Hi, Berthababy. Can you advise us what issues your spouse has and what the doctor or nurse says you need to do?
My father is a quadriplegic and originally when he came home from spinal cord rehab we were told to reposition him every 2 hours through the night. However, we eventually were able to start extending the time between repositionings. Now we do not reposition him during the night.
My dad does have an alternating pressure air mattress and regular home health nurse visits, in which his skin is checked. We check the skin on his backside twice a day and of course would immediately start the whole routine again at night if he developed any hint of a problem. His spinal cord injury doctor knows that we no longer change his position at night, and she advised us that while the ideal is changing position every two hours, she knows many patients and their families don't want to be waking up all night. I have my sister to share caregiving duties with and I know it would break me pretty fast if I had to be up every 2 hours, every night, with no end in sight. . .
So I would recommend talking frankly with the medical professionals overseeing your spouse's care about what exactly they are suggesting you do and how long you would need to do it. And frankly advising THEM about what you honestly are able to do without hurting your own health. Perhaps a care facility may need to be considered. People need sleep!
You sleep either in the same room or in the next room, and you set an alarm. I can tell you from experience that this is not sustainable for more than 48 hours.
If you are a sole caregiver and your loved one is being cared for at home with this level of need, you are going to need help. What is the situation currently?
Both of my bedridden parents had good skin. It wasn’t thin which easily tore or bruised.
Mom was bedridden for at least 13 years. Turning her every 2 hours at night was not possible between normal (wasn’t bedridden yet) Dad and I. We were usually knocked out from exhaustion. She was turned during daytime hours but not exactly every 2 hours. It’s usually when we remembered. She only had 1 really bad bedsore (hole on her butt area) from a month stay in the hospital. We used an air mattress. We changed her clothes daily. She had sponge bath about 4 times a week.
My dad became bedridden for 5 years after a stroke. He absolutely refused to shift from side to side nor to get on the wheelchair. In those 5 years, he stayed on his back 24/7. The only time he changed position was when changing his pamper. He had only 1 bedsore, deepened and bled. Fortunately the home visit nurse was also a wound care specialist.
My dad refused to use the bubble air mattress because it was so hard it caused ball marks on his skin. I tried adjusting the gauge, even pinpricking holes to slowly let out air. It didn’t work. So I bought large padded waterproof bed pads that are washable, reusable. It was thick enough to put some padding on the bed. I bought those padded chair seat covers at Kmart that came in a set of 4. I used that for his butt area while lying down. It added an extra layer of padding on the most vulnerable area of the body to bedsores. He had sponge bath 4 times a week and changed clothes daily. FYI, towards the end, the ER doctor was impressed that my dad was bedridden for 5 years and his skin was in great condition and no bedsores. She wanted to know how I was able to do this.
I also believe it had to do with his meals. He knew he needed protein. He wanted a hard boiled egg daily along with his breakfast meal.
My father is a quadriplegic and originally when he came home from spinal cord rehab we were told to reposition him every 2 hours through the night. However, we eventually were able to start extending the time between repositionings. Now we do not reposition him during the night.
My dad does have an alternating pressure air mattress and regular home health nurse visits, in which his skin is checked. We check the skin on his backside twice a day and of course would immediately start the whole routine again at night if he developed any hint of a problem. His spinal cord injury doctor knows that we no longer change his position at night, and she advised us that while the ideal is changing position every two hours, she knows many patients and their families don't want to be waking up all night. I have my sister to share caregiving duties with and I know it would break me pretty fast if I had to be up every 2 hours, every night, with no end in sight. . .
So I would recommend talking frankly with the medical professionals overseeing your spouse's care about what exactly they are suggesting you do and how long you would need to do it. And frankly advising THEM about what you honestly are able to do without hurting your own health. Perhaps a care facility may need to be considered. People need sleep!
If you are a sole caregiver and your loved one is being cared for at home with this level of need, you are going to need help. What is the situation currently?
Mom was bedridden for at least 13 years. Turning her every 2 hours at night was not possible between normal (wasn’t bedridden yet) Dad and I. We were usually knocked out from exhaustion. She was turned during daytime hours but not exactly every 2 hours. It’s usually when we remembered. She only had 1 really bad bedsore (hole on her butt area) from a month stay in the hospital. We used an air mattress. We changed her clothes daily. She had sponge bath about 4 times a week.
My dad became bedridden for 5 years after a stroke. He absolutely refused to shift from side to side nor to get on the wheelchair. In those 5 years, he stayed on his back 24/7. The only time he changed position was when changing his pamper. He had only 1 bedsore, deepened and bled. Fortunately the home visit nurse was also a wound care specialist.
My dad refused to use the bubble air mattress because it was so hard it caused ball marks on his skin. I tried adjusting the gauge, even pinpricking holes to slowly let out air. It didn’t work. So I bought large padded waterproof bed pads that are washable, reusable. It was thick enough to put some padding on the bed. I bought those padded chair seat covers at Kmart that came in a set of 4. I used that for his butt area while lying down. It added an extra layer of padding on the most vulnerable area of the body to bedsores. He had sponge bath 4 times a week and changed clothes daily. FYI, towards the end, the ER doctor was impressed that my dad was bedridden for 5 years and his skin was in great condition and no bedsores. She wanted to know how I was able to do this.
I also believe it had to do with his meals. He knew he needed protein. He wanted a hard boiled egg daily along with his breakfast meal.