Bed Sores: 10 Terms to Know

Bed sores are due to continuous pressure that has caused damage to your skin and underlying tissue. These sores can be life-threatening if not treated in an early stage. That’s why it’s important to recognize a bed sore as soon as it develops and do your best to prevent others from occurring. Here are 10 terms to know if you or a loved one is at risk for bed sores.

1. Repositioning: The key to preventing bed sores is to reduce the pressure that causes them. This involves repositioning (shifting your weight) regularly.
2. Incontinence: This can refer to fecal or urinary incontinence, both a cause for bed sores. Incontinence is the involuntary excretion of your bowels or urine. This can cause excessive perspiration or moisture, resulting in vulnerable skin that’s more likely to be injured and increases the friction between the skin and bedding or clothing. Fecal incontinence can also be the cause of a severe bacterial infection.
3. Osteomyelitis: This is an infection of the bone that has traveled through the bloodstream or spread from surrounding tissue. Bone infections can also begin in the bone itself if it has been exposed to bacteria due to an injury. Later stage bed sores put the patient at a high risk for bone infection.
4. Sepsis: This is a blood infection that occurs when chemicals released into your bloodstream to fight an infection cause inflammation throughout your body. Sepsis can lead to damaged or failed organ systems, resulting in death. This infection is a complication and is only seen in the later stages of bed sores.  
5. Surgical debridement: This technique treats bedsores by removing damaged, dead, or infected tissue from the wound by cutting away at the dead tissue—which promotes healing.
6. Mechanical debridement: This treatment technique uses a pressurized irrigation device, low-frequency mist ultrasound, or specialized dressing to loosen and remove bed sore wound debris.
7. Autolytic debridement: This is another technique used for treating bed sores—commonly for smaller, uninfected wounds. This method triggers your body’s natural process by using enzymes to break down dead tissue. Special dressings are also used to help keep the wound clean.
8. Enzymatic debridement: This treatment method applies chemical enzymes and appropriate dressings to the wound to break down dead tissue.
9. Deep tissue injury (DTI): When a bedsore can’t be confirmed but is suspected, it’s referred to as a DTI. The injury isn’t an open wound, but the tissues beneath the surface are damaged. The affected area appears purple or dark red and blood-filled blisters may develop.  
10. Unstageable bed sore: When a bedsore is considered “unstageable”, the stage can’t be identified because of extensive damage to the skin and tissue. This occurs when the base of the sore is covered by a thick layer of other tissue and pus; the area appears yellow, gray, green, brown, or black. Since the doctor is unable to see the base of the sore, he can’t determine the stage.