Introduction
The Braden Scale Calculator helps you check a patient's risk of getting a pressure ulcer (also called a bed sore). Pressure ulcers form when skin stays pressed against a bed or chair for too long and blood cannot reach it. They can start in just a few hours.
This calculator uses the Braden Scale, which nurses and doctors have used since 1987. You score six things: sensory perception, moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition, and friction and shear. Each one gets 1 to 4 points, except friction and shear, which gets 1 to 3 points.
The calculator adds your answers into one total score from 6 to 23. A lower score means higher risk. The result shows the total, the risk level, a score gauge, a full breakdown of each part, and the steps used to get the answer.
Use it at admission and again as a patient's health changes. It shows which area is weakest, so you know where to act first, like turning the patient more often, keeping skin dry, or improving meals. This calculator supports your judgment. It does not replace a full skin check by a trained health worker.
How to use our Braden Scale Calculator
Pick one option in each of the six sections below. The calculator adds your picks and shows a total Braden score out of 23, the pressure ulcer risk level, a score gauge, a breakdown table, and a step-by-step solution.
Sensory Perception (1 to 4 points): Choose how well the patient feels and reports pain or discomfort. Pick a low score if the patient does not respond to pain, and a high score if they feel and speak about pain with no problem.
Moisture (1 to 4 points): Choose how wet the patient's skin stays from sweat, urine, or drainage. Pick a low score if the skin is damp almost all the time, and a high score if the skin is usually dry.
Activity (1 to 4 points): Choose how much the patient moves around each day. Pick a low score if they stay in bed, and a high score if they walk outside the room at least twice a day.
Mobility (1 to 4 points): Choose how well the patient can change body or limb position on their own. Pick a low score if they cannot shift at all without help, and a high score if they move freely and often.
Nutrition (1 to 4 points): Choose how much food and protein the patient eats each day. Pick a low score for poor intake or NPO status, and a high score if they eat most of every meal.
Friction and Shear (1 to 3 points): Choose how much the patient's skin rubs or drags during moves. Pick a low score if they slide down in bed and need lots of help, and a high score if they lift up on their own and hold good position.
Click Calculate to see your results, or click Reset to clear all six sections and start a new assessment.
What Is the Braden Scale?
The Braden Scale is a tool nurses and doctors use to check how likely a patient is to get a pressure sore. Pressure sores are also called bedsores, pressure ulcers, or pressure injuries. They form when skin and the tissue under it get squeezed for too long, often over bony spots like the tailbone, hips, heels, and elbows. Blood cannot reach the area, so the skin breaks down.
Barbara Braden and Nancy Bergstrom built the scale in 1987. It is still one of the most used pressure sore risk tools in hospitals and nursing homes around the world.
The Six Areas It Scores
The scale looks at six things that raise or lower skin risk:
- Sensory perception: can the person feel and report pain or pressure?
- Moisture: how wet is the skin from sweat, urine, or stool?
- Activity: how much does the person walk or move around?
- Mobility: can the person shift their body position in bed or a chair?
- Nutrition: how much food and protein does the person eat?
- Friction and shear: does the skin drag or slide against sheets when moving?
Five areas are scored 1 to 4. Friction and shear is scored 1 to 3. Add them up and the total falls between 6 and 23. A lower score means higher risk.
What the Score Means
- 19 to 23: No risk found
- 15 to 18: Mild risk
- 13 to 14: Moderate risk
- 10 to 12: High risk
- 6 to 9: Very high risk
Why It Matters
Pressure sores hurt, take a long time to heal, and can lead to serious infections. Catching risk early is much easier than treating an open wound. The Braden Scale helps care teams pick the right steps before skin breaks down, such as turning the patient every two hours, using a special mattress or cushion, keeping skin clean and dry, adding padding at the heels, and improving food and fluid intake.
How It Is Used in Care
Staff usually score a patient when they first come in, then again every day or two, and any time their health changes. A single low subscale tells you as much as the total does. For example, a low nutrition score points to a diet plan, while a low moisture score points to better incontinence care.
The Braden Scale is a guide, not a diagnosis. It does not replace a full skin check or the judgment of a trained nurse or doctor. Always pair the score with a head-to-toe look at the skin.