One area of personal care that often gets overlooked for aging adults is foot care. It’s a crucial task, however, because so much of your senior’s foot care affect her overall health.
Inspect Your Senior’s Feet Often to Rule Out Bigger Issues
Your senior’s feet can start to develop issues that go unnoticed for a variety of reasons, whether that’s nerve damage in her feet or vision changes that keep her from seeing what’s going on. That’s why it’s a good idea to regularly inspect your aging family member’s feet. You’re looking for anything that looks off or damaged, including redness or wounds that weren’t there before. Talk with her doctor about anything that you do find.
Make Sure Shoes and Socks Fit Properly
Something that surprises a lot of people is that your senior’s feet do change over time. Her feet may not be the same size, either in length or width, so her shoes and socks might need to change. Getting your senior’s feet measured can help to rule out questioning which size is right for her.
Trim Toenails Regularly, Too
Toenails can be another big problem, especially when you’re trying to help your senior to avoid wounds on her feet. Always make sure to trim toenails straight across, to prevent hangnails from forming. If there are any sharp edges after trimming, use a file to smooth those rough edges.
Encourage Your Senior to Exercise Her Feet
Your senior’s feet are the base of her body. When her feet are weak or in pain, that affects how well she can stand and walk, and it might even keep her from being as mobile as she should be. Stretching her feet and ankles can help to relieve pain. One easy way to do this is for your senior to sit in a chair and roll her feet on a tennis ball on the floor.
Consider Getting Some Help with Foot Care
Something else to consider is whether you’re able to help your senior to keep up with all of this. Help from home care providers can ensure your senior stays up to date on foot care, even if you’re not able to help her yourself. Elderly care providers can take care of other hygiene tasks for your senior, too, that are becoming more difficult for her to manage. If your senior expresses embarrassment at the idea, remind her that home care can help her with whatever she’s comfortable accepting help with now. They can always help more later.
Keeping up with regular foot care can do so much for your senior’s mental health as well as her physical health.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering home care in Olney, MD please contact the caring staff at Care At Home today. 301-970-9706
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