ABSTRACT
The complications which may arise when the elderly are confined to bed on account of illness are becoming more widely known. In geriatric medicine it is now recognised that the patient should spend the minimum time in bed and independent activity must be restored as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, even with modern methods of medical treatment, the problem of pressure sores – usually regarded as primarily a nursing problem – remains. Sometimes, the development of a sore becomes as great, or even greater, a hindrance to recovery as the illness for which the patient is being treated.
