Certain equipment can promote the bedridden patient’s comfort and help prevent pressure ulcers and other complications of immobility. A wood or hard plastic footboard helps prevent footdrop by maintaining proper alignment. It also raises bed linens off of the patient’s feet. The foot cradle, a horizontal or arched bar over the end of the bed, keeps bed linens off of the patient’s feet, preventing skin irritation and breakdown, especially in patients with peripheral vascular disease or neuropathy. A bed board, made of wood or wood covered with canvas, firms the mattress and is especially useful for the patient with spinal injuries. The metal basic frame and the metal trapeze (a triangular piece attached to this frame) allow the patient with arm mobility and strength to lift himself off the bed, facilitating bed making and bedpan positioning. The metal overbed cradle, a cagelike frame positioned on top of the mattress, keeps bed linens off of the patient with burns, open wounds, or a wet cast.

A vinyl water mattress used to prevent or treat pressure ulcers exerts less pressure on the skin than the standard hospital mattress. An alternating pressure pad (a vinyl pad divided into chambers filled with air or water and attached to an electric pump) serves the same purpose, but it also stimulates circulation by alternately inflating and deflating its chambers.

The reusable water mattress replaces the standard hospital mattress and rests on a sheet of heavy cardboard placed over the bedsprings; the smaller, less bulky disposable mattress rests on top of the standard hospital mattress. All supplemental bed equipment is optional, depending on the patient’s needs. Reusable and disposable water mattresses are also available. (See Types of supplemental bed equipment.)