What kind of cushion helps prevent pressure sores?

Pillows, foam cushions, booties or mattress pads (some water- or air-filled) help, and the right type depends on the wound and on bed versus wheelchair — choose it with your provider. Don’t use donut or ring cushions.

This is a question about types of cushion, not a specific product.

Use pillows, foam cushions, booties, or mattress pads to reduce the pressure. Some pads are water- or air-filled to help support and cushion the area. What type of cushion you use depends on your wound and whether you are in bed or in a wheelchair. Talk with your health care provider about what choices would be best for you, including what shapes and types of material.

So there are four categories, two things the choice depends on, and an instruction to decide it with someone who can see the wound. That’s the honest shape of the answer. There’s no single recommended cushion for everyone.

There is one clear “don’t,” and it’s the most useful thing to know if you’re buying something: do not use donut-shaped or ring-shaped cushions. They reduce blood flow to the area, which may cause sores.

That matters because ring cushions are widely sold and the reasoning behind them sounds right. A hole where the sore is seems as though it should take the pressure off the sore. But the effect is on blood flow to the area, and the result can be sores rather than relief.

A cushion is also only half of relieving pressure. The other half is changing position often: about every 2 hours in bed, and every 15 minutes in a wheelchair.

What to watch for

Do not use donut-shaped or ring-shaped cushions. They reduce blood flow to the area, which may cause sores.

Talk with your health care provider about what choices would be best for you, including what shapes and types of material. A cushion bought without that conversation may be the wrong one for the wound or the wrong one for the setting.

Stage I is a reddened, painful area on the skin that does not turn white when pressed. It’s a sign that a pressure ulcer may be forming. A mark like that appearing where a person sits or lies is a reason to have the equipment looked at.

Wound Wizard is general education and can’t assess a person or their equipment. The clinician caring for them is the right person to ask.

What we look at

  • Examining the skin over bony areas
  • Recommending a cushion shape and material for this person
  • Checking whether current equipment is doing its job
  • Advising a repositioning routine alongside it

Sources

  1. How to care for pressure sores — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://www.medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000740.htm