To reduce chances of a bed sore happening, the intensity of the pressure has to be reduced. Factors affecting the intensity are weight of the patient, his positioning (supine, lateral, prone – see our last post); hardness of the material s/he is seated or lying on the bed.

When the patient is on the bed, avoid bottoming effect where the patient is not sustained by the mattress but lies directly on the sub-adjacent hard surface. This is very important to check for overweight patients. A simple manual verification: you should not feel the patient body (see image below)