The bed is a place where you forget about all the world's worries and imagine all the never-ending scenarios. Now imagine being in a bed but feeling discomfort to the point where you aren't able to sleep. For bedridden people, who already have limited mobility, not being able to rest and sleep on a comfortable mattress seems disheartening. For this, there are two types of mattresses- low air loss mattresses and alternating pressure mattresses. Let's read in detail how either of them performs and the difference between them.
What are low air loss mattresses?
Low air loss mattresses, as the name indicates, are full of air. The design of these mattresses is made keeping in mind the patient's needs. These mattresses prevent and treat pressure wounds. They evenly distribute the patient's body weight over the mattress and help prevent skin breakdown. In a low air mattress, air continually passes through tiny holes at the top of the mattress surface, causing the patient to feel like they're floating. It's an excellent way to keep the moisture away as it's the moisture which leads to skin breakdown.
What are alternating pressure mattresses?
Alternating pressure mattress solves the primary problem of relieving bed sores or pressure ulcers. Bed sores are skin and underlying tissue injuries that cause prolonged pressure at one point. When a bedridden patient isn't able to move much, an alternating pressure mattress seems to be the most reliable option. Throughout the body, they keep the alternating pressure points. It stimulates the blood flow, and hence the blood nourishes the skin. With the adjustable cycle time, the mattress slowly inflates and deflates under the patient.
Who can benefit from low air loss and alternating pressure mattresses?
One can make use of either of these mattresses for the prevention and treatment of pressure wounds. Patients who are immobile or have limited mobility can count on these medical air mattresses. It provides comfort and eases to any patient and their caretaker when they need to shift or reposition the patient every couple of hours. Pressure ulcers can develop anywhere on the body, but heels, spine, ankle or hips are the most common.
Anyone sleeping on it will experience pressure relief and increased blood flow because of the alternating pressure's usage of pressure redistribution. These air mattresses reduce the need for manual repositioning by a loved one while providing continuous relief to the person sleeping on one.
What is the difference between a low air loss mattress and an alternating pressure mattress?
Low air mattresses and alternate pressure mattress are the two type of medical air mattress that one frequently use for patients to not suffer from pressure sores. If you compare both of these mattresses, one can see considerable differences.
Even though both mattresses provide comfort to the patient and reduce the possibility of skin breakdown efficiently, alternating pressure mattresses help improve overall blood circulation, thus helping to heal the injury. After constant use of low air loss mattresses, they tend to deflate as compressed air is pushed out, which is why they need frequent inflation. Alternating pressure mattress, on the other hand, needs proper inflation once, and the patient can adjust the pressure with the knob accordingly.
Next, you'll notice that low air mattresses are less durable than alternate pressure mattresses. Their mattress is made of a material such as vinyl, synthetic plastic, rubber or lightweight plastic. All these materials you can easily puncture with a sharp object, hence demanding special care.
How do alternating pressure mattresses work?
Mattresses with alternating air pressure are built with rows of lateral air cells that can be inflated or deflated to change the pressure on the area where you are resting. These cells are automatically inflated or deflated using a pump. The airflow through the patient's sleeping surface will automatically change when a pressure cycle is put up on the alternating pressure mattress by a caregiver. This is a great approach to ensure the patient is safe without manually adjusting their position, freeing up the caregiver to concentrate on giving crucial support where it is needed.
Dr Amgenic's medical air mattress involves many factors that prompt a person to buy an air mattress. For some, it might be a complex decision, but Dr Amgenic considers the user's needs. Dr Amgenic not only specializes in providing the best air mattress but also has a wide array of healthcare products such as a BP monitor, pulse oximeter, adult diapers, Pregaswift and many more. These healthcare products help monitor and treat a person's overall health. You can keep these products home and save yourself from an unnecessary trip to a doctor. These products are very easy to use; you can have a regular check-up of your health yourself.