Foam, Gel or Air?
You're in the middle of a lecture and you can't stand it. How much longer is your chemistry professor going to talk? Admittedly, she gets a little long-winded when she talks about covalent bonding. But your discomfort isn't the usual bored-student variety.
When you're sitting too long in one spot, you need comfort. When you have any kind of a muscular or neuromuscular condition (arthritis, anyone?), you need a supportive cushion for your seat and/or back. The question for the ages, and one your chemistry prof will love, is: foam, gel or air?
With so many choices, from basic models to deluxe-contour "ahhh" wheelchair cushions, let's review the options on the blackboard before your head explodes from picking wheelchair cushions to buy!
FOAM CUSHIONS
Example: Jay Soft Combi W/Lumbar Support Option Foam Wheelchair Cushion
? Easily the cheapest, but high-quality.
? Won't leak.
? Can be shaped to fit your back, which is not easy because you used to be a linebacker.
? Wear out quickly and lose shape.
GEL CUSHIONS
Example: Invacare Gentle Contour With Flogel Gel Wheelchair Cushion.
? Can leak. Your professor would tell you it's viscosity.
? Contoured to support your spine and often include memory foam.
? Absorb less impact, say if you hit a wall while cramming for the chemistry final.
? Too heavy.
? More expensive, especially for a college student.
? Have inserts to keep your legs from getting restless during class.
AIR CUSHIONS
Example: ROHO Airlite Air Wheelchair Cushion
? Inflate as large as you need.
? Distribute pressure evenly, which your prof will tell you is important.
? Higher maintenance, a con when you're trying to concentrate on chemistry lectures.
? More expensive, especially with your student loans.
? One jab from the wiseguy behind you and all the air leaks out.
Did you take good notes? For a college student, foam or gel wheel chair cushions may be your best bet, especially if you need the extra comfort of a cooling wheelchair cushion for when your prof. talks for thirty minutes about viscosity. The good news: With all you've learned from your wheelchair cushions, you can ace that chemistry final with confidence.
Wheelchair Cushions and Medicare
Oh no, do I have to fill out a Medicare form for my wheel chair cushions too? Haven't I suffered enough? When will it end?
Take heart and fluff up that foam cooling wheelchair cushion or Invacare Lo Contour that breathes to cool you down just like a cooling wheelchair cushion. Medicare can actually reimburse for wheelchair cushions.
Retailers such as SpinLife let you know with a little "M" symbol that products are eligible for Medicare. All of the wheel chair cushions on SpinLife.com have the "M" symbol. Retailers selling wheelchair cushions will usually advertise that the products are Medicare eligible. You can also search the Medicare.gov database of approved manufacturers.
If you still have a headache, you probably have been sitting too long in the heat. Now that you can stop worrying (for the moment) about Medicare, take a load off, take an aspirin, and don't touch another Medicare or insurance foam for the rest of the day.
Cushions: Try Before You Buy
"Shop...and...compare online...before...you buy!" No, that isn't you with sore muscles or a gotta-go complex. That's William Shatner in the Priceline commercials.
While Captain Kirk, aka Denny Crane, aka Mr. Priceline, doesn't show any signs of needing a wheelchair, he's a try-before-you-buy kind of guy. You can't try before you buy with airlines, but you can with wheel chair cushions.
You can't send back wheelchair cushions you bought online--at least not if you've had them for a year! But you can go down to your local mobility aids store or consult your doctor. Ask to try out several before picking wheelchair cushions. Try a cooling wheelchair cushion or a solid air one with a little bounce. Check the way it fastens to your wheelchair. Is it large enough? If you have an Enterprise "captain's chair" in your electric wheelchair, does the cushion help you or make you leap out of your chair as if the ship's being attacked by Klingons?
As another "Star Trek" star (who pretended to replace his captain in the Priceline ads), would say, it's only logical to try before you buy. Now, if you could just try out that Hawaiian vacation. Oh well. Ahead...Warp Nine...engage!
