Anti-decubitus Mattress With A Compressor: Tubular Anti-decubitus Models, How To Use

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 05:33

Anti-decubitus mattress with compressor is a special development for bedridden patients and people with reduced mobility. These mats are designed to prevent bedsores that appear as a result of lying on a soft mattress for a long time and caused by compression of soft tissues during a long stay of the body in one position. Anti-decubitus mats are unique, they differ from conventional mats and have useful properties.

Features, principle of operation

An anti-decubitus mattress with a compressor is a mat made of rubberized material with cylinders and a special compressor box, connected by tubes for air supply. This is a relief block that provides a healing effect, making it easier for an immobilized person to stay in bed.

The purpose of pressure sore mattresses with a compressor is to prevent the dangerous stage of pressure ulcers, when wounds resulting from impaired blood flow and malfunctioning of nerve endings become unbearable.

Such mattresses help to relieve a person of pain if bought on time: the whole horror of bedsores is that cells are not able to regenerate, so ulcers continue to affect soft tissues until the bones are exposed.

This type of mattress is able to eliminate bedsores if you start using it as soon as the first wounds are noticed. The system is based on the ballooning principle: the mat is equipped with chambers, filling them with air, you can change the configuration of the unit. Due to the alternate redistribution of air to different parts of the body of the immobilized patient, massage support is provided, stimulating the work of blood flow in places affected by bedsores. Due to its structure, the mattress eliminates the compression of soft tissues.

This type of block is efficient and reliable. Thanks to modern developments, these mats are used in hospitals and at home.

They are shown when:

• stroke;
• spinal injuries;
• lesions of the central nervous system.

The main tasks that such a mattress successfully copes with are:

• elimination of numbness of soft tissues;
• relief of the general condition of the patient;
• preventing the transition of pressure ulcers to a more difficult stage to heal;
• relaxation of body muscles (continuous massage);
• normalization of sleep.

These mats can reduce the areas of increased risk of pressure ulcers, which include the heels, sacrum, spine, elbows, shoulder blades, back of the head, ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and ears.

Advantages

Being not only "smart", but also a useful development, the anti-decubitus mattress provides invaluable assistance to the patient and those who care for him. Regardless of the type of model that has tubular or cellular chambers, the principle of operation does not change: air is injected and deflated in them, which ensures uniform pressure on the body.

The advantages of these mattresses include:

• use of high quality hypoallergenic materials that are safe for health;
• easy care of the block surface (wiping with a damp cloth), resistance to repeated cleaning (every three days), the possibility of repair;
• maintaining surface heat, ensuring the most comfortable conditions for sleeping;
• the presence of several sizes, allowing you to choose a special mattress for a specific build of the user, taking into account the area of the berth;
• Compatible with lift bed models.

Minuses

Anti-decubitus mattresses do not accept care with alcohol-containing products and chemicals with chlorine. In processing, the use of soap and powder is unacceptable. In addition, such mats need to be dried away from light, in a natural way. You cannot "help" them dry by using heating agents or an iron.

Since the system operates from the network around the clock, this can negatively affect the nervous system, provoking the appearance of irritability and even illness. It is important to ensure that the system noise does not exceed the 30 dB mark.

The disadvantage of these mattresses is the noise during the operation of the compressor.

How to place it correctly?

The package of the anti-decubitus mattress with a compressor includes connecting hoses, the compressor itself and a repair kit. In more expensive models, manufacturers supplement the kit with a bacteriostatic blanket.

To put the mattress on the surface of the bed correctly, you need:

• connect the unit itself to the compressor by means of hoses;
• install the compressor on the side of the patient's legs;
• put the mat on the bed surface so that the air chambers are on top, and the connecting tubes are located "at the feet" of the patient;
• after the mat is laid and the tubes are installed, check the position of the hoses (no kinking and falling under the mattress, which can disrupt the operation of the compressor);
• pump air into the pillows, checking the functioning of the mattress before placing the patient on it.

An important nuance: the compressor must work continuously.

How to use and store?

An anti-decubitus mattress is placed on top of the main one, covering the surface with a regular or special absorbent sheet (in the absence of a blowing system). Before putting a sick person on the mattress, you need to check its performance by plugging it in (if the system is working correctly, air comes out about 1 time in 5-6 minutes).

It is important to ensure that the wire is not damaged. In order not to get confused in the position of the head and legs, it is worth remembering: the tubes are always located "in the legs".

If you need to adjust the pressure, this should be done when the sick user is already on the bed. The pressure test is carried out at the place of maximum load (at the level of the location of the buttocks between two mattresses). The correct indicator is that there is freedom for the fingers between the mats, but there is a slight resistance. h

If there is no freedom, the pressure is understated.

If for some time the mattress is not needed, it is completely deflated, folded in cells, not forgetting to make sure that the hoses are located in the package without kinking. Before that, dust and pollution that have arisen during operation are removed from them. If the system fails, it is worth taking it to a service center: despite the presence of a repair kit, not everyone is able to repair it correctly.

What to look for when buying?

Since the anti-decubitus mattress is a special household item, its choice must be thorough and take into account several factors.

In order for it to really contribute to your recovery, it is worth keeping in mind:

• the degree of mobility of a sick person (complete immobility or the ability to move, turn on the side, back, sit down);
• the level of treatment needed (prevention or regular treatment of existing wounds on the body);
• the expected duration of operation (depends on the degree of the disease and affects the model of the mattress);
• the level of noise generated during the operation of the compressor;
• if the patient has increased sweating or the course of the disease is severe, you should take care of buying a model with a blower system (the presence of perforations in order to circulate air to provide a cooling effect);
• the correct ratio of the dimensions of the mattress itself and the berth under it;
• the weight of the immobilized user (affects the mattress model).

For those who find it difficult to make a choice, you can pay attention to the recommendations of experts who say: weight is a fundamental factor.

The type of hollow chambers depends on it:

• sick users with an average weight of up to 100-110 kg are shown models with a cellular structure of chambers (with an unreleased form of pressure ulcers);
• for sick people with excess weight, it is preferable to take constructions with transversely located tubular balloons (usually in such patients the pressure sores are stronger).

It should be borne in mind: a mismatch in weight can lead to system breakdown. It is unacceptable to use a cellular mattress if the user's weight exceeds the maximum permissible load. In this case, the device does not cope with the correct operation, and the load on soft tissues in hazardous areas increases.

Reviews

Anti-decubitus mattresses are unique - buyers believe. Such models are better than gel and static orthopedic counterparts (for example, "Trives"), although they have a more complex design. These mats have been reported by caregivers of bedridden patients to reduce the general discomfort caused by being in bed all the time.

Thanks to them, the patient may not be afraid of body numbness, unpleasant tingling in the area of soft tissues most susceptible to pressure sores.

Buyers admit that in most cases they buy such products on the recommendations of orthopedists, which contributes to the correct choice, helping patients to stop the spread of pressure ulcers or reduce the course of the disease from grade 3 and 4 to grade 1. Some comments are devoted to mattresses with a blower system, thanks to which, the comfort of the mattress is increased, and the excellent massage effect helps to relieve muscle tension from prolonged lying.