Deeper wounds may require more stringent cleaning and more elaborate care, with careful monitoring for any signs of infection. Antibiotics may be in order if infection is detected. In extreme cases, surgery or other procedures may be necessary to remove dead tissue to enable the wound to heal. A new kind of treatment not yet widely used is called vacuum-assisted closure therapy. Through application of an air-tight foam dressing and a vacuum pump, negative pressure is created around a wound to stimulate blood flow and encourage healing.
Pressure sores can form in only a few hours.
Carol Stumpf, a physical therapist and manager of rehabilitation at University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz., says a bed-bound patient should move or be moved at least once every two hours, if not more often. Using a specially designed bed, bed cover or mattress can help. They adjust to the body's shape and help to spread pressure over a wider area. They don't, however, eliminate the need to change position every two hours. One common sense strategy to prevent a person in bed from placing too much stress on one side of the body is to make sure that a TV is placed directly in front of the person, not on one side or the other.