All Cushions Are Cool
You're sweating under the California or Tuscan sun. You can't find a freezer cooling wheelchair cushion or cooling wheelchair pad anywhere. Specialty stores don't carry what you need, and you're not able to enjoy your vacation. Don't book a flight home. Buy a one-way ticket to cool with new wheel chair cushions.
All wheelchair cushions cool you and circulate air. Some of our "chill out" favorites:
? Varilite Evolution Air Wheelchair Cushion
? Varilite Pro-Form Single Air Wheelchair Cushion
? Varilite Pro-Form Dual Air Wheelchair Cushion
? Invacare Personal Seat Gel Wheelchair Cushion
? Invacare Gentle Contour With Flogel Gel Wheelchair Cushion
? Invacare Gentle Contour With Visco Foam Wheelchair Cushion
Your new cushion keeps you relaxed and there's a mai tai, nice chianti, Napa Valley white wine, or daiquiri in a frosted glass waiting. In terms of hot vacation spots, your wheelchair should get its own Fodor's five-star rating!
Cooling Cushion or Pad? Keep Cool
You're hot. But you knew that. You're also uncomfortably warm thanks to friction. Do you choose a cooling wheelchair cushion or a cooling wheelchair pad? Picking wheelchair cushions is hard! Why not both if it's a hot day and you're dealing with friction? You can fasten a cooling wheelchair pad to the chair back, and a cooling wheelchair cushion to the seat.
You're so hot you're cool. But can you stay cool so you never let them see you sweat? Many cooling wheelchair cushions and pads contain technology to stay cool for days without refrigeration.
So let your natural coolness and hot looks shine through now that you don't have to worry about heatstroke. You're on fire thanks to your personality, not because of your chair.
Cooling Cushions for Kids
You have the coolest kid around. Or you are the coolest kid around. Unfortunately, with friction and sliding, you don't feel like you're all that. You feel hot and sticky and uncomfortable.
You may be big enough to realize you need a change, but adult wheelchair cushions won't work for you. Once again, you're too young. Not to worry. Companies such as Supracor make wheel chaor cushions just for you. Imagine, a cooling wheelchair cushion or wheelchair pad just your size. You stay cool, and best of all, as you grow, the cooling wheelchair cushion or cooling wheelchair pad can grow with you.
If you need to be cooler, and what kid doesn't, ask your parents or doctor about getting a cushioning wheelchair back that ventilates and supports. You're a kid in complete control, you have big dreams, and now that you're not hot and sticky, nothing's going to slow you down.
Wheelchair Cushions Worn Out?
You're pondering the essence of existence and the nature of God. In the meantime, can you answer yes to three of these questions?
1) Does your back feel stiff and sore, though you just got a new mattress and magnetic belt or pad?
2) Do you have osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, arythrogryposis, or other condition that requires you to use a wheelchair?
3) Are you wheelchair-bound permanently (quadriplegic, paraplegic)?
4) Do you use wheel chair cushions and pads?
5) Do you dread being in your wheelchair?
While many conditions that require a wheelchair also drive you to get out of the wheelchair several times a day--you should be moving around anyway to prevent muscle atrophy, sores and bone injury--you may need a new cooling wheelchair cushion or a new wheelchair cushions in general.
Wheel chair cushions are designed to be durable, but foam wears out faster, so if you prefer foam wheelchair cushions, have a backup. The Jay Soft Combi W/Lumbar Support Option Foam Wheelchair Cushion is supposed to last much longer than ordinary foam cushions.
If you use air wheelchair cushions, they may just need inflating to prevent chafing and soreness when you sit. Make sure you've chosen the right size cushion and that wheel chair cushions are fastened securely, since sliding can wear out the surface and filling more quickly.
Now that you've replaced your cooling wheelchair cushion, can you answer yes to this one question: Does your back feel better than it has since you first sat in the wheelchair, even since birth?
If you answered yes, you have the right wheelchair cushion or pad, God's in His Heaven, and all's right with the world.