Senior Care in Miami: What Every Caregiver Should Know About Bed Sores
As a caregiver, you have a big responsibility. You see to the daily needs of a senior citizen, whether they are your client or a close loved one. If your senior has experienced surgery, a major illness, or limited mobility that has them spending most of their day in bed, you should watch for bedsores to form. Senior care in Miami, FL can help! Here are important things you should know about bedsores and treating them.
Bedsores Are Serious
While bedsores may seem like annoyances (though painful ones), if left untreated, they can be dangerous. An estimated 60,000 people die from bedsores every year. While the number is staggering, these deaths are preventable with proper care and attention.
What Are Bedsores?
Bedsores, also known as pressure ulcers, occur when pressure on the skin cuts off blood flow. If this continues for too long, the skin begins to die, forming ulcers or bedsores. Bedsores typically progress through four stages:
- Discoloration of the skin (red or purple tint) with burning, itching, or similar pain.
- Sores such as scrapes, open wounds, or blisters with significantly higher pain and loss of color in the skin.
- The wound begins to form a crater as the damage has moved below the skin. Pain is extreme.
- Deep wound with a serious infection (including osteomyelitis or infection of the bone. Gangrene will develop without treatment. The patient is also at risk for organ failure, sepsis, or death.
Bedsores Don’t Just Form on Legs
We usually think of bedsores forming on the legs or back. However, they can form anywhere that the body is under enough pressure to reduce blood flow. That means that your patient does have to be in bed for sores to form. If your patient must sit for long hours and is unable to move or shift position, they’re at the same risk for bedsores as a patient in bed. Some of the most common locations for bedsores include,
- Tailbone
- Heels
- Hips
- Shoulder blades
- Ankles
- Elbows
- Toes
- Knees
- Back of the head
The Best Treatment for Bedsores Is Prevention
As with many conditions, the best treatment is prevention. At Mazal Nursing Services we ensure our caregivers are well-trained and diligent in the care they provide. To help ensure your loved one or patient avoids or recovers from bedsores,
- Be diligent and check on your patient or loved one regularly
- Help seniors with limited mobility or recovering from surgery or illness to move regularly to relieve pressure on their skin
- If you notice wounds form, be sure to clean and dress them properly, including removing any dead tissue if a wound is advanced
Are You Looking for Attentive Senior Care in Miami?
Mazal Nursing Services offers expert caregivers and senior care in Miami who provide top-notch home care. Contact us to set up an appointment and discuss your loved one’s needs.
How to Choose a Private Recovery Nurse in Miami, FL
If you’re planning a major surgery for yourself or a loved one, it’s important to ensure you have proper post-surgery care. Being discharged from the hospital doesn’t mean you’re well or recovered. Often at-home recovery comes with limited mobility and a need to keep up with wound care and medications. A private recovery nurse in Miami can help ensure you receive the care you need. Let’s look at how to ensure you choose the right nurse for you or your loved one.
What Is Home Care?
Home care is a variety of services delivered by licensed professionals that ensures your daily living needs are met. These services cover a wide range of activities, based on your specific needs. These include,
- Skilled recovery nursing and home health aide
- Physical, occupational, and speech rehabilitation therapy
- Medical social work services
- Specialized care for chronic conditions
- Palliative and hospice care
- Joint rehabilitation following replacement surgery
- Fall prevention and balance training
- Advanced planning and resources
- Wound Care
- IV Management
How to Choose a Private Recovery Nurse in Miami
Choosing the right service for your family is vital to recovery. Before you make your first phone call, it’s important to take several factors into consideration.
- Make sure the agency you plan to contact is licensed by the state.
- Ensure they meet Medicare federal requirements for health and safety and ensure they’re certified with Medicare.
- Check with your health insurance to ensure their services are covered or if you’ll need to make other payment arrangements.
- Compare the service to other Miami recovery nurse services and look for reviews.
- Speak to your doctor to see if they have experience with the agency and ask for feedback about them.
