Pressure Relief Mattress Topper / Pressure Relieving Mattress Topper

What is a Pressure Relief Mattress Topper?

As anyone could probably guess, a pressure relief mattress pad goes on top of a patient’s mattress to provide relief, as well as help to reduce and prevent bedsores. There are multiple types of pressure relief toppers available, but every type of them can provide anywhere from mild to severe stage 5 bedsore treatment, providing numerous health benefits along with them that aid both patients and caregivers. A patient’s pressure ulcer treatment needs can determine what kind of mattress topper they should get. 

Types of Pressure Relief Mattress Toppers

As mentioned earlier, the different types of pressure relieving mattress toppers are used to aid various levels of pressure relief – but they are all designed and optimized to help prevent pressure sores. What’s important, however, is the type of pressure relief, the weight that a mattress overlay can bear, and what a bed-bound person is suffering from along with bedsore risks that can determine the type that they need. We carry the following types of mattress toppers commonly found on users' home hospital beds: 

Air Mattress Overlays

Air mattress overlays are an extremely popular choice for many users who suffer anywhere from mild to severe frequent bedsores. There are typically two types of mattress overlays that fill with air and provide an extra cushion for the patient. They provide exceptional health benefits as well as help to reduce the additional pressure often caused by the bodies of bedridden pressure and provide exceptional cooling features to help wick away moisture and sweat. There are also multiple types of air toppers. 

Alternating pressure overlays[link to alternating pressure overlays] are pumped with air that circulates back and forth throughout the air cells to help provide users with a continuous change to pressure on key points – almost the same concept as constantly shifting and adjusting a patient that can’t move around themselves. Low air loss toppers offer the same features as a low air loss mattress in a convenient and compact overlay that costs much less than typical LAL mattresses. Static air bed pads are used by many patients who need mild to moderate bedsore relief, and they are simple overlays that are filled with air. While air mattress overlays are one of the best pressure reducing mattress overlay available, they’re sometimes more expensive than many foam mattresses depending on how basic or advanced the features are. 

Foam Mattress Toppers

Foam mattress toppers provide mild to moderate pressure relief and are often the first choice in terms of providing pressure ulcer treatment for patients and preventing them. These mattress toppers allow users to get an extra cushion that can go on their bed. They are made of high-quality foam that can vary in thickness as well as firmness. Sometimes foam can be used in conjunction with gel to create a hybrid pressure relieving mattress overlay that provides even more relief than just foam alone. Foam is one of the cheapest (but still high quality) medical materials used in almost every medical device, from walking aids to bathroom medical devices, and the wallet friendliness is something that many people enjoy. 

Gel Mattress Pads

Gel mattress toppers are some of the best pressure relief pads for beds ever. They create a unique cooling cushion between a person’s body and the mattress itself, all while helping to relief pressure on numerous key points of the body. Medical gel is one of the most widely used innovative technologies that provides excellent shock absorption, and when used with foam, can provide more cooling relief and sweat reduction compared to basic foam or standard mattresses. Gel is often a little more in terms of cost than foam, but often less than advanced air mattress topper systems. 

Benefits of Pressure Relief Mattress Toppers

While the initial benefit is definitely the ability to completely wipe out bedsores from their patients, a pressure relief mattress overlay can do so much more. There are health benefits as mentioned before that can aid the caregiver in terms of taking care of their patients easier, as well as health benefits that provide the ultimate comfort for patients while also improving quality of life. 

Anti-inflammatory and Circulation Improvements

Using one of the best pressure relief mattress topper offers circulation improvements to their patients due to the reduced pressure they have on key points of their body. Using air toppers as mentioned above can provide even further increased circulation for users as well. When a patient’s blood flow is better, it can help reduce inflammation of their joints and limbs while helping to further alleviate pressure sores. 

Spinal Alignment and Posture

All of our mattress toppers offer the ability to help ensure proper spinal positioning for the patients using them. When many people use a standard medical mattress, they often “sink” in as the bed gets broken in over time, which causes a person’s spine to bend inappropriately while they sleep. Using a pressure relieving mattress topper can eliminate this – especially if it’s used on a brand new mattress (although it can be used on mattresses that are already used as well) – keeping the spine straight as the bed-bound patient sleeps. 

Caregiver Benefits

Since caregivers for seniors and other handicapped or incapacitated patients often suffer back pain from constant adjustments of their patients, as well as providing bedsore treatment for them, these mattress toppers can help make their job easier. By eliminating a patient’s bedsores, it can also ensure that the caregiver or medical staff is also protected against likely infections that can occur with bodily fluids from patients (such as hepatitis C and other bacterial infections).

At AvaCare Medical we are always looking to have the best products available on the market in terms of pressure relief mattress toppers. All of our pressure relief mattress pads that cost more than $50 qualify for free shipping as well, and you can always give us a call at 1-877-813-7799 to place your order and ask questions that you may have for our customer care team!