H
hardm1970 Asked November 23, 2022
I was trying to help my mother-in-law with her toenails and holy cow, I wasn't prepared. Long, thick and curving nails aren't easy to trim. Any advice?
Follow
Share
Do I need to take her to a podiatrist or a nail salon and see if they can help?
36 Answers
Popular Questions
Ask a Question
i even use Vicks on my tootsies now, at least one night a week. Totally works Thick nails can be a fungus, the Vicks will smother it, nails will grow in healthy
(No I don’t own Vicks stock Lolol)
Vick's is so awesome for so many things.
I was so surprised how quickly the nails went from easy to cut, to being very thick. I am ready to try wire cutters or tin snips !! Forget a nail salon, I cannot stand the smell of nail polish. So I use my small sewing scissors for now, while I can still see at that distance what I am doing :)
My mother would come home from the podiatrist's office with her feet all bleeding and bandaged up. She couldn't put sneakers on for days. I'm shocked she didn't get infections.
It's not true that toenails thicken with age. My beloved MIL (God bless her) always told us to take care of your feet and teeth. When she died at age 90, she had all her own teeth and her feet looked like a 25-year olds! I'm not kidding. People just don't brush their teeth enough or take care of their feet. I'm just a Mom and caregiver and I've taken a pedicure course for caregivers. I'm 63 (as is my husband) and I give him and my daughters pedicures so they can properly take care of their feet.
There is a YouTube channel by the Meticulous Manicurist that has videos of elderly (and not so elderly) clients that she has totally transformed over the course of a year. Thick, curled, fungus toenails transformed. It takes a lot of work but it can be done. Here's her channel:
https://youtu.be/wghfZYhwq6g
That being said - You need to insist and don't let them tell you NO!
That fact aside, I would never allow anyone besides the podiatrist to touch my mother's toenails, ever. She was on blood thinners and had neuropathy in her feet and legs, so any slip of a sharp instrument could have and would have meant BIG trouble for her. Any tiny nick or blister she'd get required home health to be sent in for wound care, and took FOREVER to clear up. And she wasn't even diabetic. Just very old with poor circulation in her extremities.
Medicare pays for a podiatrist to cut your MILs nails (toe and finger) every couple of months (not sure the exact time frame), so that's the route I'd go if it were my MIL. I'd avoid the nail salon for the reasons I mentioned above. Especially with fungal type nails, which are very difficult to cut. Better safe than sorry, right? :)
Good luck!
https://www.amazon.com/Bonve-Pet-Upgraded-Trimmers-Rechargeable/dp/B09KBQKQMQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=1GUF0UJMTDF1X&keywords=pet+nail+grinder+for+dogs&qid=1669655931&sprefix=pet+nail%2Caps%2C279&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExM1dGUklUVVdOM0w0JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODEzMDcyMUVDVTlYRURJWTVDVSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNjMyMDI5MTVTTUw2WklPTkxFOSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl
&
"There was no chance of over cutting the nails."
EXACTLY what I was trying to explain a couple days ago when I wrote:
"use cuticle nippers, NOT nail clippers which will never work, and start cutting the side of the nail and nipping away at it so to speak. It'll come off. The thick stuff under the nail is dead so as long as you're not too close to the nail bed, she won't feel a thing, I promise."
&
if nails are curvy "then mil's toenails probably got a little too long, so in that case there's a lot you can get off before getting too close to the nail bed."
- - - - - - - -
Possibly like you, polarbear, I've dealt with this for years and trimmed/cut/ground nails like this many a time. So my answer was not speculative, but I guess no one liked or thought I gave a helpful answer.
Since OP posted this ? the day before Thanksgiving, I was imagining maybe mil needed her toenails clipped right away so her feet could be presentable at the holiday. Just one of many possibilities and I knew, as you obviously do too, that if what was being described was what I was familiar with, then there was no need to wait for a month or more to get into a podiatrist or get one to the home.
