Medical Air Mattresses and Patients&#; Needs

Medical air mattresses are specialized sleep surfaces that can encourage the healing of pressure injuries or can help to prevent injuries in highly susceptible residents.  There are a variety of features to choose from, and when the comfort and well-being of your patients is on the line, you need to make the best decisions every time. The two steps for choosing the best medical air mattress are selecting the correct therapy style and determining the proper safety features.

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How can you use an air bed for patient therapy?

Medical air beds can be used to treat and prevent ulcers, pressure sores, excessive sweating, maceration, and pulmonary issues. Each medical mattress system has its own unique features to make it the optimal support surface for patient therapy and rehabilitation. 

What are the best patient air mattresses for bed sores?

Alternating Pressure air mattresses are recommended for patients who suffer from pressure ulcers and bed sores.

What are the different types of healthcare air mattresses?

The three most popular healthcare air mattress systems are alternating pressure, low air loss, and lateral rotation. Here is how each air bed can impact your patients:

What Are the Benefits of Adjustable Air Beds?
Customized Comfort for You and Your Partner

Last updated on August 19,

Once reserved for holidays and house guests, air beds have recently carved out a much broader niche in the bed world, due largely to the efforts of the Sleep Number mattress company, maker of the popular Sleep Number bed.

Today's more robust, upscale air beds look similar to innerspring mattresses, but use air in lieu of coils for support. The air bed's most attractive feature is its adjustable firmness, which can be easily tweaked by increasing or decreasing the air pressure in the mattress. For years, Sleep Number (formerly Select Comfort) has been the only name in the game when it comes to mattresses with air bladders, but that's about to change as the company's original patents begin to expire.

Note: Here we are covering adjustable air beds that are a permanent part of your bedroom. If you looking for a portable solution for camping or guests, we have a separate guide on portable, Inflatable Air Beds.

How Are Air Mattresses Made?

When evaluating air mattresses, it is important to understand the key elements of their construction.

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Relative to a traditional innerspring mattress, the key differentiator of an air mattress is its unique air-filled core, commonly referred to as an air chamber. Each air chamber is connected to an electric air pump, which is located either inside or underneath the bed, and is operated via a remote control. Air chambers are typically made from either vinyl or rubber, using various techniques to ensure a tight seal that minimizes leaks. Although some air bed owners do notice small amounts of natural air loss over time, this is typically something that can be easily adjusted on a periodic basis using the electric air pump.

Some air mattresses feature two separate air chambers with a foam rail in the center to provide support between them. This design provides the obvious benefits of both customized air pressure on each side and motion separation between the sides. That said, in some models, the center rail can be a source of minor discomfort in the event that one or both sides are set to particularly low pressure levels.

The air chamber(s) are surrounded by four walls of sturdy foam encasing, as well as several layers of upholstery on top. These top layers tend to greatly resemble the padding and cover of an innerspring mattress, and can be evaluated the same way. Adjustable air mattresses are sometimes sold with specific foundations, however they can often utilize traditional mattress foundations as well. In most cases, air beds will require some assembly once you get them into your home.

What are the Benefits of an Adjustable Air Mattress?

Perhaps the most highly acclaimed, and well-advertised, benefit of the air mattress is its adjustable firmness. By increasing or decreasing the amount of air in the mattress, air beds can be configured to a precise level of desired firmness, or even different levels of firmness on each side. Air bed advocates find this advantageous in many ways, not only to resolve differing preferences between sleeping companions, but also to adapt to changing preferences for any one person over time. Some people find their comfort and support needs simply change over the natural course of a mattress' 10+ year lifespan. Others find their inclinations are influenced by shorter-term life events such as pregnancy or injury. Still others claim that their preferences vary on an even more frequent basis, depending on their activities that day for example.

In an air mattress, support is provided by the air-filled core. As such, air pressure needs to be adjusted to a relatively firm setting in order for the mattress to do its job. Some people find that the mattress loses its comfort at this level of firmness, leading to the common complaint among air bed detractors that air mattresses are either too soft to be supportive for the back, or too firm to be comfortable. Enthusiasts counter that the easy adjustability of an air bed allows you to find the precise level of pressure that delivers this balance appropriately. If you are concerned about finding such a balance, it is recommended that you go with a firmer air pressure setting for support and add a memory foam topper or other cushioning layer for comfort.

Additional Air Mattress Features

For those seeking the best possible air mattress experience, a number of additional features are available on higher-end models. Extra layers of cushioning, from traditional pillow-tops to memory foam pads, can enhance the comfort of the air mattress. Remote controls can be cordless, and are available with lighted keypads and programmable settings. And quieter air pumps, sometimes referred to as a "whisper quiet" pumps, can help prevent noise disturbance from any late-night adjustments. (When running, a standard air pump usually sounds something like a hair dryer wrapped in a blanket.)

Air Mattress Manufacturers

Leading brands of upscale air mattresses include Sleep Number and Comfortaire. Sleep Number's patents reach their 20-year expiration, more manufacturers have announced adjustable air beds. Idle Sleep has announced its Idle Air mattress. And Saatva will soon release a mattress with a adjustable air core.

To find other air mattress lines, please browse our extensive list of air mattress manufacturers and product lines here.

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