Treatment Of Bed Sores

[aberhead]

My father had a stroke and has been in hospital for several months.

He has started developing nasty bed sores which do not seem to be responding to the commercially available creams and potions.

He is in Seoul but I am in Bangkok, and I am wondering whether I can get some Thai or Chinese herbal lotions, teas or whatever to send to his wife to administer.

Alternatively,

a) does anyone know where I can get a a special matress to relieve skin sores for prolonged stays in hospitals, I saw one advertised on the classifieds but it had expired and I am not sure if it is still available.

does anyone know of a Thai massage place in Seoul for Thai communities over there? One which can help in stimulating muscles and releaving these skin lesions for someone who has just suffered a stroke.

If anyone has any advice it would be gratefully received.

Thanks.

[Gladiator]

Hello Aberhead,

My sympathy to both your Father and you. I have total empathy as my Mum was in in bed for the last year of her life.

She also suffered fro bed sores which did not respond to treatment. Eventually a friend's mother, back in the U.K. recommended the application of egg whites. Surprisingly, she responded to this treatment. Naturally, you will have to be very careful as to the supplier of the eggs. To prevent the re-occurence we purchased (difficult to describe) a type of inflatable mattresss with an air-pump which inflated the various

sections in rotation - thus alternatively relieving the pressure to the various parts of the body exposed to the matress. I will check with my family to see if I can find out the supplier.

Also, although Mum was no heavy-weight, her Thai carers had difficulty in moving her from the bed to the wheelchair and vice-verca. We bought a medical hoist, with recharchable bettery. Again - difficult to describe, but it did the job. In fact , as bizarre as it seems, this provided great amusement to all including Mum.

All the best,

Gladiator

[Gladiator]

Hello Aberhead,

My sympathy to both your Father and you. I have total empathy as my Mum was in in bed for the last year of her life.

She also suffered fro bed sores which did not respond to treatment. Eventually a friend's mother, back in the U.K. recommended the application of egg whites. Surprisingly, she responded to this treatment. Naturally, you will have to be very careful as to the supplier of the eggs. To prevent the re-occurence we purchased (difficult to describe) a type of inflatable mattresss with an air-pump which inflated the various

sections in rotation - thus alternatively relieving the pressure to the various parts of the body exposed to the matress. I will check with my family to see if I can find out the supplier.

Also, although Mum was no heavy-weight, her Thai carers had difficulty in moving her from the bed to the wheelchair and vice-verca. We bought a medical hoist, with recharchable bettery. Again - difficult to describe, but it did the job. In fact , as bizarre as it seems, this provided great amusement to all including Mum.

All the best,

Gladiator

Sorry to hear this

For the air bed try:

vechavit medical equipment (near lanna) 08 1993 9944 053 408888 - you

should bargain

You go from the elephant gate heading north and turn right on the expressway

- on the left hand side

We live in Chiang Mai but the telephone number maybe able to provide you with a Bangkok Supplier

For the hoist

02 552 7044 02 503 4391-3

The Mobility Healthcare Co.,Ltd. Bangkok 10220 Tel: 0-2503-4391-3 Fax:

0-2503-4394

08 1906 0650 An

Let me know if you need any further information

I hope that this information may help your Dad.

Good luck!

Gladiator

[jaideeguy]

My 92 yr old father that I am caregiving is confined to a hospital bed at home and we went thru the bed sore episode and tried many things and I learned a lot by trial and error.

1] bedsores are most easily treated if you notice and treat them early.....they first appear as reddish blisters.

2] danger of getting infected if left untreated.

3] After trying to soften up his bed with many pads and even a sheepskin, I tried an old air mattress and that did the trick for almost 2 yrs now. There are these inflatable air mattress pads that alternately inflate and relieve pressure, and that was going to be my next choice if the air mattress didn't work.

4] we used aloe vera fresh to help dry out the sores after trying many ointments. main thing is to dry them out. Antibiotic powder helps if infection shows.

If you are looking for the inflatable air matress pad, they have them at 'Pharma Choice' which is a large chain of pharmacies all over LOS.

Best of luck and hope you can head them off before infection.

[aberhead]

My 92 yr old father that I am caregiving is confined to a hospital bed at home and we went thru the bed sore episode and tried many things and I learned a lot by trial and error.

1] bedsores are most easily treated if you notice and treat them early.....they first appear as reddish blisters.

2] danger of getting infected if left untreated.

