If you are a patient required to use a home hospital bed, you may be tempted to make use of a mattress that you already have. After all, you may be inclined to think that the mattress is perfectly okay. Oh! Well. We’d advice that you ignore this thought and start making plans to purchase a special mattress for your hospital bed.
The bottom line is that it makes no sense to use a regular mattress on a hospital bed. The support offered by a home mattress is limited and it tends to exert pressure on some parts of the body. This can lead to more health problems. For the sake of your health, getting a hospital mattress is non negotiable.
By design and configuration, most hospital beds don’t work with non-hospital mattresses because of the frame size. For a mattress to be fitted into a hospital bed, it must have a dimension of 39 inches by 80 inch which is Twin XL. These size standards aren’t ideal for other regular mattresses. This leaves a lot of room at the ends.
If the width of the mattress is more than normal, it will conflict with the operations of the bed. This will prevent it from working optimally which can lead to damage of intricate parts. An improperly sized mattress can also present a hazardous situation to the patient. With the wrong dimension, the side rails and similar functionalities won’t work as designed.
The foam in an ordinary mattress is thick, and it has springs which cannot produce the same level of adjustability as an electric hospital bed. As a hospital bed is adjusted, it folds so that the patient can attain and maintain a desired position. There is an internal construction in a regular innerspring mattress that is responsible for its rigidity.
Hospital bed mattresses are made for health, treatment, and recuperation. When a person stays too long in a position, it can cause pressure ulcers to develop. It can also cause bedsores in the lower back, elbows, and shoulders. These sores are not easy to heal. They are very painful and discomforting. They can also become life-threatening if they become infected.
A hospital bed ensures even distribution of body weight by providing the necessary support. This is actually very necessary for patients that are bedridden because they are most likely to develop pressure ulcers and bedsores. A hospital bed mattress also makes it possible for air to flow around the body. Bedsores will definitely develop if air doesn’t reach the skin. Patients with a higher body weight are most likely to develop bedsores because of the amount of heat their body traps.
Another thing a hospital bed mattress does is to make it easier for a patient to get in and out of bed. Patients with mobility issues typically find it difficult to get in and out of bed and this is even harder with an ordinary mattress. By adding a hospital bed to your room, it becomes easier to manage certain aspects of your life regardless of your state of health. If the support provided by the mattress is inadequate, patients will find it hard to sit up and pull themselves off the bed.
The foam in a hospital bed mattress is durable, high-density, and flexible. Therefore, it lasts longer and gives the patient enough support.
Why is a hospital bed mattress unique?
The hospital bed mattress is of equal importance as the proper bed frame. A regular mattress wasn’t made to work with an adjustable bed or a hospital bed. By design, a hospital bed mattress is made to redistribute pressure so that the chances of bedsores and pressure ulcers emerging becomes lesser. It provides comfort and a very good way for the user to relax.