Essay On Pressure Ulcers

Pressure ulcers is a great concern in the health care system today. Treatment for pressure ulcers is costly. The development of pressure ulcers can be prevented by the use of the evidence-based nursing practice. Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that they will not pay for additional costs incurred for hospital-acquired pressure ulcers in 2008. There are nursing interventions that can be done to prevent pressure ulcers.
[Heading 1] A pressure ulcer is an area of skin that has been damaged by pressure, friction, shear or a combination of these factors. There are many factors attributing to the risk of pressure ulcers. Pressure ulcers are acquired as a result of prolonged periods of immobility during unrelieved pressure which compresses tissues that overlie in bony prominences. The principal factor in pressure ulcer development is excessive tissue pressure that prevents the normal supply of blood to the affected area. The severity of skin and tissue damage will depend on how long the patient had been exposed. Prevention is the best intervention for pressure ulcers. There are several risk factors that have been identified to make a patient more vulnerable to acquiring a pressure ulcer. Pressure friction and shear are thought to contribute to the development of pressure ulcers. Certain groups of patients have a higher risk …show more content…
Darkly pigmented skin may not have visible blanching, its color may differ from the surrounding area. The area may be painful, firm, soft, warmer, or cooler as compared to adjacent tissue. A blanchable redness means that when the red area is compressed by the finger, the area turns white or pale and the redness returns when the pressure is released. Non-blanchable redness means the area under the finger remains red as it is compressed. Non-blanchable redness indicates that tissue damage has already