Pneumonia is the number one cause of hospital admissions in the U.S. except for pregnancy. It is particularly common during the flu season, but there are many other causes beyond the flu. Older people are at higher risk of developing pneumonia, especially if they are bedbound. People suffering from cystic fibrosis and other lung-related illnesses are also at a high risk of developing pneumonia.
If you have pneumonia or suspect you have it, your first step should be to seek medical advice. Pneumonia can be deadly, but, for milder cases, you may not need to stay in hospital. With the right equipment, you can stay at home for treatment. In this article, we’re going to look at some of the ways a home hospital bed can help vulnerable people to avoid pneumonia, to cope with the symptoms of pneumonia, and to accelerate healing.
What is Pneumonia?
Pneumonia is the inflammation of the tissue in the lungs. Your lungs are made of branching airways that end in very small air sacs called alveoli. You have hundreds of millions of alveoli. They are where oxygen enters the bloodstream and carbon dioxide is removed. When you have pneumonia, the alveoli become inflamed. They swell and fill with fluid.
People with pneumonia have difficulty breathing and may cough up yellow or green mucus, or mucus that contains blood. Mild cases of pneumonia are unpleasant but not life-threatening. Pneumonia can usually be treated. However, severe pneumonia can compromise your ability to breathe, and some people do die of pneumonia.
Pneumonia has many different causes, including injury to the lungs, pneumococcal bacterial infections, and viral infections. Influenza is a major cause of pneumonia, especially in older people. COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus pandemic, may also cause pneumonia in vulnerable populations.
People with pneumonia may experience difficulty breathing, chest pain, and high temperature. Severe cases of pneumonia often lead to quickened breathing, low blood pressure, vomiting, and confusion.
What is a Hi-Low Adjustable Bed?
An adjustable bed is a bed equipped with mechanisms that allow its component parts to be raised, lowered, or otherwise moved. An adjustable bed almost always has a head section that can be raised so that the bed’s occupant is lying on an incline or in a sitting position. Adjustable beds may also have foot adjustments that can raise and support the lower limbs and knees.
A hi-low adjustable bed also has a mechanism for adjusting the height. Height adjustments make it easier to get into and out of bed, to transfer to a wheelchair, and to raise the bed so that the occupant can be treated by a caregiver standing beside it. In sophisticated adjustable beds such as Transfer Master’s Supernal Hi-Low and Supernal 5, the adjustments are motorized and controlled with a wired or wireless remote.
Pneumonia and the Bedridden
Spending long periods in bed does not cause pneumonia, but it does increase the risk. People who spend their days lying down without moving are likely to suffer from blood pooling, shallow breathing, decreased lung volume, weakened muscles, and mucus buildup. These factors make it difficult to expel viruses and bacteria from the lungs.
An adjustable home hospital bed can help to mitigate some of the factors that contribute to pneumonia. Most importantly, the electronic adjustments on a home hospital bed can support the patient in positions that reduce the pooling of blood and mucus in the chest cavity.
How Adjustable Beds Help to Treat People with Pneumonia
Pneumonia causes the buildup of viscous and difficult-to-dislodge mucus in the lungs. It is vital that the mucus is removed frequently—it may contain bacteria and viruses, puss, and other harmful substances.
To remove mucus from the lungs, patients are typically raised into a sitting position. People with muscle weakness and mobility issues, including elderly people and those with paraplegia and quadriplegia, may be unable to sit up unaided. The head adjustment on a home hospital bed, which can be used to raise the bed’s occupant into a sitting position, makes it far easier for them to effectively expel mucus.
A home hospital bed can also aid caregivers and medical professionals when treating people with pneumonia. The Hi-Low height adjustment on the bed can raise the bed to a suitable height during treatment and lower the bed so that it’s safe and easy for the occupant to get in and out.
If you would like to talk to an expert about how an adjustable bed can help you to manage the flu or pneumonia, contact us today by phone or email.
