Geriatric Care Management Blog

Health care providers call them decubitus ulcers, but most people know these pressure wounds on the skin as bedsores.  Although bedsores as a medical condition are not tracked by the Centers for Disease Control, it is generally estimated that about two million Americans suffer with these ulcers any given year.  The vast majority of pressure ulcers occur among adults in their 70’s or 80’s, but the real cause is not age; it is lack of mobility.  An unfortunate – and high profile – case in point was the late actor, Christopher Reeve.  He did not succumb to his paralysis, per se.  He died of a systemic infection that began in a pressure ulcer in 2004. But older adults are the more common victims of bedsores for a lot of reasons.  They have more fragile skin to begin with, a natural outcome of aging.  They also tend to be less hydrated and have relatively poorer nutrition, both conditions which make for less healthy skin and for poorer circulation and healing if there is a wound.  Elders who may be bed ridden or...