Pedicures for the elderly? posted by Missy @ 06:50 PM November 24, 2008

Missy — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:50:11 -0000

That's good information! Thank you for posting it!

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by Anonymous @ 02:54 AM November 24, 2008

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:54:10 -0000

Hi there,

I'm a nurse, and as lovely as these pedicures sound, because the of the frailty of an elderly person's skin, going to the salon can be rather dangerous. Their skin becomes a lot weaker and susceptible to tears after a long soak in warm water and this can lead to very bad infections especially in diabetic people, anyone who experiences foot numbness, or someone who cannot easily see their own feet (so they will not inspect them daily for any cuts or sores) so they should only be given foot care by a podiatrist. Nurses are not even allowed to cut the nails of an elderly patient because of the risk. Please have a podiatrist do any of the nail cutting, or removal of extra skin, and then give a massage at home with a nice cream if that part of the salon visit is missed.

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by LindaO @ 12:42 AM October 22, 2008

LindaO — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:42:46 -0000

We are fortunate that we have a caregiver who stays with Dad sometimes who is happy to trim his toenails a little bit to keep them under control. HOWEVER: My salon pedicurist told me that since Dad has diabetes and the foot numbness that accompanies it we should only let a qualified podiatrist do anything besides just home filing and trimming. The potential for infection in a public salon is too great, which could lead to gangrene and possible loss of the toe/foot/limb. This comes from a spa professional who said she would not do an elderly diabetic because of the liability - and that included members of her own family. I would presume that if your parent is a diabetic, insurance / medicare would pay for routine podiatry treatments. We can keep Dad under control here at home so we're not to that point yet but I have the name of a good doctor on hand just in case.

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by Bob DeMarco @ 08:18 PM September 30, 2008

Bob DeMarco — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:18:06 -0000

I enjoyed reading this thread. My mother suffers from Alzheimer's and we use both podiatry and a nail salon.

We visit the podiatrist every three months and this is paid for by our Medicare HMO. The podiatrist does a great job of filing down here nails with his little machine. My mother's nails on her big toe are very thick and they start to hurt while she is wearing shoes. The nail salon does not supply this service.

My mother is 92 and when we started visiting the nail salon five years ago for a manicure and a pedicure I can't tell you how narly her feet were. We found this great woman Irene and she is really terrific with my mother. She does a great job.

We continue to do both for another reason. This gives me a chance to get my mother out and get her socialized. So we get a second benefit from these trips to the Nail Salon and the

podiatrist.

I 'll end by saying congratualtions to you for taking action and taking your father into the nail salon. It seems like you used a good approach to bring him around to going. This should help others.

Bobby

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by Lolly @ 04:57 AM September 30, 2008

Lolly — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:57:01 -0000

Well - Dad and I have our new routine every 5 weeks - we go and get our nails done. Who would have thought?! I always encourage him to get red or pink or beige, he laughs and says it's girly enough that he even goes. He LOVES it though. He shows off his toes every time to my sister and I. He loves sitting there and getting pampered. I'm sure it's the closest thing to a massage he's ever had - and it's nice for him. It's one of the fun things we do together that's a little silly, indulgent and very very necessary - for him.

It's nice to know that such a necessary thing can also be pleasurable for our parents. I'll keep in mind the home idea of Earth Therapeutics Tea Tree Oil - I think we'd both be up for it now that we've started routine pedicures. Saving the money appeals to us both - thanks for the tip.

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by star @ 11:23 PM September 29, 2008

star — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:23:23 -0000

hi mjc, i had to smile when i read your response about the pedicure. when i give my gal her manicure or pedicure, she sits back, closes her eyes, we hum along to music and she eventually takes a little nap. it truly relaxes her and i tell her we are going to make her "bootiful", just like in the salons. we do the manicures about once a week since she isn't real good about washing her hands real well.

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by MJC @ 07:13 PM September 29, 2008

MJC — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:13:35 -0000

This is my first time on this site and this is one of the problems I have had with my 94 year old mother. I took her to the foot doctor and he did his thing. Needless to say, we did not go back. Now, after each bath, I give mother a good foot massage with Earth Therapeutics Tea Tree Oil foot repair balm (this is not an advertisement). Since I started this a year ago, all her old, thick yellow toe nails have fallen off and she has new ones growing. I could not believe this, but it happened. Other creams may work, I have not tried anything else. She leans back in her recliner and closes her eyes and smiles the whole time I am doing this.

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by star @ 12:30 AM May 12, 2008

star — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:30:02 -0000

The lady I took care of ,previous to my current alzheimers lady, used to go to a podiatrist to have her toenails clipped and taken care of. It was paid for by medicare and her supplemental insurance. We would sit in the doctor's office for usually over an hour, she was 100 yrs old, she would carry on about having to wait soooo long, then we would get into see the doctor, they would have lovely chat, he would spend about 10 minutes and we would be on our way. The nails didn't look much better than when we went in. Soooo, I started to give her pedicures at home, I would fix her a nice cup of warm tea and get one of those long black files(from Walmart, cost about $1) and proceed to sand down her nails and the bottom of her crusty feet. Looked pretty good by the time we were done and it saved a hassle.

