[Dailydrool] Treatment of bed sores

[Karen]

Hi Susan,

I was a wound nurse for a few years and treated Bazzle's pressure sores for over a month, so finally an area that I am experienced in.   the biggest part of treating a pressure sore is to keep it moist.  

First things first, before you do any treatment you need to wash your hands and wear gloves.  They don't have to be sterile but you need to protect your girl from your germs as much as possible.   The best medication you can use is Silvadene but if you are not able to get it then the next best thing is triple antibiotic ointment.  
I am looking for someplace on the web that may sell it without a RX.

First you want to trim away the hair at least 2 inches around the would and clean the area with saline solution and gently pat dry with the side of the gauze pad that you have not touched. The cheapest way is just to buy the sterile saline that is used for contacts.   Apply a small amount of the ointment on to a telfa pad but be careful not to touch the side that is going against the skin.  Pad the area with gauze pads that are fluffy.  I would not use cotton balls as they tend to compress.  Then use a ace wrap to hold the dressing in place.  Since I don't know exactly where the wound is you may have to figure 8 the wrap so it comes around the leg and then up.   I would use a pair of tighter fitting baby stretch pants that are modified so she can still potty but not get to the area.   If the wound is draining is draining and stinky  you want to change it daily.   If the telfa sticks don't pull it off, just soak it off with the saline.  If the wound is not draining and Miss Senior isn't pulling it off, only change it every 2-3 days.  The reason for waiting 2-3 days is that you want to limit disturbing the healing process by changing to often.

Prevention is a little harder.   Try not to let her spend more than an hour at a time on the hip.  Once she is healed massage will help to increase the circulation to the area.  Maybe try using either an egg crate, gel pad or maybe even one of the cooler beds that contain water to help reduce the pressure on the hip.  I hope that some of the other droolers can come up with more prevention ideas.

We are sending healing drool to your gal.  I will keep looking for Silvadene cream online.

Droolz and Belly Rubs to all your gang.
Karen and The Dog House Gang with the Kitty Korner


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