If you are looking after elderly or immobile relatives at home this will help you to undertstand pressure ulcers and how they develop. By knowing about the various things that will put someone at risk you will be in a far better position to be able to help prevent a pressure ulcer from occurring.
One of the first signs of a possible pressure ulcer is a reddened, discoloured or darkened area (an African American’s skin may look purple, bluish or shiny). It may feel hard and warm to the touch.
A pressure ulcer has begun if you remove pressure from the reddened area for 10 to 30 minutes and the skin colour does not return to normal after that time. Keep the person off the area, keep it clean and dry, drink more water, inspect the area at least twice a day and call your health care professional if the discolouration has not gone in 48 hours.
Test the skin with the blanch test. Lightly press on the red, pink or darkened area with your finger. The area should go white; remove the pressure and the area should return to red, pink or darkened color within a few seconds, indicating good blood flow. If the area stays white or does not go white to begin with, then blood flow has been impaired and damage has begun. (Click here to watch a video to show you how it's done).
Dark skin may not have visible blanching even when healthy, so it is important to look for other signs of damage like colour changes, temperature changes, swelling or hardness compared to surrounding areas.
If you want to use the Pressure Ulcer Triggers form that is provided for residential and domiciliary care settings, this will help you to record what you are concerned about around the five main areas for preventing risk - surface, skin inspection, mobility, incontinence and nutrition and hydration. You can download the form here.
Pressure ulcers can be life threatening. Make sure that you React to Red Skin and help to prevent a person you care about getting a pressure ulcer. Reproduced with kind permission from the React to Red Skin website.
