Blanket lifter for feet: keep bedding off sore toes and ankles

Who a blanket lifter for feet helps

Some nights the lightest sheet feels heavy. The NHS advice for a gout attack says to try to keep bedclothes off the affected joint at night, and that is exactly what a blanket lifter does. Hospitals call the same idea a bed cradle.

Say your mother is home after bunion surgery. Every time she turns, the duvet drags across her foot and wakes her. A lifter at the end of the bed makes a small tent, so the covers keep her warm without touching the foot.

Performance Health, a UK supplier of bed cradles, describes them for people with sensitive or damaged skin, limited movement in the legs, or sores, and for some people at risk of pressure ulcers.

• Gout or other painful joints in the feet and ankles
• Recovery after foot, ankle or toe surgery
• Sensitive skin on the feet, for example with neuropathy
• People who spend long hours in bed and find the covers press down
• Partners who want to share a duvet without disturbing a sore foot

What to measure on the bed first

Most lifters slide a flat base or bar under the mattress at the foot end, and the weight of the mattress holds it in place. So the bed matters as much as the lifter. A thin mattress on a slatted frame behaves differently from a thick mattress on a divan.

Measure the height you need, too. Lie in the usual sleeping position, with the feet in their normal place, and ask someone to measure from the mattress to just above the highest point of the feet or a bulky dressing. Then add a hand's width for turning.

Vive gives its lifter's adjustable height as 26 to 34 in (66 to 86 cm) and says it can be fixed to the floor for lower beds. The page does not say where that height is measured from, so ask Vive: "Is the 26 to 34 inch range measured from the floor or from the top of the mattress?"

• Height from mattress top to just above the feet, plus room to turn
• Mattress height from the floor
• Mattress type: standard, memory foam or air mattress
• Bed base: slats, divan, adjustable base or hospital bed
• Clear floor space at the end of the bed for a floor-standing lifter

How the Vive lifter compares with a hospital-style cradle

The product here is the Vive Blanket Lifter, verified on Amazon.com in the US. To put its numbers in context, the facts below sit next to the adjustable bed cradle that Performance Health lists for hospitals, care homes and home use in the UK.

The main difference is shape. The Vive lifter is a single extendable rail with two clips, while the hospital-style cradle has a wide base under the mattress and a frame over the legs. Either way, read the dimensions against your own bed.

• Vive Blanket Lifter: steel frame, height adjustable from 26 to 34 in (66 to 86 cm), per Vive
• Vive: one extendable rail and two blanket clips; fits under the mattress or fixes to the floor
• Vive dimensions listed as 17 x 13.5 in (43 x 34 cm), without saying which way
• Performance Health adjustable cradle: 18 to 27 in (46 to 69 cm) tall on a 14 x 28 in (36 x 71 cm) base
• Performance Health flags natural rubber latex on its listing; Vive does not mention latex

Setting it up and making the bed

The Canadian Red Cross instructions are a good model. Slide the base between the bed base and the mattress at the foot of the bed, make sure no part of the cradle touches the person, and set the same height on both sides.

Then tighten every screw, or check that spring buttons have popped fully out of their holes, before anyone gets into bed. Lay the top covers so they reach the shoulders, and drape the lower end over the frame so it hangs clear of the feet.

Imagine your father makes his own bed. A light blanket over the frame, with a second one over the shoulders, keeps him warm without a heavy weight at the end. Clip the covers if they tend to slide off.

• Fit the lifter with the bed empty, not with someone lying in it
• Tighten all screws or check buttons before each night
• Use lighter layers over the frame, warmer layers higher up
• Clean with detergent and water and dry well, per the Red Cross
• Avoid scouring pads and solvents such as acetone

When to ask a nurse or occupational therapist

A lifter takes the weight of the bedding off, but the heels still rest on the mattress. Heel and pressure care is a clinical matter, so if your relative spends most of the day in bed, a nurse or occupational therapist should look at the whole setup.

After surgery, the ward often has its own advice about raising the leg and keeping a dressing clear. Before buying, ask: "Should we use a bed cradle at home, and how high should it be?" The Red Cross also says to use a cradle only as your healthcare provider directs.

With gout, the NHS says to get urgent advice if the pain keeps getting worse, or comes with a high temperature, shivers or feeling sick. That can mean an infection in the joint.

• Red, broken or blistered skin on the heels or toes
• A new wound or dressing on the foot
• Pain that keeps getting worse, or a fever with a hot, swollen joint
• Someone who cannot move their legs or feel their feet well
• A hospital bed or air mattress, where the fit needs checking

Common mistakes with a bed cradle

Most problems come from fit, not from the lifter itself. A frame that is too low still lets the covers rest on the toes, and one placed too far up the bed can knock the shins when someone turns.

Keep the frame in mind at night, too. A floor-standing lifter can catch a foot on the way to the bathroom, so leave a clear route and a light within reach.

• Setting the height for lying still, not for turning over
• Leaving screws loose after adjusting
• Piling heavy blankets on top so the frame sags
• Forgetting the floor-standing feet on a night walk
• Using it instead of asking about skin or heel care