Your foot clinic in downtown Toronto understands that caregiving for someone with a chronic condition involves several things. People often take on tasks like making sure a person gets their medications and the activities associated with daily living.
Even if someone isn’t mobile, their feet need to be looked after for health and safety as well as hygiene reasons. Caregiving can be even more important if the person you’re looking after has conditions like diabetes that can affect the nerves and blood flow in their feet.
Here are a few steps for basic footcare that apply to people with or without chronic conditions.
- The person’s feet need to be inspected once a day. Caregivers need to look at them and feel for any pressure points, lesions, sores bumps or lumps.
- If the patient is bedridden or wheelchair-bound, it’s important to make sure they are wearing padded socks and shoes that don’t restrict movement around the heel. Otherwise they can suffer from pressure ulcers.
Keeping the nails at a safe length and clean is another suggestion from our foot clinic in downtown Toronto. They should be trimmed every week or at least checked. The nails are easier to trim and softer after the person has had a foot bath or shower.
- Remove any polish with nail polish remover before you begin.
- There is no need to wear gloves. However, you should wash and dry your hands first.
- Use both hands when you’re trimming the person’s nails. Hold the foot with one while you do the trimming with the other. Remember to cut across in a straight line.
- Nails should not be any longer than the tips of the toes.
- A nail file can be used to smooth any rough edges at the corners. Nails that have been cut straight across might have these.
Some Other General Footcare Tips
Here are some other general foot care and nail tips for caregivers. It’s very important to wash a diabetic’s feet daily. Make sure to get a basin that’s made specifically for this purpose. Be sure to dry the patient’s foot gently. If you are using a lotion on their feet, put it on the heels but not between the toes.
Our foot clinic in downtown Toronto also suggests that you don’t cut or trim the cuticles. Even a minor cut in these can cause infection.
