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

I would recommend this item to anyone

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!

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.

These pads work as expected but tend to develop leaks. I’m glad the price has come down somewhat for this reason. I’m sole care provider for a parent who’s been bedridden for right at 4 years now. Having a medical background has helped tremendously and it’s nice that these products are available for the home market. With these pads I don’t have to turn and try to keep a patient on their sides for hours at a time. It’s simply impossible to do this with Alzheimer’s patients. In the 4 years I’ve been using these there hasn’t been any pressure sores so that speaks volumes as to the importance of this device.

These mattress pads work great but aren't as sturdy as I would expect. The original one last a couple, maybe 3 years then started to slowly lose air.. I replaced the mattress topper and it doednt last even half as long as the original one did. That's not cool if this one bust, I'll order another small order and hope for the best. And update y'all when I do!

Here's how: we bought an extra $16 pad for my mom and cut it roughly in the middle with scissors to a square size (it's 36"x36" then or you can do narrower if you want to adjust to your couch's depth) and used the glue to seal the opened cells (those pads always come with a special glue for repairs in case you accidentally get a hole in a cell). That way you can place this smaller pad on a sofa or chair and prevent skin ulcers even while watching tv or seating for extended time. And frankly this was the best investment we did for my mom, using it both in her bed under the sheet and on our couch. For the one used on the couch i'd recommend buying the $27 version that comes with flaps though, this allows you to "tuck" the pad between the seat and back cushions. That way it'll stay in place, otherwise, when cells start getting filled with air the whole pad tends to contract and if your couch material is slippery, the whole pad may move forward sideways.This very inexpensive investment was a game changer for my mom. We didn't need a special bed tossing you left and right like a salad and just used this pad for over 6 years in her regular bed like a mattress pad under the bed sheet. Not once she had a skin ulcer, actually her skin was that of a baby.

It may not seem comfortable at first but it has helped with hip pain, needing far less turning during sleep in my sides. When the air switches from one set of pillow cells to the others it creates a gentle tingling like a minute long mild massage. It is noisy doing this but you get used to it or you can run a fan or white noise machine to help. For the inexpensive cost compared to medical supply stores, this can't be beat.

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.