Pressure ulcers — also known as bedsores — are areas of damage to the skin and underlying tissue caused by sustained pressure on a specific body area. They occur when a person cannot change position regularly.
How Pressure Ulcers Form:
- Sustained pressure: Body weight presses skin and tissue between a bony prominence and a surface (mattress, chair). This narrows small blood vessels.
- Oxygen deprivation: Compressed vessels cannot deliver blood and oxygen to tissues.
- Cell death: After 2-6 hours of continuous pressure — cells begin to die.
- Ulcer formation: Non-blanching redness appears, then skin damage, then an ulcer extending deeper.
Additional Contributing Factors:
Friction: Dragging on sheets scrapes the surface layer. Shear: When the bed head is raised — skin stays in place but internal tissues slide with the bone, tearing blood vessels between them.
At BEIT TARIQ Center, we treat pressure ulcers with British expertise and teach families prevention to stop recurrence.