BED'SORE'. A sore on the hip, back, heel, etc., often a very troublesome complication of disease, to which a patient is liable when for a long timo confined to bed, and is either unable or is not allowed to change his position. Bed sores are due to lowered nerte energy and pres sure. Thus they are liable to occur in cases of continued fever, or any other prolonged debili tating disorder, in paralysis, and in cases of fracture. The skin, at certain projecting bony parts, chiefly about the region of the buttocks, or on the heel, is apt to inflame, ulcerate, and slough, from the continued pressure, especially if the patient is not kept perfectly clean—as, for example, when the evacuations and urine escape involuntarily. In a few of the cases the patient complains of a sense of discomfort at the parts. In all cases of prolonged supine posi tion, the parts naturally pressed upon by the weight of the body should be carefully examined every day. When a long confinement in bed is
expected, attempts should be made to thicken the cuticle, and enable it to bear pressure better, by gently sponging the skin with a stimulant such as alcohol, and the patient should be put on an air-bed or a water-bed (q.v.). If the part, when first seen, looks red and rough, further damage is often prevented by covering it with a piece of zinc-oxide plaster and at once remov ing local pressure by air-cushions specially con structed for cases of this kind. If the case is one in which it is admissible, the patient should be made to alter his position frequently. Ex coriations should be treated like any ulcers, with balsam of Peru, or iodoform and bismuth, or strapping with adhesive plaster.