Vive Alternating Air Pressure Mattress Pad - The Original Bed Sore Prevention Solution - Hospital Topper for Bedridden Patients - Includes Waterproof, Breathable Ulcer Cushion & Whisper Quiet Pump

I purchased this alternating pressure pad for my mother, who lives in Cuba. I chose it to help improve her comfort and prevent pressure sores. The product arrived well packaged and looks well made. Setup was easy, and everything seems to be working as expected so far. Once my mother starts using it regularly, I will come back to update this review with long-term results. Overall, I’m satisfied with the purchase and hopeful it will make a positive difference for her care.

My husband isn't bedridden full time but tends to lay on one side anytime he is in the bed. He had the beginning of two bed sores. I read the reviews on this product and decided to give it a try. It works perfectly!!! He has had NO hot spots since he has been using this product. What a blessing!!!!! I think the price is fair and so far it appears to be good quality. We are both so happy we found and purchased this mattress pad.

I considered buying a new mattress. Bought a topper instead – it made the bed too soft, the pain worse. A warm waterbed would be my first choice, next a sleep number bed. As I was looking at options, I discovered the Vive Alternating Pressure Pad. I remember those from working in nursing homes and the sound of the pump would keep most from sleeping. I was surprised that the box was so small and most of it was taken up by the pump. Another surprise when I unfolded the mattress pad and thought I got the wrong size – it was a foot too long for my bed. (That was before it was inflated.) While the pump is quiet, it hums. If you notice night noises, you will notice this. Originally, I placed the mattress so the pump would be at the foot of the bed. However, the air inlets were on the wrong side, the hose not long enough so I turned it around locating the pump above my head. All night I could feel the vibrations through my pillow. It would be nice if the hoses were longer, if there was a choice between right or left air inlets, if there was a strap midway to keep the mattress from easing sideways. It takes effort to attach the hoses to the mattress. Lying on the mattress, I could feel the air pockets filling, releasing. I could feel the pockets through the sheet pressing against me, like a massage. I DID NOT feel pain sleeping on my back or side. WOW! My knees did not hurt. My legs did not get numb. I woke, stood up feeling different – not like a broken pretzel. This alternating pressure mattress is not just for those who must be in bed for long periods of time. I’m almost 75, it helps with arthritis pain, with the lingering pain of old injuries. I would buy this again!

This has been on my mom’s bed for about a week now. It was fairly easy and straigh forward for me to assemble and the components are of good quality. She adapted to it very well. She has a severe hearing impairment, but even still, the noise that this creates seems minimal. The inflation/deflation transition is gradual enough that one only feels very slight movement. I adjusted the pressure two settings below the maximum. At maximum the pressure is almost rock-hard in the inflated cells and it didn’t seem as if that was absolutely necessary in my mom’s case, because she doesn’t weigh that much. My biggest concern is that her cat sinks her claws into it so I have doubled a light sheet blanket to cover it; so far so good.