3] After trying to soften up his bed with many pads and even a sheepskin, I tried an old air mattress and that did the trick for almost 2 yrs now. There are these inflatable air mattress pads that alternately inflate and relieve pressure, and that was going to be my next choice if the air mattress didn't work.

4] we used aloe vera fresh to help dry out the sores after trying many ointments. main thing is to dry them out. Antibiotic powder helps if infection shows.

If you are looking for the inflatable air matress pad, they have them at 'Pharma Choice' which is a large chain of pharmacies all over LOS.

Best of luck and hope you can head them off before infection.

Dear All,

Thanks for the advice, very helpful.

Apparently his wife already has one of those mattresses but I will look into the hoist.

If anyone has additional information on commercially available drugs/creams please let me know.

Thanks again.

[aberhead]

Also, although Mum was no heavy-weight, her Thai carers had difficulty in moving her from the bed to the wheelchair and vice-verca. We bought a medical hoist, with recharchable bettery. Again - difficult to describe, but it did the job. In fact , as bizarre as it seems, this provided great amusement to all including Mum.

All the best,

Gladiator

hi gladiator, would you mind telling me about the hoist? ie. brand, maker, where it is made, how much etc?

thanks.

[Gladiator]

Also, although Mum was no heavy-weight, her Thai carers had difficulty in moving her from the bed to the wheelchair and vice-verca. We bought a medical hoist, with recharchable bettery. Again - difficult to describe, but it did the job. In fact , as bizarre as it seems, this provided great amusement to all including Mum.

All the best,

Gladiator

hi gladiator, would you mind telling me about the hoist? ie. brand, maker, where it is made, how much etc?

thanks.

Hi Aberhead,

Sorry, but I cannot remember the make. My nephew in Bangkok, purchased it for us and sent it up. I believe that it was approximately 35,000 Baht. When Mum passed on, we donated it to Mckean's Hospital. If you care to call Beth on 0857091197 - she is a Westerner and part of the management team, she should be able to tell you the make. Then call

02 552 7044 02 503 4391-3

The Mobility Healthcare Co.,Ltd. Bangkok 10220 Tel: 0-2503-4391-3 Fax:

0-2503-4394

08 1906 0650 Ann

For further details.

It came boxed up and we easily assembled it in an hour and then charged the battery overnight. It is a fairly robust unit and if necessary can be operated by one person but much easier with two. First Mum was rolled on her side and the sling/harness placed on that side. Then Mum was rolled over the harness. The harness is heavy duty canvas. Next the hoist is moved into position and the wheels locked. The hoist which has an up/down button is lowered to be connected with the harness. Then Mum was rasied - the harness acting as a cradle. When she was suspended - the wheels were unlocked and the hoist moved to be positioned over the wheelchair. The wheels were then re-locked and Mum lowered to a sitting position in the wheelchair. Then the harness was disconnected from the hoist and the hoist moved away.

I know that it all sounds very cumbersome but in reality it wass very efficient, quick and caused Mum no distress. As mentioned we all used to make a joke of it and Mum shared the humour.

Good luck

[aberhead]

...

It came boxed up and we easily assembled it in an hour and then charged the battery overnight. It is a fairly robust unit and if necessary can be operated by one person but much easier with two. First Mum was rolled on her side and the sling/harness placed on that side. Then Mum was rolled over the harness. The harness is heavy duty canvas. Next the hoist is moved into position and the wheels locked. The hoist which has an up/down button is lowered to be connected with the harness. Then Mum was rasied - the harness acting as a cradle. When she was suspended - the wheels were unlocked and the hoist moved to be positioned over the wheelchair. The wheels were then re-locked and Mum lowered to a sitting position in the wheelchair. Then the harness was disconnected from the hoist and the hoist moved away.

...

Thanks!

I am just trying to picture the device. How big was it when packaged? Would it be feasible to ship to Korea from Bangkok? My father's Korean wife is suspiscious of anything bought in Thailand unfortunately but maybe it is a western brand and would be cheaper to buy it here than there, and we could maybe ship it to her.

[harrry]

...

It came boxed up and we easily assembled it in an hour and then charged the battery overnight. It is a fairly robust unit and if necessary can be operated by one person but much easier with two. First Mum was rolled on her side and the sling/harness placed on that side. Then Mum was rolled over the harness. The harness is heavy duty canvas. Next the hoist is moved into position and the wheels locked. The hoist which has an up/down button is lowered to be connected with the harness. Then Mum was rasied - the harness acting as a cradle. When she was suspended - the wheels were unlocked and the hoist moved to be positioned over the wheelchair. The wheels were then re-locked and Mum lowered to a sitting position in the wheelchair. Then the harness was disconnected from the hoist and the hoist moved away.

