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Bed and pressure care

Repositioning aids and surfaces for anyone spending most of the day in bed. Skin damage from pressure develops quietly, so this category is about prevention rather than response.

Bed and pressure care: 10 items

How to choose bed and pressure equipment

This whole category is prevention. Pressure damage develops quietly, under skin that still looks intact, and it moves faster than most people expect once it has started.

The surface matters less than the repositioning

No mattress removes the need to change position. A good surface buys time between turns, it does not replace them. Buying a pressure mattress and then turning less often leaves the person worse off than before. See preventing pressure sores in bed.

Where pressure sores actually form

Over bone with little padding over it: the tailbone, the heels, the hips, the shoulder blades, the back of the head. Heels are the ones people miss, and the usual fix is to float them clear of the bed with a pillow under the calves rather than to buy anything.

A raised head of bed causes its own damage

Sitting the bed up steeply slides the body down while the skin stays where it is. That shearing tears tissue below the surface. If the head has to stay up for breathing or feeding, check the tailbone more often rather than less.

Slide sheets protect two people at once

Dragging someone up the bed grazes their skin and wrecks your back. A slide sheet takes the friction out of the move, so it is skin protection and caregiver protection in one piece of fabric. See moving someone up in bed with a slide sheet.

What this equipment costs, and who pays

Medicare Part B covers medically necessary durable medical equipment when a provider prescribes it for use at home. After the Part B deductible you pay 20 percent of the Medicare approved amount. Hospital beds, commode chairs, walkers, wheelchairs and scooters are all on Medicare’s own list.

Whether one specific item qualifies is decided case by case, so ask the clinic’s social worker before paying out of pocket. Check that the supplier is enrolled in Medicare and accepts assignment, and ask whether the item is rented or bought, because that differs by equipment type.

Our guides to free and low-cost equipment programs and financial resources cover the routes that are not Medicare, including loan closets and nonprofit grants.

Coverage details from Medicare on durable medical equipment.

Guides on this site

• Preventing pressure sores in bed
• Moving someone up in bed
• Repositioning someone in bed safely
• Bathing and personal care