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This coming Thursday, November 17th, hospitals and many other healthcare facilities will take time out to promote and educate the wider healthcare community and general public on how to prevent and treat pressure ulcers.

Pressure ulcers, when they are allowed to develop, are a notoriously difficult affliction to treat and heal.

Though the Worldwide Pressure Ulcer day leads with Stop Pressure ulcers, the real message is all about prevention.

The basics of (pressure ulcer) prevention is all about education. The more people that know about pressure ulcers and how to prevent them, then the less people that will present with them. If you know nothing about pressure ulcers, this short video is well worth a watch: - those most likely to suffer from pressure ulcers - steps you can take to prevent pressure ulcers

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Pressure sores, also known as pressure ulcers or bed sores, are sores within the skin that cause damage to the skin and underlying tissue. The damage is caused by constant pressure or friction being applied to a part of the body. The extra pressure causes a disruption to the blood flow and without the blood supply, the area becomes starved of oxygen and nutrients.  This injury quickly develops for people who have reduced mobility such as wheelchair users or people who are confined to a bed or chair.

If you are a wheelchair user, confined to a bed or chair or have reduced mobility, your risk of getting pressure sores are higher. The areas where pressure ulcers will appear are areas where the body has less fat, so in bony areas like elbows, hip bones, tail bone, shoulder blades, or the back of your arms and legs. Some of the symptoms you should look out for are red, purple or blue torn skin, swelling, parts of the skin that feels warmer/colder than other areas or unusual texture.