OUCH!!!! My Butt Hurts

Don't forget to reposition Ms. Winey

Dependent residents need to be repositioned at least every 2 hours. Failure to perform this life-saving task may injure your resident or even cause death. The injury is life-threatening, painful, and hard to heal. The ulcer has a common name, known as, bedsore.
The patient's skin will breakdown over bony prominences (heel, buttock, shoulder, hip, ear) and a ulcer which starts out the size of a dime can deepen and expand to the size of a saucerand deep as a cereal bowl. The skin continually slough off, foul-odor and drainage occurs, until eventually the bone and deep muscle tissue is apparent. The ulcer/bedsore gets infected easily and the infection circulates through the body systems, killing the resident. Some residents do not respond quickly to antibiotics and death occurs.

Tips to prevent this malady:
a. Reposition your resident every two hours. (Right side lying, left side lying, supine)
b. Hydrate your resident. Offer liquids, such as water, juice, nutrition shake, according to the resident's diet orders.
c. Keep your resident clean and dry. Perform good peri-care, make sure the skin is dry, apply a moisture barrier ointment according to the resident's care plan.
d. Keep the linen clean, dry, and bottom sheet wrinkle-free. Check the bed linen for food crumbs. Residents sometimes eat cookies and crackers which leave crumbs or food pieces in the bed.
e. Report any abnormal skin observations. Reddened or discolored areas, pale, hot to touch, painful complaints, blisters, bruises, scrapes, skin burns to the nurse immediately.

So the next time your resident rings the call light for someone to move her, think about the lenghty time it will take to heal the decubitus ulcer and the pain or loss of life she will experience.

I would like for you to consider this one important thing, decubitus ulcers occur from failure to perform a necessary duty for a dependent resident/patient. In the law, this is called neglect. You can be charged and prosecuted.

Anyone who is unable to move on their own and rely on the assistance of someone else to move them are at risk for developing a decubitus ulcer. This include children, young adults, and the elderly.

I love talking about the excuses for not repositioning a bed-ridden person.
1) There is none
2) There is none
3) There is none

I think you got it.

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