why r person who r confined to bed less likely to develop bedsores if they use waterbed rather than mattress?

Answer 1

Mattresses are stiff and apply constant pressure upon the body, where as with a water bed you have movement which alleviates pressure, the same works with the specially designed air mattresses they use in hospitals. The constant pressure creates the bed sore.

Answer 2

Sadly, that is not really true.

The basic idea would be that more you spread the body weight over the entire body's surface, the more you reduce the pressure in any one spot.

Imagine a person laying on a flat hard floor- certain parts of the body are going to press really hard on the floor. If they are on their back, this will be the back of the head, the shoulders, the buttocks, thighs, calves, and heels. These areas would be at risk for bedsores.

If, however, we paid the person on a surface that perfectly molded itself to the sleeper, then every inch is carrying the body's weight and the risk is reduced.

In the real world, however, there are a few complications.

1. Waterbeds really do not mold themselves around the body well. They have what is called a 'hammocking' effect, they shift the pressure from the back to the sides.

2. Bedsores are caused by a combination of pressure, friction, dampness, and warmth. Since waterbeds don't 'breathe', they trap the sweat against the skin. Most sheets create friction, which makes things worse.

3. In the real world, we at care facilities tend to use other solutions for this problem. Specially made foam mattresses that form to the body better and breathe some are common solutions. Mattress toppers or replacement mattresses that use moving air (low-airloss mattresses), or tubs that use super-fine sand with air moving in it (air-fluidized) are also good.

(Note that a simple air bladder mattress is not a great solution either.)

Answer 3

they move with the body assuming the shape of the body
bed sores was a phenomena for the poor on hard beds