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by Missy @ 06:59 PM April 07, 2008

Missy — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:59:11 -0000

Lolly, that's fantastic! Thank you so much for coming back to update us! I'm sure your experience is really going to help others out. Kudos to you for being creative in finding a solution for your dad and kudos for him for being open-minded! I'm so happy for you that it worked out so well!

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by Lolly @ 04:50 PM April 07, 2008

Lolly — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:50:41 -0000

We did it. Dad got a full on pedicure (no color - although we tried to get him to choose a lovely lavender) AND it was great. He really needed it! AND, he enjoyed it.

After the initial weird feeling about sitting in a pink room, with dusty artificial flowers and old posters of roses and lace - he settled into the warm tub for his feet.

She told him of other men she did pedicures for regularly, and how "my, you really needed this." He loved the massage, and was so pleased with his feet. Our new plan - every 6 weeks! I don't know why we waited.

Knowing dad, he'll now also check in with Kaiser to see if he can get it done there. He's sold. And it was fun to do something so different with him.

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by kayjo @ 01:50 PM April 02, 2008

kayjo — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:50:53 -0000

I don't know about Kaiser but my mother's costs are covered by Medicare and her supplemental insurance. Once she has reached her overall annual deductible, she doesn't pay anything for the podiatrist.

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by Missy @ 07:18 PM April 01, 2008

Missy — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:18:14 -0000

This has turned out to be a fantastic discussion! I can't wait to hear how your dad's pedi goes, Lolly! Please come back and update us!

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by Kirby F @ 04:24 PM April 01, 2008

Kirby F — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:24:37 -0000

You could also tell him that in other cultures, foot care is big. I have friends who are German - and there are places in the Alps where you walk through cold water, over rocks to stimulate your feet. And, there are foot care places - not salons - where you go to take care of your feet.

Maybe you can look for a place that's more functionally minded?

I don't know about Kaiser, but I do know that smart doctors realize how important foot care is (there was a New Yorker article [newyorker.com] about a geriatricians who care a lot about their patients feet).

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by Lolly @ 01:37 PM April 01, 2008

Lolly — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:37:29 -0000

how nice it is to wake up to this note. thanks for sharing your experience with me. And timely. I had brought up this little excursion to get our nails done (toe nails) with my 83 year old father 2 weeks ago. His response was cautious enthusiasm. "Is it a little bit girlish?" he asked me . I admitted that it was and we laughed (so far - all good: enthusiasm, laughing). He said he'd think about it (this too is good - anything new is good for his relatively boring life now).

Well - he called yesterday and said, "OK, let's do the thing." So - on Saturday we're off to do the thing." I'll let you know. I'll be happy if he has a moment to relax and or laugh.

If it doesn't work out - now I know I can contact a podiatrist. I wonder if Kaiser would do it?

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by kayjo @ 01:27 PM April 01, 2008

kayjo — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:27:34 -0000

When my father was sick the visiting nurse recommended a local podiatrist that made house calls. He came every 2-3 months and cut the nails and checked other aspects of the feet. It was wonderful not to have to worry about it myself.

Now my mother is at home alone and can't get out herself. She uses the same doctor. Besides the value of having him come to the house, it gives her some element of control. She can call and schedule the visit herself without having to check with me to see if I'm available to take her somewhere.

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by Missy @ 09:19 PM March 16, 2008

Missy — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:19:44 -0000

Hey there! Welcome to Caring's community! I'm glad you posted.

I've not had experience with this, so take this post with a grain of salt. However, do you think your dad would be up for a trip to the salon? Does he have any health issues that would make doing this a concern (such as diabetes)? If he's up for it and there aren't any big concerns, go for it!

What's the deal with his feet? Overgrown toe nails? Rough skin?

If you want to give it a try yourself, get him to soak his feet in a tub of warm water and mild soap for 15 minutes. Get a pummice stone and gently rub away at the rough areas. Then cut his nails. However, with this all said, there are just some tasks that tough for some and not for others. If this is one that tests your gag reflex, have a professional do it. :-)

Pedicures for the elderly? posted by Anonymous @ 03:18 PM March 16, 2008

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 15:18:21 -0000

I recently had the good fortune of seeing my 83 year old father's feet. Whoa!

I should get on my hands and knees with gardening tools to clean them up but I think this job feels over my head. Has anyone ever taken their elderly parent to the corner nail salon? It seems so perfect and yet - so weird.

note - I don't go to one so the whole thing is a little foreign to me, or I'd ask there. I just wanted to know if others have done this.

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