Urinary and faecal incontinence have been cited as risk factors for pressure ulcers, with faecal incontinence being the better predictor of pressure ulcer formation ( Clever et al.,2002). Additionally, patients with fecal incontinence have more than 20 times the risk of pressure ulcers than continent patients. Incontinence increases risk by causing chemical irritation and creating an excessively moist environment.
Excoriation and maceration can occur even after a brief episode of incontinence ( Calianno, 2000). Therefore, mea-sures focusing on the skin care of patients with incontinence are recommended to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers on sacrum and ischium ( Lowery, 1995). Also, there is often confusion between a pressure ulcer and a lesion caused by moisture which can be a result of incontinence of urine and/
or bowel. Therefore, the differentiation between the two lesions is clinically important because prevention and