The Five Factors that Lead to Bed Sores in a Home Recliner and How to Treat & Prevent them.

The skin is the body's largest organ receiving greater than 30% of the body’s blood circulation. When you are healthy and circulation is normal, your skin is tough, pliable and protects us from infection. Despite this resiliency, for persons of limited mobility whose condition affects circulation the skin can become susceptible to breakdown.

For those who spend a lot of time and/or sleep in a home recliner or lift chair, skin breakdown is a primary concern. There are five primary physical factors that a therapeutic Alternating Pressure Recliner Overlay with Low air loss address to keep the skin from breaking down: excessive pressure, shear force, friction, heat and moisture. 

Pressure: This refers to the interface pressure between the skin and the recliner seating surface. When the pressure gets higher than what the capillaries can withstand, blood flow to the skin can be impeded. Without proper blood flow the skin will die. Those with limited mobility often have difficulty shifting their weight, repositioning themselves, or transferring without assistance.  Continuous pressure that impedes blood flow adds to the risk of skin breakdown. 

Heat and Moisture: Heat and moisture build up when a person of limited mobility is unable to continuously shift their weight in their recliner. Without movement, there is limited airflow between the body and the recliner seating surface. This exacerbates the damage created by pressure, shearing and friction.

Shearing Forces: A shearing injury occurs with dragging or sliding of a body part across the recliner seating surface. This sliding action occurs during transfer or weight shifting. When the skin is thin or malnourished, a shear injury will actually tear the tissue over the tailbone and with unrelieved pressure will become a pressure ulcer. Skin shear must be addressed in a home recliner as shearing injuries can occur in the process of reclining or repositioning.

Friction is created by movement across the recliner seating surface. Although less common, friction is closely related to shearing and addressed in the same way. 

How to address the five physical factors that lead to the incidence of pressure ulcers in a home recliner or lift chair.

To Prevent and Treat Pressure Ulcers in a Home Recliner or Lift Chair, requires an Alternating Pressure Low Air Loss recliner cushion with a low shear cover.

These cushions combine multiple therapies to address each of the five primary factors:

Pressure – Redistributed through Alternating Pressure Therapy
Heat and Moisture – Dissipated through Low Air Loss Therapy
Shearing and Friction – Addressed via use of a Low Shear Cover

There is only one cushion made specifically to prevent and treat pressure ulcers in a home recliner such as a Lazy Boy style chair or Lift Chair. The Alternating Pressure Low Air Loss Recliner Cushion by Purely Comfort LLC. This cushion offers head to heel protection for the prevention and treatment of stages I-IV pressure ulcers. The recliner cushion is made specifically for those who spend an extended period of time or even sleep in their lazy boy recliners or lift chair.

A cushion that does not address all 5 primary factors in the development of a pressure ulcer in a recliner does not provide the prevention and treatment needed to protect the skin those of with limited mobility. And while the incidence of a pressure ulcer is painful, it is also a pathway for serious and potential fatal infections to develop.