Kansas City Bedsore Attorneys

Turn to Peterson & Associates If Your Loved One Suffered Pressure Ulcers in a Nursing Home

Bedsores (otherwise called pressure sores or ulcers, or decubitus ulcers) are open wounds that become necrotic and turn into medical emergencies over time. The sores form and often become worse due to a lack of preventative measures or attention. As the sores worsen, they become infected and eat away at the skin and muscle down to the bone. For patients who are already medically compromised, these can create a host of other problems.

Bedsores are the result of prolonged pressure on a particular point of a patient’s skin. This is most common in areas where the bone protrudes nearest to the surface, such as the hips, heels, or shoulders. However, bedsores can appear anywhere there is pressure for an extended period, such as the head or spine. What is perhaps most alarming about bedsores is what action causes them—or rather, inaction.

What Bedsores Could Mean for Your Loved One

As mentioned above, bedsores are simply caused by prolonged pressure. For bedridden or wheelchair-bound patients, this simply means they have been in the same position for far too long. However, for pressure sores or ulcers to form, patients have to be lying down in the same position for anywhere from a week to several months.

Nursing home residents should be moved and repositioned frequently if they are unable to move on their own—every few hours for those who are most at risk. Bedsores only worsen when there is a clear lack of care or attention.