Hospice brought my 94 year old mom a hospital bed. The air mattress has a mechanism that provides gentle movement to keep her from getting bedsores. The air tubes are uncomfortable across her lower back because of the lumpiness. Any suggestions to make more comfortable? Thank you
[To be honest, I'd be a bit cross. They should have done that when they brought it.]
The trouble with putting anything more than a soft sheet or two over those vile vinyl covers is that you defeat the object of the variable pressure feature. The truth is that while these mattresses are undeniably best for protecting skin integrity, that doesn't mean what we creature-comfort loving normal people all mean by "comfortable." They do take a bit of getting used to.
If your mother has specific areas of discomfort (e.g. prominent vertebrae) then it becomes a question of correct positioning and repositioning. Is there a skin integrity plan in place?
It is more comfortable but still offers the benefit of alternating the pressure.
Also, you can adjust how hard or full the air is in the mattress.
As a retired hospice nurse, I always told my patients/families that there was only 1 mistake they could make..the mistake was failing to call hospice when they had a question!
Our experience was the bed sucked, it should have been disposed of before my sister got it. Her oxygen concentrator needed to be replaced. These were the only two DME items hospice provided. Obviously the rental company doesn't check the equipment. Shame on our government for not having procedures in place to ensure this doesn't happen at the most trying time in a families existence.
I had to get ugly about replacing the mattress and I had a long talk with the delivery man, so I know this is stand operating procedure.
I can't imagine the suffering needlessly endured by the people that can't say it hurts me. So we must all speak up.
Tell them to get her a better mattress.
Hospice nurses will have suggestions, and can show you how to reposition your family member gently. The idea of a body pillow for back support, small pillows between knees or under a shoulder, or even one of those horseshoe shaped neck support pillows can help. Using a pillow to keep heels from pressing on the bed continuously also helps.
But there are pads that you can use to even it out a bit but make sure that the pad that you get does not restrict the movement or the airflow.
AND make sure that the topper you get is washable or that you get a washable waterproof cover for it.