Pressure sores are common amongst people with Spina Bifida because a lot of people have very limited sensation in their tailbone area and easy to get a bad sore and not know it because you don’t feel pain. I have some feeling in my tailbone area but it’s not strong and it’s easy for me to get a bad sore because I don’t have a lot of feeling in that area and even if I am bleeding, I do not always feel pain and if I do it’s usually very faint. Pressure sores are not serious and are treatable when you catch them early but if left untreated for a long period of time, they can get infected and be a medical emergency. I have had to go to wound care for a pressure sore because I don’t have feeling in certain areas of my body and have had sores get so bad that I could not heal them myself and needed a doctor to help. When you have limited sensation, it is difficult to completely prevent pressure sores because they can happen very quickly, and you don’t always know what caused them. How do you prevent a pressure sore when you have limited sensation? In this post, I am going to talk about how I prevent pressure sores while living with limited sensation.
Check your skin daily– When I was a child, I had no feeling below my knees and have gained some of it back, but still have very limited sensation in the back of my legs, feet, and tailbone area if any at all. Doctors have always told me to check my skin, especially the areas I have no or limited sensation because a lot of the time you will be able to see redness and be able to catch a potential problem before it becomes anything at all. When I take off my leg braces, I always check my feet and see if there is any new redness that wasn’t there when I put them on because that could be a sign that my braces need some kind of adjustment. It can be hard to check my tailbone area for skin breakdown because you can’t see that area very well but usually, I will see blood when I change, and that will tell me to check that area or ask for assistance if I am unsure. If you have limited sensation, I can’t stress enough how important it is to make a habit of checking your skin regularly because skin reactions can happen fast, when you don’t feel pain.
Shift your weight– Disabled people often sit more than non-disabled people because our bodies are not built to be able to stand for hours like a non-disabled person. I am not a full-time wheelchair user and don’t sit in the same spot all day long because I am able to walk with crutches, but I still sit a good portion of the day since I am physically disabled. Pressure sores often happen when you sit in the same position for a long period of time and do not get up which can be difficult for a full-time wheelchair user to not do because you can’t get up and stand like everyone else. When I have been sitting a long time and am not in a position where I can stand up, I try and shift my weight because sores happen when you put a lot of pressure on one area, and shifting your weight can help take some of the pressure off and prevent sores from happening.
Get some moisture barrier cream– There are a lot of inexpensive moisture barrier creams that you can buy that help treat and prevent minor skin irritations and it works by forming a barrier on your skin that helps protect it from getting more irritated. A moisture barrier cream is usually only effective for minor skin irritation and if you have a very deep sore, it’s probably going to do nothing for you, and you might need medication. I use moisture barrier creams on my tailbone when it breaks down, but I also use them when I am leaking a lot and get a stoma rash because the added moisture helps me get relief from pain. You don’t have to buy an over-priced fancy cream because Vaseline is just as effective as the expensive stuff that you probably don’t need. When I see redness on my skin, I immediately put some cream on it because a lot of the time it will clear minor skin irritation within a day. Moisture barrier creams are very safe for everyone to use, and many moms use them on babies when they get a rash.
Use two mats when you exercise- If I am sitting at my computer writing a blog post, I am not usually worried about getting a pressure sore because I am sitting in a padded chair. When I am doing a Pilates workout, it’s a totally different story because a lot of exercise moves such as sit-ups can put pressure on your tailbone, causing it to break down and bleed. I have noticed that the more I do an exercise, the less likely I am for sores, but I still have to be mindful of that when I exercise because most sores happen during exercise. I am limited when it comes to exercise, and it would be very hard to eliminate every exercise that might put a little pressure on my tailbone area, so I use two mats for extra protection because one is not thick enough.
Get a decent cushion for your wheelchair– I am a part-time wheelchair user and do not sit in my wheelchair as much as a full-time wheelchair user does but I do go to the store sometimes and sit in my chair for hours at a time. I am fortunate that my insurance will pay for a new chair every five years because not all disabled people have that luxury. I have a gel cushion for my chair because I am more prone to pressure sores, and it helps prevent them but if you don’t have the privilege of having a gel cushion a pillow will do the trick. A good cushion is so important for wheelchair users because we sit in our chairs for long periods of time and if you don’t have enough padding it can cause a sore.
Pressure sores are not as painful for someone with limited sensation as they would be for someone who has full feeling but even though you can feel it that doesn’t mean you don’t have to care about it. I am always cutting myself in areas that I have no feeling that would cause most people an immense amount of pain but causes me no pain and I don’t even realize it’s there until I see blood. I have gotten some pretty deep sores and don’t mind not having feeling in areas I cut all the time, but I do have to pay more attention to it because I don’t get the sensations that most people would and can get a serious cut that seems to have appeared overnight. I can’t change my disability and will always be more prone to sores because of my limited sensation but have managed to avoid serious cuts most of the time by checking my skin every single day. I still sometimes get pressure sores but not nearly as much because I am constantly shifting my weight and if I am doing an exercise that causes a sore every single time I stop doing it. How do you prevent pressure sores? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
Subscribe And Never Miss A Post
My Rockin Disabled Life 