports similar results when he uses honey. Neither doctor is sure why his treatment works, though Barnes believes that sugar may boost the inflammatory reaction essential to the healing process. Barnes found that sugar produced a 78% cure rate when applied to the bedsores of 180 patients treated during a five-year period. Blomfield says that it works better than any other medication he has used.

A Sweet Cure?

For extreme cases of bedsores, don't be surprised if your doctor reaches for the sugar jar instead of the medicine cabinet. Sugar has been found to help hard-to-heal areas such as bedsores by acting as a scavenger of sorts--picking up dead bacteria and white blood cells. This debris is later flushed away when the wound is cleansed with water.

Sugar also absorbs moisture from the wounds and creates an unfavorable environment for bacterial growth, says Alvin B. Segelman, Ph.D., former professor of pharmacognosy at Rutgers University College of Pharmacy in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and now vice president for research and development for Natures Sunshine Products, based in Utah. But never try using sugar on any wound yourself, unless you're under the care of a health professional.

A Natural Cure For Bed Sores
By: McCain

My family found out about a home remedy for bed sores, plain sugar. My dad had been in the hospital for over a month and develop an awful bed sore. It had to be cut on 2 or 3 times to clean the infection out, which increase the size of the sore. The hospital staff treated it with some type of germ fighting solution but it became worse and worse.
When he returned home, it was one and one half inches wide and about an inch deep. We had seen in an article that doctors where treating hard healing wounds with regular table sugar poured directly on or in the wound. It was working. So we asked the homebound nurse if she would try it when she came every day to cleanse and put medicine on it. She said she would be glad to but MUST have a doctor's approval first. To make a long story short, he said "yes" go ahead nothing is working anyway and I have heard of such a thing myself. She came back and started the treatment. Within a matter of days apparent healing was taking place and within 3 or 4 weeks, was healed.

How it works? Bacteria CAN NOT grow in the presence of sugar and sugar feeds the tissue directly.

 

[kim1313]

thank you!

That is so interesting Joel...thank you so much for sharing that. I have passed it along to a friend who is in stage 4 of a pressure sore. Thank you so much!

Kim

 

[katekath]

Sorry to hijack.

I did a search on pressure sore bandages and came across this circular bandage called HealFast bandage, designed by Donn Koh. It "uses electric fields to accelerate the healing process and prevent further infection in the surrounding tissues" and was designed for diabetics.

Did anyone try it before? Does it really work well?

PS: I'm not sure if I can post the URL, but if anyone wants it, just PM me or you can just google it.

 

[Al]

I'd rather you didn't post the URL. As you say they can PM you.

AL.