Does anyone have any suggestions for treating bed sores?

I remember hearing about the sugar idea back in the 80's when mthr taught at nursing school and I believe it was in 3rd world countries. It was NOT powdered sugar in any case as that contains cornstarch to help it flow. This was in the same discussion as maggots for cleaning wounds which is why it stuck out in my mind. I sincerely hope medical science has advanced beyond this method! Look up PubMed to see research on particular medical topics.

Please do not apply powdered sugar to the wound. I have never ever heard of that & I was a home care nurse for three years & did a lot of woundcare. I am thinking the bacteria would multiply pretty quickly as some thrive on the sugar to grow.
I would call the person's PCP & ask for a referral to a wound care center or have the PCP order home care & have a RN come to evaluate it. Turning every two hours, an alternating pressure mattress or pad are good recommendations.
Often you don't know the depth of the ulcer until someone evaluates it. They are slow to heal, but they can indeed heal so that's a positive.
Also add protein to their diet as the body needs protein to build new tissue. (Ensure, Glucerna if diabetic) . Keep the area clean from urine and feces as well.
There are many good products available to treat bedsores.
Good luck to you.

The important thing is not to panic. Use cream as prescribed by the doctor, and try to continually reposition the patient. We use sensicare with zinc. If properly treated the sores will slowly heal. However, you need to continually watch the area, as the skin is never the same, it will always be more fragile. You can ask the doctor to send a skin wound nurse to monitor and help you give you guidance, Medicare will cover this situation.

Trying to keep them off the area is very important. Is the wound open?? It does need to be kept clean and dry. There are alot of cream etc available, check with your Dr and pharmacist for their advice. I was a wound care nurse for a home care and hospice... things change though... take care

The key is keeping the area clean and repositioning the pt., your loved one. You can turn them more than every 2 hrs. There are online medical supply sites where you can order products and some drug stores have a good selection. The type of product used depends on the stage of the wound. If the wound has an oder it may have a bacterial infection in it and this needs specific medication. If it is just a red area use Tegaderm or Opsite, this is a clear sticky dressing that protects the skin. If it is a deep sore, Polymem works good. Bag balm works well on red skin or rubbed over bony prominences. Also ointments with lanolin work well. Use pillows to cushon knees and feet when placeing your loved one on their side. As 195Austin said, lambs skin under the person works great. And air mattresses. You can ask the doctor to right an order for special mattress. But still the #1 important thing is consistant repositioning. Hope this helps.

There are so many products available most hospitals have wound care nurses who would be able to give you advice and sometimes you have to try many if the pt. is at home maybe home care could go in and asses the situation for deep ones we use to use a vacume system which was great for someone who could not be turned often but they are tricky to use then there are chambers is hospitals wound care dept early in my nursing days we did use sugar and what is old is often new so what ever works is good but many times it is hit or miss hospitals have options because they get freebies from sales reps I do hope you can get help it is a long term problem and happens even with the best of care-air mattresses are some times helpful but some people do not like them we use to use lambs wool sheets.