Turning in bed

Battlebuddy

  My husband , on hospice, is spending most of the time in bed. I have always tried to stay ahead of where he is at to buy products and think about what I will need to do. 

   Right now his skin is good but am beginning to worry about turning and bed sores. Any advice out there from people who have dealt with a bed bound loved one and turning? Products? Gadgets? I just bought the gadget shaped like a letter e that is supposed to help turn a patient. 

   Any advice would be helpful 

DrinaJGB

He needs to be turned every 2 hours.

  A wedge will help to position him on his side.

 Meticulous skincare is essential to prevent breakdown of skin.

  Check daily for any redness. Use unscented lotion on the clean, dry skin twice a day. Good luck. I battled an ICU bedsore for months before it finally went away.

June45

BB, talk to a hospice nurse. They can give suggestions and quite often provide the needed equipment, creams, etc. (free) to help.

Lills

My DH has been bedbound since late October, 2020.  So far, no bed sores.  

I do keep a folded up pillow under his feet so his heels don't touch the bed.  I once bought special foams for this...but they didn't work out.  The foam was too light and his feet would sink the foam.  DH weighs about 140 pounds now so it should have worked.

Thank you for the idea of the E for turning!  I'm going to ask hospice what they think.  Wish I knew about this back in October!

I do use a hoyer lift with LAVIN straps to lift him up to change him.  The straps go on his thighs and lifts the legs, just up enough for me to clean him.  Works like magic.  http://www.lavinlift.com

Battlebuddy

I have a bad back and haven’t been able to get out to the Chiropractor much so have to be careful. Need help lifting and turning. Thanks for the lift idea.  I’m looking at  a mattress that turns the patient every two hours. It’s not cheap 4.000 but Memory care is 6000 at least a month and home health aides around the clock isn’t cheap either. I  was hoping maybe someone had bought one or  used one of the low pressure air mattresses . I think they help .

DrinaJGB

It also helps to have a draw sheet under the patient for easy turning on the side an then placing the wedge at the back for support.. Placing a pillow between the legs prevent wear on the skin inside the knee, and is more comfortable.

Cynbar

Is hospice providing a low air loss mattress (LALM)? Turning is still necessary but it does help keep the skin intact. Ask your RN case manager if it isn't already in place.

aod326

Hi Battlebuddy.  With DH, the things that made the most difference were the draw sheet - invaluable - and a huge number of pillows wedged at the sides of the hospice bed, with the railings up. We used gallons of body lotion on every part of his body, plus the special ointment from hospice on elbows, ankles, spine etc. 

Years ago DH had been very heavy (350lbs). He had lost the excess weight age 40 and his skin wasn't taut, so a couple of times he got skin breakout from where his skin was sort of folded underneath him. The first time that happened, the hospice nutritionist said increase his protein - we stirred protein powder into his oatmeal and pureed dinner - and vitamin C. The skin breakout looked pretty bad but only lasted a few days, so I think that may have helped.

It became difficult even for two people to get him out of bed, as he couldn't stand at all. The changing, though, was all done through turning, no lifting required.

Admittedly, I had a live-in carer, so turning was often easier because it was usually both of us, but I was able to turn him and change him with the draw sheet/pillow combination. Actually the hardest thing was that he would grip the rails - or one of us - when he was being turned and, right up until the last week, boy was his grip strong!!

Best of luck.

Battlebuddy

Thanks so much to everyone. I learned a lot . I had no idea you could use a lift to change someone . All the other tips where very helpful too!