Our feet help us get to where we want to go, so taking care of them and getting proper foot care – especially as we age – is important to our overall health. There are also some health conditions we must be mindful of that can affect the health of our feet. The following are some essential foot care tips for better foot health:
Keep your feet clean
Many seniors have difficulty bathing or showering every day. And since the feet may be a challenging part of the body to reach, their feet may only get cleaned once or twice a week.
Good foot hygiene is imperative in preventing infections, so regular foot cleaning and washing may need to happen outside a senior’s bathing schedule.
Even a simple rinse with warm water and soap can really help.
Moisturizer
The skin on our feet is much more likely to become dry, especially as we age. Dry skin is much more prone to cracking. After washing our feet, applying moisturizer can really help to keep the skin from cracking.
Cracked feet can be really painful, especially if the crack runs deep. They can also develop into ulcers which may lead to infection. Applying moisturizer can help keep the skin soft and smooth.
Keep toenails trimmed
If toenails are not properly trimmed and get overgrown, they can become painful and even interfere with the stability and walking. Sometimes, trimming toenails can be difficult or risky depending on health conditions, and it would be best to have them trimmed by professionals who specialize in senior foot care. Toenails may also grow thicker, making them very difficult to trim with regular scissors.
Getting assistance with footcare is a great way to help keep your or your senior loved one’s feet healthy.
Look for sores
We don’t often think that issues such as like bed sores happen on our feet – we often believe that they are more likely to be found on legs and backs.
This is not the case, though. If a senior spends a lot of their time in a chair with their feet resting on a footstool or pillow, it is possible that they will develop sores on their feet since they are resting against something constantly.
If you see this happening, you can practice something known as “floating the heels,” where you prop up their legs right under their calves but make sure that there isn’t anything directly rubbing up against their feet.
Get the right shoes
Wearing shoes that don’t fit properly can cause much pain and long-term discomfort. Shoes that are too small can cause blisters, force toes to be squished together, and even cause difficulties with balance.
If you are unsure if your loved one or you are wearing the right size of the footwear, then you can always get a measurement from a specialist to see what shoe size they should actually be wearing.
Seek medical attention
Sometimes, no matter how hard anyone tries, medical attention is needed for issues with our feet. Conditions like bunions, hammer toes, discoloured toenails, and corns may seem like they are harmless, but you do need to seek medical attention for these conditions.
Even if a medical professional only believes it needs to be monitored, then they can regularly check on them and make sure they are not changing significantly. If they worsen, then the doctor can prescribe the appropriate medical treatment.
Contact VERA Home Care today
Foot care for seniors is extremely important, and if the senior in your life is unable to perform some of these tasks themselves, having a foot care professional assist them can make a big difference to their foot health.
To learn more about our in-home professional foot care services, contact VERA Home Care today at 226-271-5058!