What types of disabilities would require the following equipment?
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skin care equipment
Q. I have just researched all the wonderful different types of equipment that is available to assist different people in different ways. I was wondering if anyone knew or had experience with the following equipment and what disability they know / have that required the equipment. I am aware of the general problems people may have eg. apmutee, hip, knee leg injury etc. but not specific disabilities. Any help would be appreciated!
- Special beds (eletric etc.)
- Mattresses, overlays, pillows
- Lifting and transferring aids â in particular turntables and transfer boards
- Mobile hoists, stand up hoists, standing frames
- Special seating
Thanks =)
- Special beds (eletric etc.)
- Mattresses, overlays, pillows
- Lifting and transferring aids â in particular turntables and transfer boards
- Mobile hoists, stand up hoists, standing frames
- Special seating
Thanks =)
Answer
I am a personal care attendant to people with disabilities as well as being a carer for my partner who has muscular dystrophy.. so I use all of these items at some stage of my week :o) Would be happy to provide an explanation of who would use them, and why/how!
Electric and other special beds:
Electric beds are handy in that depending on their functions, they can assist the carers of people with disabilities by bringing them to a suitable height to dress a person on the bed, to bed bathe them, to begin transfers (ie putting a sling beneath them to hoist them out of the bed).
They can also assist in helping the person who uses the bed to raise their legs, sit up in bed, and change their position in general.
Also many beds I use have railings like hospital beds, so that children with spastic cerebral palsy for example can't fall out of the bed, and just to give people that sense of security. This can include the possible necessity to roll a person to one side to dry their back, to put in a sling to transfer, where there is no one to stand on the other side of the bed, and no wall. The person knows if the railing is there that they will not fall off the bed.
Mattresses, overlays and pillows:
My partner has an overlay on his bed. He gets pressure points on his hips as he is very boney, but does not need a full air mattress (air mattresses reduce the pressure placed on a person with a disability's skin and body). He has an overlay which goes on the bed at his hips, and takes the pressure off his hips. This way he does not end up with pressure points and pressure sores which take a long time to heal themselves.
Overlays can also be waterproof in case a person has incontinence, eg through stroke, old age, partial or complete spinal cord injury, or any number of other conditions.
Air mattresses have a pump and constantly pump air through the cells in the mattresses, changing the positioning of the person on the mattress. People that I have provided service to who have had air mattresses have generally had conditions where they are incapable of repositioning themselves in the bed, including quadriplegia, multiple sclerosis and stroke.
Transferring aids:
Transfer boards, or slide boards, are generally used by people who need to be able to transfer between eg. bed to wheelchair, wheelchair to car seat, wheelchair to commode chair (shower chair), wheelchair to bath board, and can independently keep their torso upright and possibly assist to transfer.
These can include people with paraplegia who can use their arms to pull themselves along and possibly hemiplegia (strokes) who can assist with their unaffected arm and leg.
Turntables are good for elderly people who either drive or get driven around, and can independently sit in the car, but may have trouble turning their legs around into the car once they have been seated facing out of the car.
Hoists, standing hoists and standing frames:
We have to use hoists at work for clients who are unable to independently transfer. These are mostly clients with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, quadriplegia and high level paraplegia, and severe strokes.
To assist someone who cannot weightbear to transfer without a hoist is asking for trouble. We would hurt our backs and many other parts of us. It is an occupational health and safety issue, and is also unsafe for our clients if they fall!
Stand up hoists are good for people who can weightbear, but are not necessarily consistent with their weightbearing. They are handy as you can pull up skirts/trousers easily, without having to transfer a client to the bed to dress them. I worked with a stand up hoist years ago, unfortuantely the client deteriorated to the point of needing a standard hoist.
I also have a client who has a pool hoist, to transfer him to his swimming pool, and I used to have a hoist to transfer my partner into the passenger seat of the car.
Special seating:
Anyone who needs a wheelchair, depending on how much they depend on it, will have different needs when it comes to seating.
