Danger Of Portable Beds

Danger Of Portable Beds.
Caution is required when using vest-pocket bed rails because they put occupy at risk for falling or becoming trapped, the US Food and Drug Administration warns Dec 27, 2013. Portable bed rails lay hold of to a normal, adult-sized bed, often by sliding a composition of the rail under the mattress or by using the floor for support. People can get trapped in or around the rail, including between the bed-rail bars, between the foot-rail and the mattress, or between the rail and the headboard, said Joan Todd, a older nurse-consultant at the FDA.

And "Consumers need to realize that even when bed rails are well designed and used correctly, they can provide a hazard to certain individuals - particularly to people with physical limitations or who have an altered disturbed status, such as dementia or confusion," Todd said in an FDA news release. Between January 2003 and September 2012, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission received reports of 155 deaths and five injuries tied up to little bed rails designed for matured use, according to the news release.

More than 90 percent of the deaths were caused by entrapment. Of the 155 deaths, 129 occurred in nation aged 60 or older and 94 occurred at home. About half of the victims had a medical health such as heart disease, Alzheimer's condition or dementia. The FDA has a new website on bed-rail safety that offers information about the concealed hazards and advice for safe use.

Here are some tips for caregivers. Make sure bed rails are felicitous for the person using them. Alternatives include roll guards, foam bumpers, lowering the bed and using a concave mattress, which can better reduce the risk of rolling off the bed. Not all bed rails, mattresses and bed frames are interchangeable. Check with the maker to make sure the numerous pieces you're using are compatible with one another.

Follow the manufacturer's instructions to ensure a proper fit. There should be no gaps between the handrail and the mattress. Gaps can be created by a person's movements or if the bed's position shifts. "Bed rails may provision greater support and mobility when the person using them changes position or gets in and out of bed," Todd said.

She said, however, that the rails extremity to be monitored and maintained so they don't weaken over time and create unsafe openings in which a person could become trapped. "Portable bed rails must not be installed and forgotten. Unlike medical centre beds, not all portable bed rails are FDA-regulated as medical devices rhine. The federal direction has created a committee to develop voluntary standards for grown-up portable bed rails.