Once she had the one, there was an open sore, and it was right on the tailbone. I got it completely healed (closed wound) in a week, and in another week, the area had filled in nicely. Here is what I used, and maybe this will help some people out there. I used a soft consistency zinc oxide ointment. I'd first clean the surrounding area gently with a wipe, then dry and put on a bit of petroleum jelly. This worked as an adhesive.. I will explain later. I filled the wound with zinc oxide ointment (YES!), and to keep the ointment in place, I cut a small swatch of the felted fabric lining of a disposable bed pad, large enough to cover the wound completely and go over the edges (which were smeared with vaseline / petroleum jelly), and this held the swatch in place. The only thing the swatch does is to keep the zinc oxide ointment in place. The zinc oxide keeps should then be pressed out to the edges of the wound, using gentle pressure on the swatch. When it is all filled in, it is protected from urine, ammonia (from urine) and other contaminants, and zinc oxide is one of the most miraculous (and cheap) antibiotic remedies available. It is far better than an antibiotic ointment, in my experience. I believe that it is capable of treating MRSA sores.. I've used it to treat nasty staphylococcus sores, and also an open wound (on my thumb) which smelled like rotten meat and looked like it would need a skin graft. The triple antibiotic ointment was doing much of nothing. When I switched to the zinc oxide ointment, the wound smelled sweet and clean and seemingly dead tissue re-established a blood supply and healed beautifully. The other great thing about this kind of a treatment (zinc oxide) is that it allows and even encourages the wound to remain open, so that it can heal from the bottom up (as it should). That ulcerated, dead area must fill in with new cells from the bottom up. Any doctor who knows his / her stuff can tell you the same. One more thing: Some of the nasty staph infections are lying dormant under the skin in the form of a carbuncle, waiting to flare up or seed new infections. They are anaerobic, meaning that they do NOT like oxygen, but they are also somewhat resistant to oxygen. However, they will try to lay dormant and the sore may actually appear to heal over or have a scaly "roof". This is not a healed sore. Do not try to open or squeeze such a sore as it may go into the bloodstream and cause septicemia! I did the following with such a sore (on myself). I daubed the non-open sore generously with zinc oxide ointment and covered it with a bandage, then went to bed. By the next morning, the sore had opened to reveal a gaping hole! No problem! I simply irrigated the wound with the zinc oxide ointment generously and kept it covered with a bandage. In about four days, it was almost completely healed!

Just use an air mattress and alternating air pump, and you should not have any bedsores, but if you do, you might want to ask your doctor about the zinc oxide ointment. They might tell you, "No!", but doctors are entitled to their opinion. I just know what worked for me!

BTW, Please accept this sincere compliment: This is the best elder care resource I have found on the internet!