The word escara comes from the Greco-Latin "eschăra" and this from the Greek "ἐσχάρα" or "eskhara". An eschar, also known as an ulcer or sore, is an infection, produced in patients who need to stay in bed for long periods of time and do not have the possibility of having a correct position to relieve pressure on an area of the body in particular. More specifically, bedsores are dark-colored crusts, which originate due to the loss of vitality of a living area affected by gangrene, or greatly affected by friction or rubbing.
Bedsores can occur in any area of the body, but most frequently appear in areas such as the back, knees, buttocks, shoulders and back, because generally the patient is lying on some of these areas. As mentioned before, bedsores are the product of constant pressure that deteriorates or spoils the skin and the tissues found under it. In other words, this constant pressure squeezes the small blood vessels that provide the skin with oxygen and nutrients; and by not receiving these for a certain time, the tissues die and then when this sore occurs.
Among its main causes we can mention: lack of hydration or nutrition, constant friction with tissues, moisture on the skin, the inability of a person to change position, continuous sliding of the skin on any type of surface and inactivity or bedding.
Bedsores can vary in severity, from those that are somewhat mild, which occur when the skin only becomes slightly red; even those that are severe, that are deep and can reach the muscle and even the bone.
The people most prone to these infections are the elderly with limited mobility, people with eating disorders, hospitalized patients, people with diseases such as cancer, people with brain and spinal cord injuries, poly-traumatized people and people with musculoskeletal disorders.
