Tell your health care provider or call Telehealth Nursing (651-229-3890) if you notice any red areas that don’t go away within 20 minutes.

A pressure ulcer or bed sore is an injury to the skin and tissue. It usually happens over bony body parts (buttocks, heels, base of the spine, hips or shoulder blades). If not treated early, an ulcer can become serious and even require surgery.

Certain people are at risk for getting pressure ulcers, including anyone who:

• Needs help moving
• Spends hours at a time in bed or in a wheelchair
• Doesn’t have control of bowels or bladder
• Doesn’t eat a balanced diet and doesn’t drink enough water
• Can’t feel pain or pressure
• Has braces, casts or special wheelchair seating

People who have trouble thinking clearly or can’t feel a part of their body — such as those with spina bifida, a head injury or a spinal cord injury — are especially at risk of developing pressure ulcers.

Sitting or lying in one position for a long time on a hard surface, such as an unpadded chair or even a bed, can cause a pressure ulcer.

If you don’t move frequently, the skin gets squeezed between your body and the bed or chair. This squeezing slows down the blood flow to the skin and tissue. This means blood can’t deliver the nutrients and oxygen that keep skin healthy. The skin will begin to turn red. If pressure is not taken off the red spot, more damage can happen under the top layer of your skin, sometimes down to bone.

A red area can quickly turn into a more serious wound. Tell your health care provider or call Telehealth Nursing (651-229-3890) if redness doesn’t go away within 20 minutes.