What Is a Hi-Low Bed? Height Adjustment Explained for Home Care

A hi-low bed (also written hi-lo, high-low or high/low) is a bed whose entire sleeping surface can be raised and lowered by motor. An ordinary adjustable bed only articulates — the head and foot move, but the mattress stays at one height. A hi-low bed does both.

Why height matters at home

• Getting in and out: a lower bed puts feet flat on the floor for standing; a low position also reduces the distance of a fall.
• Transfers: matching the bed to a wheelchair seat or a lift makes a sideways transfer easier.
• Caregiving: raising the bed to a working height spares a helper's back during dressing, washing and bed changes.

Read the measurement, not just the number

Makers measure from different points. Icare quotes floor to the top of the mattress platform — 12–24 in on the IC222 and 9–26 in on the IC333 — so the mattress adds its own height. Flexabed quotes the top of the foundation (11–18.5 in on leg pads, 13.25–20.75 in on casters) and then the sleeping height with each mattress, for example 16.5–24 in with the low-profile mattress on leg pads on the Hi-Low SL.

Hi-low is not the same as tilt

Trendelenburg tilts the whole platform so the head is lower than the feet (reverse Trendelenburg is the opposite). It is a separate function; among the beds we sell only the IC333 has it (17° each way).

Which hi-low bed?

All three beds in our hospital and homecare beds collection are hi-low beds; the comparison table shows height ranges, capacities by size and functions side by side. For a short-term need, a rental hospital bed may be the better fit.

How the height is set

On the iCare beds the height, head and knee functions run from a wired backlit hand control; the IC333 can also take an optional joystick. The Flexabed Hi-Low SL uses a wired or wireless remote — the wireless version stores four memory positions, so a preferred transfer height can be recalled with one press. Both makers back the electrics with a battery or emergency-lowering provision, so a raised bed can still be lowered in a power cut.

Casters or leg pads?

Casters make a bed easy to move for cleaning and caregiving but add about 2.25 in to every Flexabed height figure; stationary leg pads give the lowest position. The iCare beds roll on lockable casters as standard (four on the IC222, eight on the IC333, four of them locking), and their published heights already account for them.