When I came across this mattress pad, I could not believe how affordable it was! So much cheaper than the full mattresses or beds similar, yet still had a pump with it, and covered the entire bed. My dad has been very ill the past few months, and pretty much confined to the bed for a good portion of those months, especially in the beginning. 3 weeks in, and he started to develop bed sores on his bottom. He was in and out of the hospital twice, and in a rehab center for 8 days in-between those hospital visits, and those bed sores, only got worse. So, I went searching for something to help with them so they would not get worse. This has been a huge help! They have not gotten any worse, no new ones have formed, and the other ones have started to heal nicely with the help of this mattress, Medihoney, and Terrasil. As someone who has chemical sensitivities, I was concerned I would need to air this out before bringing it in the house, but the smell was not very noticeable at all, until I put my nose right down to it. Even then, not terrible. Being vinyl, I just knew it would be awful smelling, but it wasn't. I was able to put it on his bed, and be in the small enclosed room he has with no issues at all. I thought once I closed his bedroom door, that it would then permeate the tiny room, but again to my surprise, it was not noticeable, even in the slightest way. I had left it, closed the door, and did not return for an hour, and I could not smell it. Such a pleasant surprise. The pump is so extremely quiet, we cannot hear it. Dad can never hear it at all, but I can sometimes hear a bit of a hiss when it is adjusting, BUT there has to be complete silence for me to hear it, and I have excellent hearing. If there is any movement going on in the room, or the next one, I cannot hear it. If the radio is on, forget it, no way can I hear it. It really is impressive how quiet it is. I have it hanging on the side of his platform bed at the end, and it hangs perfectly right there, and it's out of the way. It took about 10 minutes on the highest level for it to inflate. It does it very quietly and slowly. So much so, you might not think it's doing anything at all for a minute. Then you see some of the little pillowing form, and you know it's working like it should. Once it was inflated, I laid directly on top of it for a few minutes to see what it felt like. In just those few minutes, I decided I must have one for myself! It was very soothing, and comforting to lay on. I was kind of surprised to feel that way so quickly, but I really want one! I will have to wait though, as it is not a necessity for me, just a want. I sleep in my recliner anyway, but this could be used there as well since it is so adjustable. We have it set to the highest setting, and my dad didn't even notice it at all the first week or so. He said it was comfortable, but couldn't tell it was there. It was just like his mattress. He is just not very observant, and has dementia too, so I chalked it up to that. I asked him last night if he noticed it, now that it's been 2 full weeks, and he said he does, but that it's so subtle. I asked if he didn't have it anymore, would he miss it, and he said a resounding YES. I asked him if it was comforting the way it adjusts, and he also said yes. It's strangely comforting! Like I said, I want one! Mine did not come with any straps, but maybe it is meaning flaps that are at each end of the mattress to slide under the mattress to hold it in place. We have not really tucked them under, and it has stayed in place with no issues at all. I have it directly on the mattress, then have the fitted sheet on top of it, and also a bed pad on top of the sheet, which is probably why it took him so long to notice it doing anything. I do turn the mattress off when he gets up in the morning. I wasn't sure if it would need pumped up again every night, but it doesn't. It holds the air perfectly. Before he gets in bed, I turn it on again. It probably doesn't matter when I turn it back on though, because it is still fully inflated, which was a nice surprise. I thought I might need to turn it on 10 minutes before he would go to bed each night, but I am happy to say, that is not the case. Whether you need this for someone who is bed-bound, or want it just to have, it's one of the best, most inexpensive bed items for anyone. You'll wish you'd had it years ago. *This mattress pad was purchased at full price, not discounted or free.

My 98 year old mother became bedridden two months ago and I am her primary caregiver. Despite turning her on her side every couple of hours she still had developed a red area with some skin lesions on her tailbone. After a week of using this mattress on her hospital bed the redness is gone! It's been two weeks now and her skin looks good. It's working as advertised and the motor is very quiet. I have it on the lowest setting. Very impressed with the quality and price.

We had purchased this pad for my mother who had spent almost two weeks in the hospital and was unable to get out of bed and walk around. She had developed what they call “fishers” on her bottom in between her cheeks (tearing of the skin). My mother expressed how painful and uncomfortable this was for her and before we had purchased this pad, And we were trying to alternate her body position like they were doing in the hospital to relieve the pressure on her open wound. However this wasn’t working so I decided to try this pad out. After her almost two week Hospital visit, we used this mattress pad for her. My mother immediately said that she didn’t feel pressure anymore on that area and was actually able to withstand sitting directly on her bottom. Within about 3-5 days we seen her exposed skin start to scab up and heal itself. I do believe this pad works because when my mother would get out of bed and sit in her recliner chair or the sofa, she would still say that she felt too much pressure on her backside and would want to go back in bed and sit on her mattress pad. I say sit on her mattress pad in bed because we also purchased a large pillow wedge so she could actually sit up while in bed. We don’t have one of those fancy beds that can be adjusted to sit up in bed. This machine made absolute no noise which was amazing. It also was a great size (twin) that has longer flaps (flaps are thin and do not inflate) at the top and bottom of the pad to allow you to tuck in underneath your mattress pad to avoid it from moving around. We used this feature but we also used a rug grip pad that we already had at home. So I can’t say for sure if this pad stayed in place because of the flaps that are built in or if it was the rug grip pad that we used. The only downfall I can report on is threat my mother asked for the mattress pad to be a little less firm. The pump has a dial where you can adjust how firm the mattress pad gets. We adjusted it all the way to soft however from my perspective of just feeling the pad, it didn’t seem like the pad got any softer than when it was positioned at “firm” But my mother did say that it was comfortable to sleep in, however the 4 stars for comfortability instead of 5 stars is for the reason that the pad didn’t in her opinion feel like it got softer with the dial. This mattress pad was worth the money to see my mothers wounds heal and to give her immediate relief of them. I would definitely recommend this pad.

It was very good, fulfilled its purpose.