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Placing a hospital bed in the house for your dear ones is not enough; one must also get the best mattress for them to sleep on. This will elevate them from their injuries or medical issues as quickly as possible. However, choosing the best mattress for the patients isn’t as easy as it seems. Thus, selection of the best air mattresses requires a comprehensive guide given below-
Let’s start with understanding the meaning of air mattress. An air mattress, as the name implies, is a specialty mattress meant to ease pressure on individuals who are bound to bed for the most of their days due to a disability or medical condition. Ulceration might develop as a result of the seclusion. So, to keep the blood circulation of the patient moving, air mattresses are filled with tiny air cells.
Comfort becomes a priority for an individual when their loved ones are suffering with medical problems. Hospital bed air mattress thus comes into play. According to specialists, hospital bed air mattresses ensure maximum comfort and speedy healing.
Advantages of air mattresses
- Enhanced Blood Circulation: with changing positions of the patients, pressure points of mattresses keep on alternating as well. This improves patients’ blood circulation. Shifting pressure points allow patients with an appropriate sleeping pattern. As a result, individuals get more restful sleep on the bed.
- Shifting Pressure Points: Ulcers and bedsores happen to be the most common issues faced by patients who spend long periods of time in their beds. The main cause behind this is the constant pressure on particular bodily parts. However, this issue no longer remains a concern for people who use alternating pressure point featured air mattresses.
- Low-Air-Loss Technology: Sleeping in same position can be difficult. That is why hospital beds are equipped with a low-air-loss technology. Several little holes are placed underneath these mattresses. These pores keep the sleeping surface cool by allowing a tiny quantity of air to escape.
- Convenience: Patients’ mattresses must be cleaned and maintained often. Thick mattresses make this process tedious and hectic. Thus, because of their lightweight and simple to maintain feature, medical air mattresses become an ideal choice. As a result both patients and caretaker’s requirements are well accustomed.
How to choose the most comfortable air mattress on hospital bed
How to decide the size?
Companies that manufacture hospital bed mattresses consider the comfort of the patient as well as the market demands, thus offering standard sizes like Queen (60/80 inches), Full (54/75 inches), and Twin (38/74 inches). Under these dimensions, other preferences like California King (72/84 inches), King (76/80 inches), Twin XL (38/80 inches) are becoming popular. While selecting the hospital mattress note the size of the hospital bed and make sure it fits perfectly.
Is it comfortable?
Comfort, another key factor, should be well-taken care of. A ‘satisfactory’ mattress is made so it distributes the weight of the patient uniformly. Along with sustainable edges, structural differences in the mattress, designed for better comfort of the patient’s body, shouldn’t be significant.
How to clean it?
Another relevant detail is to check if the mattress covers are water- and stain-proof, with the guide about its cleaning aid (after every how many hours it should be cleaned). For patients who are bedwetting, a mattresses system with an anti-microbial cover and seams is mandatory – for both the patient and caretaker’s hygiene.
How easy is it to use?
Patient might need a stretching number of ‘bed hours’ depending on their medical severity. The more time spent on the bed, the more careful one needs to be about their choice in order to prevent skin conditions such as bedsores, ulcers, and skin rashes. Different mattress variations like ones with innersprings or foam technology or alternating pressure system serve diversified requirements of the patient.
Things to remember before you buy a hospital mattress
- Before selecting a mattress for patients with issues like bed sores, or heavy rashes, the acuteness of the condition should be taken into consideration. If the conditions are already quite close to extremity, opting for the bubble or low air-loss mattress, with the system made to circulate air throughout the body should be preferred. This assures comfort for the patient to get well quickly.
- Are you planning to go for the alternating air pressure mattress? Make sure it is able to support the weight of the patient. Air mattresses for bed sores can hold up to weight of 200-300 pounds. Learn enough about them before making a conscious choice.
- Alternating air pressure mattresses are specially devised for controlling the moisture that accumulates on the patient’s skin. If you want to go for one make sure it is a waterproof air mattress, with a vinyl-based coating on it.
- Depending upon the utility factors of the bed, choose an air mattress with an electric pump attached to it. This pump could be controlled by the patient himself or his caregiver. The job of the pump is to balance the air pressure and flow, thus, giving the patient a restful experience.
- Speaking of functionality, select a mattress, which has a built-in alarm. This technology warns you whenever the air pressure in the mattress goes low, as this can cause the patient more discomfort.
- Adjustability is also a crucial factor to contemplate upon. If the bed is one that pulls up when the patient wants to sit, the mattress too, should have the same feature. The buyer should make a note of this too.
- The expedience to set up and move the mattress, as and when required is essential, especially in hospital beds.
- Significantly, the mattress cover should be vapor-absorptive (ability to pass vapor through it) and properly quilted for the patients to get sound sleep.
- Apart from the above-mentioned points, it is sensible to purchase a mattress from a well-known brand, which ensures any casualty after purchase to be attended to.
How Does Medical Air Mattress Work?
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