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My mom has dementia and lives in an apartment attached to our home. Her feet look horrible. I've taken her to the salon to have pedicures done in the past, but it's such a struggle to get her out of the house to an appointment and would love if I could get someone to the house to do it for her. In the past, I've had Podiatrists come to the house but they did nothing. They were here for a total of 5-10 mins, trimmed her nails & left. I was very dissatisfied.

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I think Geaton has a great plan.

I used to work Elder Care and my client was pretty much banned from all the local nail salons as she was quite difficult to deal with.

I brought my own foot 'spa' to work one day, sat her down, put on some soft music and had her soak her feet for about 1/2 hour in very warm water and epsom salts (those toenails in the very elderly are almost impossible to trim when dry!!)

Then I scrubbed and scrubbed away the old dry skin, trimmed her nails (get a nail trimmer--sideways cut rather than straight on) and gently trimmed her nails. Cut them short, but not to the nail bed. Filed (and filed and filed, should have brought hubby's Dremel!) and then finally painted them a glorious red. Slathered on lotion and she was in heaven!

By no means did they look 'good' but they looked 'good enough' and she was thrilled.

By painting them, I could look at her feet and see how much growth we had going on.

It's easier to keep up than to catch up. I would have her soak her feet every week and we'd just do a light massage which she adored. Lots of lotion!

And yes, we went to the podiatrist, but all he did was hack off the toenails and send us on our way.
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dlpandjep Feb 2020
Awesome!  I love the tip about painting her nails.
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Medicare pays for a Podiatrist every 10 weeks. Call around, see if one will do a house call. Moms dr did once she was in the AL and later the LTC.
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ArtistDaughter Feb 2020
Oh, Medicare pays? I will look into that. I've been taking care of my mom's feet myself for 8 years, now doing at least once a week at her assisted living facility. I'd love for someone else to do it, even if it's only every 10 weeks. Thank you.
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Here in Canada we have Foot Care Nurses, as well as Podiatrists. I arranged for a FCN to look after Dad’s feet. He was resistant at first, but loves it now. She spends about 20 minutes with him, trims his nails, sands callouses and rubs on lotion, and it costs $40. If she sees anything concerning, she will refer him to a Podiatrist.
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I didn't have much luck finding this for my MIL a few years ago. I suggest the OP search "mobile spa services+(your zip code)". If you do find a reputable service, make sure they know it's for a senior and that they will need to come into your house. If you don't have luck, I would walk into any spa and talk directly to one of the pedicure technicians, let them know your dilemma, ask if they know anyone who'd be willing to do it for cash in your home. Go onto Nextdoor.com to see if a willing local neighbor has these skills and tools. The LTCF my MIL is in won't allow any outside service to come in to perform do this sort of thing. Drives me nuts because the "podiatrists" don't do much except trim nails. They don't even file them.
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I was told by Moms Poditrist to have her drink more water.

I would order Avon for an elderly lady friend. She loved Avons Moisturizing handcream (white and blue tube). Not for her hands but her feet. So I tried it on the rough spots on my feet. I rubbed it on and then put on my socks. I saw a difference in a couple of days. Bought my husband a washcloth where one side has an exfoliating side so I used that to get the dry stuff off. Worked.
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Bert123 Feb 2020
Thank you JoAnn. She probably is a bit hydrated. She eats very well, but drinks coffee throughout the day and water when she takes her meds. She def needs to drink more water. Thank you for the moisturizing cream idea.
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