Ironsides Blog
My blog is very eclectic and blog articles include angling, what's been on the television and basically anything else that comes to mind
Roho Cushions are fantastic until they develop a leak
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'I've been using Roho cushions for many years now and thankfully have not had any serious issues. However, I recently had my first skin problem that was directly caused by the Roho. Unfortunately, my Roho developed a leak without me realising. When I checked my skin in the morning we found a pressure sore on the right cheek. Luckily for me it wasn't serious and was gone within a couple of weeks.
Roho cushions are an absolutely fantastic pressure relieving devices that have almost certainly prevented millions and millions of wheelchair users from developing pressure sores. However, they do have one flaw. Roho cushions use air to keep them inflated. The Roho cushion is made of a neoprene rubber type material that fairly tough can be punctured by sharp objects and wear. It's important that you take good care of your Roho cushion. Don't keep sharp objects in your pockets, don't let pets jump on your cushion, and be careful that you don't drop hot ash if you are a smoker.
It can take a little as half an hour to develop a pressure sore if your pressure cushion isn't working properly. If your Roho cushion develops a leak without you realising you may bottom out in your wheelchair. This means your backside could be in contact with the hard base of your wheelchair. Obviously, the longer you are sitting on a hard surface the more chance you have of developing a pressure sore.
What the Roho really needs is some kind of alarm system that will alert you if the cushion is suddenly starts losing pressure. I don't see a problem in designing something that could easily be screwed onto the valve. After all, you can get similar devices for checking car tyre pressures so they already exist, one just needs to be made and modified so it works with a Roho cushion. If suddenly your cushion malfunctioned and her started escaping, a device which alerts you of the problem could save you from having to spend weeks or months in bed, or even more seriously surgery in hospital.