Question
What factors contribute to skin breakdown in clients with limited mobility?
Answer
There are three components to skin breakdown, heat, moisture and pressure. Heat can be either internally generated, such as from body heat, or externally generated, such as environmental temperatures. Moisture can result from oils and sweat from the skin or from incontinence. Finally, pressure is caused by the force of the client’s body mass onto the seating surface.
Our treatment plan needs to focus on minimizing the effects of externally generated heat, eliminating moisture due to incontinence and minimizing pressure with proper positioning and seating systems.
Editor’s note: This Ask the Expert was adapted from the article ‘Pressure Mapping: A Valuable Resource for Client Assessment & Education’. The complete article can be accessed here.
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