Israel Matzav

Israelis invent new treatment for bed sores

This is slightly off my usual fare, but it caught my eye because my Mom a"h (may she rest in peace) suffered greatly from bed sores during the last years of her life. Mom was immobile in the last years of her life and quite simply, nothing helped the bedsores. Contrary to what many of you may believe from their name, 'bed sores' don't just come from lying in bed. Ask anyone who uses a wheelchair for a prolonged period of time. Now, there's hope.

Freeman said that Dermastream has already passed clinical trials in Israeli hospitals and may be available in the U.S. within the next year.

Dermastream employs a special solution developed at Freeman's TAU laboratory, thus offering a new approach to chronic wound care- a specialty known as "continuous streaming therapy."

"Our basic idea is simple. We treat the wound by streaming a solution in a continuous manner. Traditional methods require wound scraping to remove necrotic tissue. That is expensive, painful and extremely uncomfortable to the patient. And while active ingredients applied with bandages on a wound may work for a couple of hours, after that the wound fights back. The bacteria build up again, creating a tedious and long battle," said Freeman.

Dermastream "flows" under a plastic cover that seals the wound, providing negative pressure that promotes faster healing.

The active biological ingredient, delivered in a hypertonic medium, works to heal hard-to-shake chronic wounds.

Freeman said that while traditional bandaging methods may take months to become fully effective, Dermastream can heal chronic wounds in weeks.

Dermastream is intended for use in hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics and homecare. Freeman has founded a company that is currently collaborating with a Veterans Association hospital in Tucson, AZ, to bring the technology to the U.S. market.

I wish it had been available 5-6 years ago. Mom passed away a little more than four years ago. That's her picture at the top holding my youngest son (who is now five-years old). She would have been happy to use something that came from Israel that would have given her a lot of relief.

Something else to add to that "So you want to boycott Israel" video.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:59 PM