Gel cushions and air cushions are very popular for people who need to sit in their wheelchairs for all or most of the day, to prevent pressure areas on their backside. My partner has a Roho cushion, as he is very boney and easily suffers pressure sores.
Other people who use their wheelchair on an intermittent basis, or can shuffle themselves around on the chair may not need the same cushion as someone who can't shuffle around and may use their wheelchairs most of the time.
As we have recently discovered, having the appropriate seating for someone with a disability, particularly when they are seated nearly permanently is VERY important. My partner has ended up with severe scoliosis from being seated in the incorrect wheelchair with little to no support, and as his muscular dystrophy takes away his core muscles, and he cannot sit himself upright properly, he has ended up hunched forwards, and side
I am a personal care attendant to people with disabilities as well as being a carer for my partner who has muscular dystrophy.. so I use all of these items at some stage of my week :o) Would be happy to provide an explanation of who would use them, and why/how!
Electric and other special beds:
Electric beds are handy in that depending on their functions, they can assist the carers of people with disabilities by bringing them to a suitable height to dress a person on the bed, to bed bathe them, to begin transfers (ie putting a sling beneath them to hoist them out of the bed).
They can also assist in helping the person who uses the bed to raise their legs, sit up in bed, and change their position in general.
Also many beds I use have railings like hospital beds, so that children with spastic cerebral palsy for example can't fall out of the bed, and just to give people that sense of security. This can include the possible necessity to roll a person to one side to dry their back, to put in a sling to transfer, where there is no one to stand on the other side of the bed, and no wall. The person knows if the railing is there that they will not fall off the bed.
Mattresses, overlays and pillows:
My partner has an overlay on his bed. He gets pressure points on his hips as he is very boney, but does not need a full air mattress (air mattresses reduce the pressure placed on a person with a disability's skin and body). He has an overlay which goes on the bed at his hips, and takes the pressure off his hips. This way he does not end up with pressure points and pressure sores which take a long time to heal themselves.
Overlays can also be waterproof in case a person has incontinence, eg through stroke, old age, partial or complete spinal cord injury, or any number of other conditions.
Air mattresses have a pump and constantly pump air through the cells in the mattresses, changing the positioning of the person on the mattress. People that I have provided service to who have had air mattresses have generally had conditions where they are incapable of repositioning themselves in the bed, including quadriplegia, multiple sclerosis and stroke.
Transferring aids:
Transfer boards, or slide boards, are generally used by people who need to be able to transfer between eg. bed to wheelchair, wheelchair to car seat, wheelchair to commode chair (shower chair), wheelchair to bath board, and can independently keep their torso upright and possibly assist to transfer.
These can include people with paraplegia who can use their arms to pull themselves along and possibly hemiplegia (strokes) who can assist with their unaffected arm and leg.
Turntables are good for elderly people who either drive or get driven around, and can independently sit in the car, but may have trouble turning their legs around into the car once they have been seated facing out of the car.
Hoists, standing hoists and standing frames:
We have to use hoists at work for clients who are unable to independently transfer. These are mostly clients with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, quadriplegia and high level paraplegia, and severe strokes.
To assist someone who cannot weightbear to transfer without a hoist is asking for trouble. We would hurt our backs and many other parts of us. It is an occupational health and safety issue, and is also unsafe for our clients if they fall!
Stand up hoists are good for people who can weightbear, but are not necessarily consistent with their weightbearing. They are handy as you can pull up skirts/trousers easily, without having to transfer a client to the bed to dress them. I worked with a stand up hoist years ago, unfortuantely the client deteriorated to the point of needing a standard hoist.
I also have a client who has a pool hoist, to transfer him to his swimming pool, and I used to have a hoist to transfer my partner into the passenger seat of the car.
Special seating:
Anyone who needs a wheelchair, depending on how much they depend on it, will have different needs when it comes to seating.
Gel cushions and air cushions are very popular for people who need to sit in their wheelchairs for all or most of the day, to prevent pressure areas on their backside. My partner has a Roho cushion, as he is very boney and easily suffers pressure sores.
