If you are one of the many Alabama residents who has an elderly relative in a nursing home, you know the many things you need to be on the lookout for. The reason your loved one is living in such a facility is to ensure that he or she receives the level of care needed. However, inadequate staffing and other issues in some nursing homes can put residents at risk. Having family members who are educated about what to look for can be helpful in either preventing problems or taking action if problems occur.
One big issue, especially for people who may have limited mobility, is the development of bedsores, also called pressure sores. As explained by WebMD, most bedsores can be identified by one of four main stages. Stage 1 is the mildest of all stages and stage 4 is the most severe. While advanced wounds are generally open, those in stage 1 do not involve any breakage of the skin yet they can be visible by either redness or other discoloration of the skin in the affected area. Patients most likely feel pain in the region and the skin may also be warmer to the touch than the skin around it.
Once the skin is broken in stage 2, a sore can look similar to a blister and may be filled with clear fluid. In stage 3, the sore moves deeper beyond the skin level into soft tissue and in stage 4, the muscles and bones may be affected. While these latter stages are more serious, pain may actually diminish. This is because the affected tissue dies. It is at these stages that infections of the blood or bone may occur.
If you would like to learn more, please feel free to visit the bedsore page of our Alabama nursing home abuse website.
