Drive Medical 14003 Med-Aire Replacement Pad for Alternating Pressure System

This product system helped to prevent bed sores, but you have set the air firmness dial at 75 percent of the setting. A soft air setting causes bed sores to form. Over time body perspiration makes the plastic crinkly. This new variable air mattress came with new rubber hose. Air pump has lasted about 2 1/2 years without breaking down, but I have a backup ready to go. I had great success with the whole variable air mattress system. It is still recommend to turn the patient, but it does have to be every two hours.

I love this, the pump finally failed after 11 years of use. I have replaced the mattress a few times. I have cats and sometimes i can find the holes and patch them but for 20.00 for a new one is very reasonable. I wake up feeling better. If I forget to turn it on I feel sore and achy. I keep the pump at the head of my bed so I can easily adjust it. I really do not hear it. Just a simple white noise.

This was the second air mattress that I have purchased for use on a hospital bed matress. I was pleased that this air mattress lasted for 4 years; the motor piece is still going strong. This mattress withstood may cleanings with bactericidal cleaners. The patient “loved” their bed and looked forward to getting into it at night. This patient was in bed for 14-16 hours/day and never had a pressure sore. That’s pretty good in my estimation. Beware of using any sharp objects around the mattress or tubings because it can be punctured. Super value for the money; I highly recommend!

This thing is a life change for people at risk of pressure sores; I use one for my infirm mother, who is paralyzed from the chest down. This allows her to remain comfortable and not have to worry about developing sores without needing to be manually adjusted and turned. We've been using these for about two years now. However, the seams that divide the channels the air flows through are a failure point and, after enough time, a small hole (as small as 1mm) will eventually open up somewhere and cause it to fail. It's important to make sure that both channels of air cells are inflating and deflating properly, and to identify a defect and either repair it (have had little success with this) or replace the pad completely. In my experience the pads are quite durable (my mother's legs/toes sometimes spasm and jab into it, and she'll press her palms hard into it to lift and reposition herself), and last about 8 months before a seam splits somewhere. In my limited research, other similar pads seem to also suffer from this issue, but at only $24 for a replacement I don't really feel it's necessary to spring for something pricier that will probably fail at about the same rate.

I purchased this as a replacement for the one my cat decided to pop a few one day while I was at the hospital. I can not sleep without this mattress topper. It’s like sleeping on clouds. It’s quiet, very well made. The material is thick and durable so my cat had to do some serious clawing because she’s ran across it for months and never caused any problems. I do not allow her to go in my room when I’m not home any longer but should the time come that for some reason I need a replacement, I will most definitely purchase again and again if needed .

Update: it lasted 3 months. Not because of the cats surprisingly but its defect on the seams. I have had to put in 32 patches all on the edges and I still hear hissing so I am missing at least one. I'm using vinyl glue and a previous mattress of this style i took apart for parts when it failed.. it is now the same cost of the better quality. If you don't mind patching and have the time and resources great but it last half the time before needing repairs as the previous and the expense of the glue and time out weighs the savings. When i contacted the company i got canned email response that basically said out of luck * I have been using a more expensive but similar styled adjustable mattress pad. I am mostly bed-ridden. I have limited mobility and my family has 4 cats...the pads take a beating and while I have become and expert in repairing them, it can be difficult after a while. I was paying more than twice as much for a single pad from another company. I'm currently on a very fixed income and was looking for a replacement that was less expensive. I was afraid it wouldn't work with my pump which isn't from the same company but it worked perfectly. I appreciate the fact that it doesn't have flaps, the other one does and they never hold it in place properly and constantly got in the way. I can buy two of these for the price of one of the other. I definitely recommend, though having only had it for a few days I can't currently attest to durability but it seems quite well made.

I take care of a man in a hospital bed who used this same mattress for years. It needs to be replaced often as the material will harden due to a reaction with oils in his skin which makes the seams separate. It is uneven and caused pain points as well as making him sweat badly even in a cool room. Upgraded to a multi-chamber mattress and now he no longer has pain nor does he sweat even when the house is warm. If you can't afford one of the multi-chamber mattresses this will suffice, but keep in mind it will cause pressure points as well as sweating and skin-breakdown in fully bed-bound individuals. Even with daily care skin breakdown can still occur due to lack of breathability.