Other people who use their wheelchair on an intermittent basis, or can shuffle themselves around on the chair may not need the same cushion as someone who can't shuffle around and may use their wheelchairs most of the time.
As we have recently discovered, having the appropriate seating for someone with a disability, particularly when they are seated nearly permanently is VERY important. My partner has ended up with severe scoliosis from being seated in the incorrect wheelchair with little to no support, and as his muscular dystrophy takes away his core muscles, and he cannot sit himself upright properly, he has ended up hunched forwards, and side
What is the best way to take care of a cartilage piercing?
Christiy
I pierced my own cartilage a week ago. It still stings somewhat, and i want to know what would be the best way to take care of my ear and what the best thing to do/use if I get an infection. any advice?
(oh and my mom doesn't know i pierced my ear)
Answer
First off, you shouldn't have done it by yourself. That's your first mistake.
Professional piercers use sterilized equipment. No matter how long you ran the needle/whatever you used under hot water, or over an open flame, IT WILL NOT STERILIZE IT half as well as a professional piercer's autoclave. An autoclave subjects the needle to a constant temperature of 121 degrees celsius, which is 249.8 degrees fahrenheit, for twenty minutes.
You already put yourself at a high risk of infection or delayed healing just by doing that yourself.
Second, professional piercing needles are HOLLOW for a reason. Hollow needles take the skin away with them, so instead of forcing the skin to stretch around whatever you are putting in your ear, it will take the skin entirely, allowing for it to heal and not be irritated.
It takes eight to ten weeks for your ear to heal, IF IT IS DONE CORRECTLY.
Clean your ear once a day (in the shower) with antibacterial soap. Do not clean it more than once a day or you will make it worse.
Keep your hair away from the piercing, as if it gets caught it can transmit things such as dirt and other infectious bacterias.
Do not use a public telephone, as the bacteria can be left on your piercing.
You should not use shampoo that is infused with any type of perfume as it can irritate the piercing.
NEVER TOUCH YOUR PIERCING WITHOUT WASHING YOUR HANDS THOROUGHLY.
If your piercing builds up a crust, DO NOT TOUCH IT WITH YOUR HANDS. Grab a Q-Tip, soak the Q-Tip in saline solution, and gently wipe away the crusts.
Do not remove the jewelry within the first three months.
And last, but not least, do not use any product containing alcohol to clean your piercing!
First off, you shouldn't have done it by yourself. That's your first mistake.
Professional piercers use sterilized equipment. No matter how long you ran the needle/whatever you used under hot water, or over an open flame, IT WILL NOT STERILIZE IT half as well as a professional piercer's autoclave. An autoclave subjects the needle to a constant temperature of 121 degrees celsius, which is 249.8 degrees fahrenheit, for twenty minutes.
You already put yourself at a high risk of infection or delayed healing just by doing that yourself.
Second, professional piercing needles are HOLLOW for a reason. Hollow needles take the skin away with them, so instead of forcing the skin to stretch around whatever you are putting in your ear, it will take the skin entirely, allowing for it to heal and not be irritated.
It takes eight to ten weeks for your ear to heal, IF IT IS DONE CORRECTLY.
Clean your ear once a day (in the shower) with antibacterial soap. Do not clean it more than once a day or you will make it worse.
Keep your hair away from the piercing, as if it gets caught it can transmit things such as dirt and other infectious bacterias.
Do not use a public telephone, as the bacteria can be left on your piercing.
You should not use shampoo that is infused with any type of perfume as it can irritate the piercing.
NEVER TOUCH YOUR PIERCING WITHOUT WASHING YOUR HANDS THOROUGHLY.
If your piercing builds up a crust, DO NOT TOUCH IT WITH YOUR HANDS. Grab a Q-Tip, soak the Q-Tip in saline solution, and gently wipe away the crusts.
Do not remove the jewelry within the first three months.
And last, but not least, do not use any product containing alcohol to clean your piercing!
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