Temporarily In A Wheelchair? Then You Need To Know How To Avoid Bedsores

People who have suffered from a leg injury or who are rehabilitating after surgery often temporarily use a wheelchair to get around. Unfortunately, they may end up suffering from serious and painful bedsores. Thankfully, these ulcers can be prevented quite easily.

Bed Sores And Wheelchairs Are Commonly Associated

People sitting in a wheelchair for an extended period may develop bed sores if they don't alleviate that pressure from their skin. Bed sores form when the skin gets agitated and bony areas of the body start to wear through the skin. They are painful and can make it very difficult for a person in a wheelchair to live a happy and healthy life.

Even worse, they can develop into more serious conditions that can threaten the health and even the life of the person in the wheelchair. In some severe instances, they may even cause a person to need a wheelchair for the rest of their life.

They Can Get Worse

Bed sores typically don't become a serious problem because they are easy to spot and generally preventable. However, if a person in a wheelchair doesn't manage them quickly, they can get infected and cause a serious and painful wound on the skin. Even worse, the bone causing the bed sore may end up getting infected, causing a septic spread through the body.

As a result, the blood, skin, and various other organs can get affected. Even more frightening, meningitis can affect the mind and threaten a person's life. Thankfully, a few exercises every day should be more than enough to help a person in a wheelchair avoid these problems.

Relieving Some Of That Pressure

Those in a wheelchair can actually quite easily avoid bed sores if they simply take some of the sitting pressure off of their body. The easiest way to do that is to lift their body from the wheelchair by pushing up on the arm rests for several minutes at a time. They also need to adjust their weight in the wheelchair to remove pressure from specific areas.

If the pressure on a spot is getting too severe, they can also work their way out of their chair and onto a couch or bed. Here, they can stretch out, evenly distribute the pressure, and avoid agitation. However, they need to make sure their wheelchair is nearby so that they can get back in after several minutes of rest.

By following these simple exercises, a person can eliminate bed sores and get through their temporary wheelchair use without worsening their condition. It typically only requires 10-15 minutes of these exercises to relieve the pressure that leads to these problems.