Your senior’s foot care health is a lot more important to her overall health than she might realize.
Often medical problems start out in the feet, so it’s vital to pay attention to these hardworking parts of the body. Here are a few ideas that can help your elderly family member to take the best care possible of her feet.
Avoid Walking Around with Bare Feet
Walking around barefoot might be your senior’s preference, but as she gets older it’s a bad idea. First, being barefoot can be a tripping hazard. It’s also important for your senior to realize that her feet are changing as she ages. They don’t have the same thickness of padding that they used to have, so walking around barefoot can create pain that she could avoid simply by wearing shoes and keeping ahead of her foot care needs.
Inspect Feet Daily
Make sure that your senior is washing and drying her feet daily. This is also a great time for her to carefully inspect her feet for any signs of trouble. Sores that she didn’t realize were there, peeling skin, or color changes can all be a sign of something bigger going on. Also, as your senior touches her feet, it’s important for her to notice if she feels that touch on her foot or not. Neuropathy, numbness, and other issues mean that there’s more happening with her health.
Watch How Toenails Are Trimmed
Toenails can be a big problem for your senior if she isn’t careful. Cutting toenails in a curve around the edge of her toe can contribute very quickly to painful ingrown toenails that can quickly become infected. The best way to trim toenails is to cut them straight across and carefully file any rough edges.
Foot Care: Talk to Her Doctor Right Away about Foot Pain
If your elderly family member is experiencing any changes to her feet, injuries, or foot pain at all, she needs to mention it to her doctor. Getting her doctor’s take on what is happening can help her to spot big issues well before they become severe. Injuries that your senior is convinced she can still walk on may be far more serious than she realizes.
Some aging adults find that it’s a lot more difficult to care for their feet as they grow older than it used to be. Elder care providers can help with foot care and other personal care tasks that help your senior to continue to be as safe and as healthy as possible.
