Having researched air mattresses for the past couple years I stumbled upon a patent, filed in the 90's, which claimed to eliminate bed sores so am sharing.

“SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Through long term experimentation with my own adult son who has been bed ridden for over five years and who my wife and I care for in our home, I have developed a bed and mattress assembly which substantially eliminates the problem of bed sores and which also makes it extremely easy to roll the patient from side to side on the bed. Additionally, the bed and mattress assembly is relatively economical to construct and is easy to assemble and use."

To make a long story short, the inventor, Earl D. Music, stretched a sheet over a normal air mattress and tied it off in intervals to the bed frame. It created a taut sleeping surface as well as extended the life of the mattress by transferring some of the stresses to the bed frame instead of the air mattress.

He paid thousands of dollars and kept the patent for the full 20 years. It obviously worked for Mr. Music and his son or he would not have gone through such great lengths to patent the idea.

The reason I found his patent is I also create a taut sleeping surface for air mattresses in the form of a cover. I created the cover for different reasons than Mr. Earl but after studying his invention, mine does the same. I call it the "tensioned mattress cover" and google will lead you to it.

I think people who have successfully achieved something most cannot, should be shared. And by understanding what his invention does, and knowing I've created the same surface feel, I'm sharing my idea as well for those who it may help.

My mom was in a 5 star medicare rated facility for rehab from a broken arm when she developed a stage 4 tailbone wound. The NH did NOT even tell me about the sore and it was discovered when she was rushed to the hospital with delirium from a UTI. I was shocked. I kept trying to get the NH to test for a UTI as she was not herself, and they kept telling me it was sundowners. She did not have sundowners or Alzheimers. I still have anger issues 6 years later that this facility did not see anything or do anything when the pressure wound was in the stages before it got to a stage 4. The bones were visible in the wound. I never sent my mom back there. Shame on these nursing homes that treat people this way. Karma happens.

An excellent article with a lot of good info. However, you ommitted the primary cause of so called bed sores. When very old and or handicapped people cannot adequately bathe themselves, those who bathe and or clean them must be extremely careful not to rub and or scrub thus causing tiny invisible wounds in fragile skin. Also, it is essential that a mild antiseptic of some kind be used for bathing and or cleaning these helpless people.Bed sores can be thus prevented from ever happening.Once such sores do develope, it is almost impossible to completely heal them. Prevention by very carefull handling and or cleaning , changing bedding after bathing, and washing clothing and bedding with disinfecting producting products; all these things done right will prevent the so called bed sores.

I'm a caregiver for the elderly (love my job). My client is having problems with bed sores. I position her in bed off that spot at night. During the day i use triple antibiotic ointment and hydrcortizone ointment off and on and it clears it upUntil the weekend. On the weekend when I'm not here the CG refuses to use it because she is a nurse in training and says that it thins the skin. Then I have to work to get it to go away all over again and its bleeding again by the time I get to it again.

The standard of care today for those persons at risk for skin breakdown is to reposition at least every hour, not two. Studies revealed repositioning someone every two hours was not sufficient in preventing skin breakdown, especially in those with skin compromised from surgery, age, immobility, altered circulation, and the list goes on and on. I make this point because if caregivers continue to do what was done in the past, skin breakdown will continue to be a problem. Whenever possible, teach the individual the importance of moving and repositioning so he/she can do it as well as the caregiver. Also if the individual has a pressure sore, let the person see it as it heals and praise, praise, praise, him/her, as it gives them the incentive to work at it until it heals completely. If the sore is in an area difficult to see, get a mirror so they can see it there as well. Thanks for posting such an important topic and wonderful information about this topic.

Excellent article. I still have scar tissue from a bed sore on the tail bone when I had Legionnaires Disease in 2001., was in a comma, and was unable to shift my position. I lost 25 pounds in two weeks, and was already a very thin person. The hospital never addressed this problem and just allowed me to lie on my back for two weeks, hence the bed sore.

I appreciated reading this information, as my 101 year old mother has severe scoliosis which has caused pressure sores (or ulcers) along her lower spine. She is only able to lay in one position, or sit in a chair. For the longest time, I did not know how to cover this area (about 4 in. x 4 in.) on her spine, and was just using large bandaids which kept coming unstuck. I was finally told about a fantastic wound covering called Tagaderm Film. I have been keeping the area clean, and use Calmoseptine Ointment on the sores, covered by gauze pads, and finally a 4 x 4 3/4 sheet of Tagaderm Film. It is a thin transparent film that adheres to the gauze and skin, which allows for clothing to smoothly glide over the area without pulling the bandage off. It protects the sores and stops further damage to them. They are quite expensive, but are worth it for keeping these sores under control.