...

Thanks!

I am just trying to picture the device. How big was it when packaged? Would it be feasible to ship to Korea from Bangkok? My father's Korean wife is suspiscious of anything bought in Thailand unfortunately but maybe it is a western brand and would be cheaper to buy it here than there, and we could maybe ship it to her.

I think you will find that duty and vat and handling charges would make importing too expensive and impractical though theoretically items for use only by disabled are duty free.

[harrry]

...

It came boxed up and we easily assembled it in an hour and then charged the battery overnight. It is a fairly robust unit and if necessary can be operated by one person but much easier with two. First Mum was rolled on her side and the sling/harness placed on that side. Then Mum was rolled over the harness. The harness is heavy duty canvas. Next the hoist is moved into position and the wheels locked. The hoist which has an up/down button is lowered to be connected with the harness. Then Mum was rasied - the harness acting as a cradle. When she was suspended - the wheels were unlocked and the hoist moved to be positioned over the wheelchair. The wheels were then re-locked and Mum lowered to a sitting position in the wheelchair. Then the harness was disconnected from the hoist and the hoist moved away.

...

Thanks!

I am just trying to picture the device. How big was it when packaged? Would it be feasible to ship to Korea from Bangkok? My father's Korean wife is suspiscious of anything bought in Thailand unfortunately but maybe it is a western brand and would be cheaper to buy it here than there, and we could maybe ship it to her.

[Gladiator]

...

It came boxed up and we easily assembled it in an hour and then charged the battery overnight. It is a fairly robust unit and if necessary can be operated by one person but much easier with two. First Mum was rolled on her side and the sling/harness placed on that side. Then Mum was rolled over the harness. The harness is heavy duty canvas. Next the hoist is moved into position and the wheels locked. The hoist which has an up/down button is lowered to be connected with the harness. Then Mum was rasied - the harness acting as a cradle. When she was suspended - the wheels were unlocked and the hoist moved to be positioned over the wheelchair. The wheels were then re-locked and Mum lowered to a sitting position in the wheelchair. Then the harness was disconnected from the hoist and the hoist moved away.

...

Thanks!

I am just trying to picture the device. How big was it when packaged? Would it be feasible to ship to Korea from Bangkok? My father's Korean wife is suspiscious of anything bought in Thailand unfortunately but maybe it is a western brand and would be cheaper to buy it here than there, and we could maybe ship it to her.

For some idea of what the hoits looks like assembled - have a look at

Medical Nursing Beds & Mobility Equipment | Care Essentials

On the home page - Patient Hoists and Slings. It may not be the same model but similar. From memory it came in one cardboard carton. Perhaps 5ft X 10 IN but heavy as the struts are made of metal. Again from memory, I seem to recall that the assembly and operating instructions were in English as we had to translate them for the Thai Carers. If this is the case and it is of foreign manufacture - Harry could well be right and you may have to pay the Thai tax import levy and possibly the Korean one. It may be that they are available in Korea. I understand that shipping charges are based more so upon volume than weight. If this is correct than the shipping charges may well be reasonable.

[stickyrice]

All the above information is very useful. A very soft air mattress in particular is quite often helpful. But, I just want to remind all caretakers that by far the most important factor in the treatment and prevention of bed sores is turning the patient frequently, not staying in one position too long. There are many on line recommendations ... but here is one from the well respected Mayo Clinic:

Bedsores (Pressure sores): Prevention - MayoClinic.com

[skinnymilinky]

I'm sorry to hear your story, bed sores are something that can appear quite quickly and develop quickly also.

Most important thing to prevent or improve is as said before, regular turning. Using an airloss mattress which comes with a pump will change the pressure to relieve pressure from areas prone to sores, such as the sacrum and heels. But make sure that you don't use a sheepskin with this as it will not work effectively.

When it comes to healing the pressure sores, wounds in fact need a moist warm environment to heal. If they are sloughy (ie have yellow dead tissue in the centre) they will need a hydrocolloid dressing to lift the slough. I would generally use a granuflex or duoderm which can be left on the wound for up to 5 days. These type of dressings actually work quite well if left on for a period of time rather than removing every day as they will soak up exudate and create the right conditions for healing. Unfortunately in Thailand they really don't have as much choice when dealing with wounds and it tends to be the inadine and gauze road! I don't know about suppliers of high quality dressings, Boots may be able to source.

Make sure they also test the wounds for infection as this will slow down healing.

Good luck