My son was discharged from the hospital with a pressure sore.

@tomeciad
Welcome to Mayo Connect, hopefully other caregivers will be able to provide some advice based on their experience.

You might want to try this search where it has been talked about in other support groups on Connect:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/?search=pressure+sores
Have your reached out to his primary provider for advice?

Yes I have but with Medicaid we have to wait for approval before we go to wound care or for Home Health to come out to the home. He has sent the orders already. It’s just painful for me to see him so uncomfortable. It makes me feel helpless

Sorry for what you and your son are going through. What your son needs is a wound care nurse to assess the wound and accordingly start wound treatment as soon as possible. Unfortunately with the healthcare system the way it is, the wound care by a wound care nurse is going to have to wait. In the meantime you might want to keep the wound clean with regular dressing changes; the idea is to keep it from getting infected, which is likely to happen in view of your son’s compromised immune system because of his chronic illness. For the pain you need to keep him medicated. Try Tylenol at first every 4-6 hours if there is not a contraindication, such as liver disease. If the pain requires something stronger, give his primary care doctor a call and get a prescription for something stronger. Also you need to try and keep the pressure off the wound as much as possible. The wedge will help. Very important to keep an eye out for any signs of infection: swelling, redness in the surrounding tissue, purulent discharge and fever. If you notice a fever 100 degrees, it’s time to take him to the hospital. Also there are long term hospitals that have transitional care units which could be appropriate for your son. And do not forget to take care of yourself.

All very helpful information. So far he has not had any fever or discharge. They finally called me today from Home Health. Question: when using the wedge, should I keep the wedge in place or move it from underneath him every 2 hours?

Mobility is important. Nursing recommendations are to change positions every two hours for bedridden patients, however, in your son’s case you might want to ask the home health nurse for advice. Also, depending on the wound, sometimes it’s recommended to air out the wound at times( again it depends on the treatment plan.

Thank you so much for your advice. I may be over reacting but like I said before in the 24 years I have raised him, he’s never had a bedsore so trying to manage it myself has been hard but not nearly as hard as it is for my son. Again, I thank you very much.

I'm so sorry your son is going through this. My DH has a pressure wound on his buttocks. We had a nurse visiting twice a week for about a year. She would get it under control, then he would be hospitalized for one reason or another and it would get really bad again. When we get to the point where the skin is not broken everyone think he's healed but the pain is still there. Wound clinic here had nothing to add that we aren't already doing. I'm hoping someone here has found something that works. Air mattress, roho cushion, ointments, frequent turning... what else can we do?

My husband was a cancer patient and received both chemo & radiation simultaneously. He had no energy and was confined to a recliner when he developed pressure sores on his buttocks. I had a regiment of cleaning the sores with wound care solution and slathered the sores with Desitin and kept it covered with disposable underwear. The Desitin did a great job healing the sores quickly and even his oncologist at Hopkins was surprised how quickly they healed.

Wow what a great accomplishment! That must give you a great feeling

Thanks for the tip, @cricket22. Did your husband have strength to stand or shift so you could apply the care to the sores?