Besides just being presentable, the other strong possibility I was familiar with is when they get so long that they're curvy, they can get caught in blankets or hit up against the end or bottom of an elderly person's shoe and be painful when walking. That's what my mom was experiencing a few years back when her regular pedicure lady retired and she hadn't found a new one yet, but it was winter anyway & no one was seeing her feet like when she wore sandals... So she just let them go. Until it ended up causing her pain from getting so long one of them was hitting her shoe. This is where I was called into the rescue to see if I could help one Sunday. and resulted in the first time I tried to assist by trimming them for her before she went to a New Years Eve party where she figured she'd be doing a lot of standing that night.
I was surprised at the thickness, when you say 4 x the thickness of a normal nail, I'd go so far as to maybe say 7, 8 or even 10x!! My mom explained over and over how she couldn't feel a thing when I was nipping away at them piece by piece. She had type2 diabetes, but did not have neuropathy and could feel her feet and toes.
A couple yrs later when she ended up in the hospital for months on end following an infection [which became invasive after being overlooked by her PCP in the early mo's of the pandemic when no one could see their Dr's in person), I started taking care of her toenails in the hospital since an explosion of other medical problems happened to her as a result of the hospitalization/surgery and she spent the next year in & out of hospital a dozen times. When she was out, she was at rehab, they were on lock-down and no one from the outside, not even people who draw blood or others like hospice [which she wasn't on], but who normally would be allowed in, were allowed into any SNF/rehab at the time. So there was no chance of a podiatrist coming in to provide footcare. Anyway, just a bunch more info to explain how I knew & was actually quite experienced with these kind of nails.
If you're going to attempt to clip them yourself, make sure you soak her feet for a long time first. Ingrown nails in the elderly is a problem and very painful, so if you see this, maybe don't DIY.
https://www.amazon.com/Podiatrist-Clippers-Professional-Pedicure-Grooming/dp/B07V72Z77W?ref=silk_at_search
You need to be very careful with these, they are very sharp and easy to use and nip the person you are cutting. I did that once in four years. Is she on blood thinners? Cumadin? Nipping around The toenail area could bleed alot.
The safest route is the podiatrist.
All the warnings are good, hardm1970. That said, if mil needs her nails clipped sooner for some reason, it's not that big of a deal to do yourself.
A soak first does help, then use cuticle nippers, NOT nail clippers which will never work, and start cutting the side of the nail and nipping away at it so to speak. It'll come off. The thick stuff under the nail is dead so as long as you're not too close to the nail bed, she won't feel a thing, I promise. Ask her to say something immediately if she does though because that would indicate you're too close. If they're curvy though, then mil's toenails probably got a little too long, so in that case there's a lot you can get off before getting too close to the nail bed. Gloves are DEFINITELY mandatory I'd say. Maybe prepare a rag partially soaked in alcohol nearby to wipe the nippers off here and there.
When you do it with a cuticle nipper, nothing flies around like with nail clippers so you don't need the eye protection you'd need with clippers. A big file will be in order afterwards to even it up, and your mil will be so happy! :)
Did your MIL ask for your help with her feet? Or did you see she was in need & decided to offer?
Just wondering about the larger picture.. when some can't manage their own feet it can be due to so many reasons - mobility being #1.
I've been 'hinted at' to provide many services (for free) for a LO - mobility issues seem to mean they can't reach their wallet to pay 😜
I do my mom's toenails at the MC unit only because she won't allow anyone else to do them and her bath is only once per week (yeah, for care costs just under 10k/month). As a retired RN, I know the limits, having done diabetic footcares over the decades. She has bad hammer toes on one foot that earlier surgery failed to correct and those nails, the ones that remain, are tough to cut and require some massage and gentle stretching of her toes to even get to them. Not a job for a layperson.
Your MIL would likely enjoy a mani-pedi more, but needs the specialized skills and tools of a Podiatrist. Just try to make the day special with a lunch or other special stop.
You can do a LOT of damage cutting those dry 'hooves'. And get new nail scissors frequently. I realized that most of our nail clippers are now 'ripping' the nail instead of cutting it sharp and clean.
Funny story--Dh is really obsessed with having short fingernails. I had a normal number of nail clippers around the house--maybe 10 pair? IDK. But he was just ranting one Saturday morning b/c he once again, couldn't find any nail clippers. The kids and I all got together and bought 100 pairs. Yup. 100. And 10 of those were 'gold' and easily seen. It was probably his favorite Christmas present ever.