Ask the Doctor

My uncle’s bedsore

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My 50-year-old uncle, who has been hospitalized for the past few weeks now has bedsores. Kindly let me know what this means.

Aminat (by SMS)

 

A bedsore (also called a pressure ulcers) are wounds that form when a patient is sitting or lying in on position for hours at a time. The patient can get them anywhere where there has been a lot of pressure from lying in bed (buttocks, lower back, heels, shoulder blades, spine, sides and back of head), wheelchairs (buttocks, feet, heels, lower back, spine, back of head). These wounds are extremely painful and are measured in stages. They go from a simple sore to one where you can actually see the bone. The goal is always to give the patient a wound-care diet which is high in protein and low in sugar. Focusing on vitamin C, Zinc and Vitamin A. A wound care specialist usually comes in and flushes the wound with an antibiotic and cleans the wound and dresses it once a day. Once the wound has hit the bone it is very concerning. An infection could enter the bone and then the bloodstream and that could have catastrophic outcomes. Usually, people at the end of life stage have these sort of bedsores. But any bedsore is extremely painful and should not be discounted.

READ ALSO: What is ulcer?

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