The Benefits of a Post-Surgery Recovery Nurse
While many people try to care for themselves or their family members post-surgery, a private recovery nurse provides multiple benefits. A post-surgery recovery nurse ensures that you,
- Receive proper and prompt wound care after surgery, reducing the risk of infection
- Receive the correct medication dosing on time and have adequate monitoring for side effects or contraindications
- Have mobility assistance and personal care assistance as needed post-surgery
- Obtain the post-surgery therapy you need to ensure a fast and complete recovery
In addition to these benefits, a home recovery nurse takes the stress off Miami families. Surgery can be stressful both for the one who had surgery and the family members around them. Having a post-surgery recovery nurse helps to alleviate the stress and anxiety that follows surgery. With less stress and worry, family members can spend more quality time together, leading to better well-being and recovery.
Are You Looking for a Private Recovery Nurse in Miami?
Mazal Nursing Services offers expert private nurses in Miami who provide top-notch home care. Contact us to set up an appointment and discuss your loved one’s needs.
Post-Surgery Recovery Nurse Services in Miami, FL
If you’re planning for surgery, it’s equally important to plan for your post-surgery recovery. WebMD offers insights into eight common mistakes people make in their recovery. Our expert nurses at Mazal in Miami, FL, want to help you avoid those pitfalls and ensure a full recovery. Here are some tips on How To Have a Smooth Recovery: Post-Surgery Recovery Nurse Services in Miami, FL.
Before We Begin: Follow Your Doctor’s Instructions
It’s important in your recovery that you follow your doctor’s instructions both in taking medication, in the amount of rest that you need, in dietary restrictions, and in your activity levels. With each of these steps, keep in mind your doctor’s instructions for recovery and adjust our suggestions according to your doctor’s recommendations. This includes adding any particular exercises that your doctor has recommended.
Give Your Body Time to Heal
One of the biggest mistakes people make in recovery is not giving their bodies time to heal. They begin driving too soon (sometimes from the hospital!). They go back to work too soon. Don’t do these things. Rest and let your body have the time it needs to rebuild injured tissue and heal from your surgery.
Don’t Stay in Bed Too Much
While rest is essential, please don’t overdo it. Staying immobile too long can lead to bed sores, blood clots, and other complications. Once you can do so, begin moving slowly. Even if you only step in to go to the bathroom, you still get out of bed, move, and help your body circulate blood. This light movement will also help you in the healing process. Don’t overdo it, have someone help you move, especially if you’re on pain medication, and go slowly.
Line Up Help
Make sure before surgery that you have help once you’re out. Between family members and a professional recovery nurse, you want to ensure that someone is always available to help you with medications, food preparations, cleaning, kids and pets if you have them, and moving around once you’re able to be mobile.
You especially want to ensure you have someone to get you home after your surgery.
Maintain a Healthy Diet
Depending on the type of surgery you had, eating may be difficult. Your doctor will give you post-recovery diet instructions. Follow them, making sure that the foods you choose include the nutrients you need. As you are able, add other foods that will help your body get the proteins, carbs, and, yes, healthy fats that it will need for a good recovery. Also, ensure that you drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol and caffeine while you recover.
Don’t Hesitate to Call Your Doctor with Concerns
When you’re recovering from surgery, no worry is silly. Call your doctor or on-call nurse if you’re concerned about pain, fever, bleeding, or spotting smells from your wound area or anything else that raises the alarm for you. It’s better to call your doctor and find out everything is okay than not to call your doctor and develop an infection or worse. If you have a private in-home nurse assisting you, bring up concerns with them immediately. They can address many concerns immediately and call your doctor for anything serious or complicating your recovery.
Are You Looking for a Post-Surgery Recovery Nurse in Miami?
Mazal Nursing Services offers expert caregivers and private nurses in Miami who provide top-notch home care. Contact us to set up an appointment and discuss your loved one’s needs.
