Drive Medical Med-Aire Replacement Pad for Alternating Pressure System

Works great. I've had Mom for 8 years. She hasn't had a single bed sore pair it with pink salve and you're good to go. Do got to replace it like once a year but we got cats and dogs so I imagine. Actually I think we had it for like 2 years before we got any cats or dogs so no telling how long it would last. Also, when it gets a little tiny holes in it it holds up for a long time. I can take a lot of holes before it. Does it like tiny little cat? Claws

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.

Thank you to Amazon for putting a priority order status because my other one went flat and I was in excrutiating pain, that's how you know this mattress topper is a godsend its easy to set up and replace if necessary im back to comfort and ready for nap! Amazon has the best price!

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. Update: I've gone through a couple more of these since writing the review, and the failure point is always a pinhole sized break along the air channel seams. I have had no real success using the repair kit patches, but creating a "magnet sandwich" with a pair of strong magnets, one on either side of the break, has worked very well as a temporary emergency fix.

Exactly what I need since I already have a pump, whether I buy these or the 100$ ones they still only last a couple months before I have to patch a hole.

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.

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.

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.