Bedsores and Nursing Homes
Bedsores are painful and potentially deadly injuries that are far too common among nursing home residents in South Carolina. Bedsores – which are also called pressure sores, pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers – are caused by lying in one position for a lengthy amount of time. The pressure of the patient’s weight reduces the blood supply to the skin and underlying tissue, and this can cause a sore that can become an open wound.
Nursing home residents who are bedridden or continuously in wheelchairs are susceptible to bedsores if the care they are provided does not include frequently turning them or helping them to reposition themselves. Open pressure sores, which are painful, can easily lead to infection, including sepsis, a life-threatening infection caused by bacteria entering the bloodstream through broken skin.